Znamenny Chant

Znamenny chant is the ancient liturgical chant of the Russian Orthodox Church, sung unaccompanied and notated in znamenny, or hook, notation. Adapted from Byzantine chant after the Christianisation of Rus' in 988, it developed a vast repertory of monophonic melodies organised in the eight tones of the Octoechos, with regional variants and later harmonised settings. Its austere, slow-moving lines remain the foundation of Russian sacred music, and specialist choirs such as the *Russian Patriarchate Choir* under *Anatoly Grindenko* have revived its earliest forms from medieval manuscripts.