The Three Genres of Chant

Byzantine chant sings at three speeds, and the speed is a decision about what the text is for. Heirmologic is close to one note a syllable, brisk, and used where a lot of text has to pass: canons, the ordinary of the Liturgy. Sticheraric is slower and more ornamented, for the stichera that comment on a feast. Papadic is slow, melismatic and may take several minutes over a single line, and it belongs to the moments when the words matter less than the standing still: the Cherubic Hymn, the communion verse. The same mode and the same text sound like different pieces in the three genres.