About the Role and Compositional Functions of the Kratemata in the Byzantine Chant

The Byzantine church chant is a purely liturgical song. The music that is practiced here is primarily linked to the understanding of the text and its comprehension. That’s why the sound-word ratio is very pronounced in the syllabic and semi-melismatic chants. This harmonious relationship between music and poetry is partly destroyed in the very extensive and highly melismatic kalophonic songs, because long note chains are set over a single word, even over the vowel of a single syllable. Closely related to the kalophonic pieces often Kratema are executed, representing the total abolition of the connection between the music and the text message. They are likewise extensive melismata, but have no concrete text and are usually built on the meaningless syllables te-ri-rem. In this study, first some of the different explanations as to the origin and the role of Kratemata in worship events will be presented shortly. The actual core of the investigation are the reflections about what a compositional meaning (in music content, formal, compositional and sound aesthetic way) these pieces have and how they affect the structure and organization of their respective total song (kalophonic piece and Kratema together).