Znamenny chant was the main type of ecclesiastical singing in Russia. It was the living branch of the Russian ecclesiastical music culture during many centuries. Znamenny chant first appeared during the IX century. It originated in the Balkans as the first sprout of arising Slavic singing culture. It absorbed both tradition and melos of Byzantine liturgical singing and intonation Kondakar language of the newly enlightened Slavic nations. Long before the baptism of Kievan Rus, Scripture and Byzantine liturgical books were translated into Slavonic two brothers from Thessalonica, St Kyrill and Methodius and their followers. A bit later, their disciple St Clement, Archbishop of Ochrid, opened the school of the Slavonic written language. The first Metropolitan of Kiev, was the Bulgarian Bishop Michael who came to Kiev with his clerics. Obviously, it was the time when Byzantine liturgical singing books were translated and brought to Kievan Rus. Kievan Rus accepted the Church Hierarchy from the Greek Church after the fall of the Bulgarian Kingdom in 1014. The Greek Metropolitan Pheopempt with his clerics arrived in 1037. The worship of the Holy Wisdom Cathedral in Constantinople was introduced into Kievian-Rus. The divine service was sung in both Greek and Slavonic. The right choir sang in Greek and the left choir in Slavonic.

The earliest Slavic singing manuscript still surviving is 'Printing-house Charter' and dates back to the XI century. It includes two kinds of the ancient Russian liturgical singing: Kondakar and Znamenny chants. The form of Znamenny chant is a kind of singing as 'similar to' and practiced on a large scale, sufficient to sing just the first hymn or canticle of the canon and the remaining texts follow well into the given pattern. Znamenny chant developed into a harmonious system at the end of the XII century. It was included into a multitude of liturgical singing books. Russian cantors chose to develop a style illustrating and emphasizing the union of the theology of their liturgical texts and clarity of word not obscured by spatial images of accords and ornamented singing patterns that came into fashion in Byzantium at the time.

The Mongol invasion interrupted the development of church and cultural life in Russia. The destruction of cities and monasteries in central Russia as a result of the Mongol invasions still leave a trace today. The northern regions did not incur invasion and preserved a part of spiritual and cultural treasures of the pre-mongolian period.

The flourishing of monasticism, icon painting and manuscript works at the end of the XIV into the entire XV centuries greatly marked a time of gaining strength against foreign oppressors. The choirs of Holy Wisdom cathedral in Novgorod, Trinity-St Sergius and St Kyrill of Belozersk monasteries laid down the tradition of Znamenny chant. From that time, we have discovered a few (some) of the names of famous singers of Znamenny chant: Metropolitan Varlaam of Rostov (Vassily Rogov), Archimandrite Isaiah (Ivan Lukoshko), Markel Bezborody, Theodore Christianin.

A special commission was organized to issue the full circle of liturgical singing books in Stolpovoy notation in 1668. The commission, headed by the elder Alexander Mezenets, consisted of 6 experts in Znamenny chant. They had the best singing manuscripts of the period of 400 years. The work of this commission brought underlay to the basis of liturgical singing books which took a century of time to publish. The old neumatiche notation, were replaced with five-lined West-European notation. Those books were published without any serious changes from 1772 till 1909, in fact, preserving accurately adjusted - manuscript sample melodies of ancient chants. Unfortunately, in the transition from neumatiche notation to notes, the performing detail of those hymns was lost. The Old Russian liturgical singing tradition in its fullness had disappeared never to return when the last singers who knew the details of performing departed from this life.

Prior to the revival of ancient traditions in the Russian liturgical singing, Znamenny chant hid (covered) its face from the sons of 'gallant' and 'enlightened' ages. As is, similar to the works of St Andrey Rublev, which were hidden with later layers of painting. Such revival started from the works of prominent musical experts: Prince V.F.Odoevsky (1804-1869), Protodeacon D.V.Razumovsky (1818-1888), professors V.V.Stasov (1824-1904) and S.V.Smolensky (1848-1909), priest V.M.Metallov (1862-1926). They influenced a slight and gradual opening in the veil of ignorance, which had suppressed Russian ecclesiastical singing until the middle of XIX century.

A new interest appeared to the Russian ancient art during the horrible decades of persecution in the Russian Orthodox Church. The faces of millennial antiquity opened themselves after restoration. Famous musical experts of the Soviet time, V.M.Belyaev (1888-1968), M.V.Brazhnikov (1902-1973), N.D.Uspensky (1900-1987), continued the pre-revolutionary line in the study of the church singing heritage. Moreover, they increased considerably the notion of the ancient Russian singing structure. The charming picture of Holy Russia with its special simplicity and sanctity was re-opened in the expression of its innumerable assembly of Russian saints, white stoned architecture, Znamenny chant, radiant paints and theological depth inherent in the works of Theophanes the Greek, Andrey Rublev, Dionysius.

Savior Transfiguration Myrozhsky Monastery

Savior Transfiguration Myrozhsky Monastery of city Pskov was built in the 1150s by efforts of Niphont Archbishop of Novgorod and Pskov. According to the legend Archbishop Niphont himself walked around the city with a cup and collected donations for the construction of the monastery. He commissioned first-class Greek iconographers to paint frescos on the walls of the church. He personally supervised all construction works. The original ground plan brought forth a church constructed as a Byzantine cross crowned with a massive dome on a wide drum. A porch and a belfry were added in the XVI century. The church was painted from top to bottom in several tiers. Nowadays we have a unique opportunity to see frescoes of the middle of the XII century. When you enter the church you find yourself in the world of spiritual 20 being and repeat involuntarily with Prince Vladimir's followers: '… and we were brought where they worship their God. We knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth, for surely there is no such splendour or beauty anywhere upon earth. We cannot describe it to you: only this we know, that God dwells there among humans.'