KIEVAN CHANT

KIEVAN CHANT – One of the liturgical chants of the Russian Orthodox Church, which first developed in the southwestern region of Rus’ as a variant of znamenny chant, and then spread to Muscovite Russia in the 17th c. Melodies of K. c. tend to be shorter and simpler rhythmically than znamenny melodies; distinctions between recitative-like and melismatic passages are more pronounced; and certain phrases of text are repeated, something that does not occur in the znamenny chants of Novgorodian and Muscovite singing masters. The melodies of Kievan chant, for the most part, served as the basis for the so-called “Common” chant.