The vocal manuscripts of Suprasl tradition in the investigations by presentday musicologists

Abstract

The article deals with musical-vocal and text peculiarities of such medieval hymnological monuments of Orthodox culture as notes of Suprasl tradition. These manuscripts (including Oktoikhs, Irmoloys and other books dating back to 16th-18th centuries) reveal the specific features of musical accompaniment of church services in the Suprasl monastery which was the centre of Orthodox culture in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Nowadays relics of Suprasl tradition are preserved in libraries of Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. Contemporary musical experts in the sphere of book research particularly stress the significance of one Suprasl Irmoloy (1598–1601) which was written by Bogdan Anisimovich, a chorister in the monastery. The irmoloy is of great value for musicologists, as later rospevs with similar musical-stylistic peculiar features were created on its basis. These features are reflected in vocal books of Suprasl tradition including canticles of the so-called Suprasl canto. The manuscripts are of great interest from the point of view of their design and the correlation between verbal and musical texts.