Znamenny chant

The signs also represent a mood and a gradation of how this part of melody is to be sung (tempo, strength, devotion, meekness, etc.)

For example, there is a specific sign, called "little dove" (Russian: голубчик, golubchik), which represents two rising sounds and is also a symbol of the Holy Ghost.

After 13th century, the Znamenny Chant and stolp notation continued to develop to the North (particularly in Novgorod), where it flourished and was adopted throughout the Grand Duchy of Moscow.

Because of the complexity of the system, a simplification was developed by Ivan Shaidurov around 1600,[2] called "cinnabar marks" (Russian: киноварные знаки, kinovarnye znaki), which consisted of small letters in red and which were placed before each Znamenny sign.

The use and evolution of the system stopped in the middle of the 17th century after the church reforms by Patriarch Nikon.

[citation needed] From that time Western music started to penetrate into Russian culture, and the Russian-Orthodox Church introduced a "Latin", polyphonic way of singing, based on Polish, German and Italian harmonies.

Currently, stolp notation (Znamenny signs) continues to be used by Russian Old Believers, mostly in combination with the above-mentioned "red marks", as shown in the first illustration.

Many Russian composers (Sergei Rachmaninov, Alexander Grechaninov, Maximilian Steinberg, and Vladimir Martynov) studied Znamenny chants and used them in their compositions.