Idiomelon

The genre composed over these avtomela was characterised as prosomoion or prosomeion (Medieval Greek: προσόμοιον 'similar to', Church Slavonic: подобенъ, podoben).

Already in the older book Tropologion each melody of a certain hymn was classified by a modal signature of the Byzantine octoechos—the eight-mode system as it had developed in Constantinople, Damascus, Jerusalem, and in many other places.

[2] Since there were so many traditions whose hymnographers composed within the octoechos, the solution was found by the invention of a new neume notation in order to write down the whole repertory in the sticherarion.

According to this simple typological definition a prosomoion could be recognised because it had just a rubric with an incipit of the avtomelon text, while the echos or glas (musical mode) was indicated by a modal signature.

Today the Voskresnik or Anastasimatarion or an Orthros anthology also provides certain avtomela in neumes without any text, while the texts of the prosomoia, as far as they belong to the fixed cycle including the sanctoral, are in the Menaion which should not be confused with the notated chant book (the immoveable cycle of the Doxastarion, organised between the twelve months beginning with 1 September and concluding with 31 August, or the Slavonic Psaltikiyna Mineynik).

Even though the difference between "echos-melodies" and the new idiomela at that time cannot be studied, the new emphasis on the Hagiopolitan octoechos was only possible because these new hymns – their poetry and music – were appreciated and imitated beyond the patriarchate.

Yahya al-Mansur who was posthumously condemned as a heretic, was not only re-established as a hymnographer and monk called John of Damascus, but also became an important Greek church father and a saint.

Both, the model used for the recitation of the oikoi as well as the one used for the prooimion, had been rubrified as idiomela (not as avtomela) by Greek as well as by Slavic scribes of the Kievan Rus', whether in kontakaria without or with musical notation.

[13] As example might serve the prooimion of Romanos' kontakion for 25 December known by its incipit Ἡ παρθένος σήμερον, even if the melodic model in echos tritos is not testified by a notated source of his time.

According to the current practice of Orthodox chant, this resurrection kontakion could be chosen for regular Sunday services, if the week was dedicated to echos tritos.

[16] Thus, the prosomoion can be sung with the same melody and the accentuation patterns of the idiomelon and the last verse was the refrain (called ephymnion ἐφύμνιον) the prooimion shared with the oikoi.

With the recitation known from a living tradition, the melody reproduces the meter with melodic accentuation patterns and quantitative accents given by the rhythm of the model stanza.

[17] With respect to the differences which already appear between prosomoion and its prototype within the Greek language, a translation into Church Slavonic which reproduces exactly all these relations between idiomelos and avtomelon—whether in this or another way—, seems already impossible.

[18] This is a possible modern transcription of the same kondak, based on different redactions of the Old Church Slavonic translation:[19] Дева днесь Пресущественнаго раждает, и земля вертеп Неприступному приносит, ангели с пастырьми славословят, волсви же со звездою путешествуют: нас бо ради родися Отроча Младо, Превечный Бог[20] Дѣва дьньсь преволгатаго ражаѥть и землѧ вьртьпъ не прикосновено приносить ангели съ пастырил словословестѧть вълсви же съ звѣздою пѹть шьствѹють· насъ бо ради родисѧ отрочѧ младо превѣчьныи богъ[21] This is the resurrection kontakion composed over Romanos' kontakion to emphasise that it was a very common model used to compose most of the kontakia in echos tritos: ‘Εξανέστης σήμερον, ἀπὸ τοῦ τάφου Οἰκτίρμον, καὶ ἡμᾶς ἐξήγα[γ]ες, ἐκ τῶν πυ[λῶν τοῦ θ]α[νάτ]ου, ἡμὰρ ἐκ [τοῦ τ]άφου,

It was obviously possible to adapt even verses of different length to the model: A very important source of the re-translation of the Greek hymns are the so-called mineya služebnaya of the Kievan Rus' written during the 12th century, office menaia which had been fully notated (especially the akrosticha composed over the heirmoi and the stichera idiomela).

The recitation today follows the troparic genre of the Neobyzantine octoechos according to the New Method, as it was created during the 18th century between Petros Peloponnesios and Theodore Phokaeos who supervised the print editions of Chourmouzios' transcriptions.

[27] Each genre was defined by its own octoechos and its tempo which created a new variety, but the accentuation patterns can be used in a more flexible way with respect to the high Middle Ages.

This flexibility comes closer to the earlier practice of recitation employing "echos-melodies", although the accentuation of accents are still very precise, because the diacritics were still used and the simplified model has sublimed its ancient tradition.

The polyphonic or multi-part recitation of the Karelian monastery on the island Valaam, known and admired as Valaamskiy rozpev, does not care very much about the text accents which once created the sophisticated idiomela between the 7th and the 10th centuries.