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Sticheron

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A '''sticheron''' (plural: stichera) is a type of hymn used in the [[services]] of the [[daily cycle]], while a ''sticherarion'' is a book containing the stichera for the morning and evening services throughout the year. Stichera are also found in the ''[[Menaion]]'' and ''[[Octoechos]]''. This word should not be confused with a [[sticharion]] (a kind of [[vestments|vestment]]).

~~{{incomplete}}~~Traditionally, stichera are most often sung in the sticheraric form of the modal music which is canonical in the Orthodox Church. With the advent of harmonized, polyphonic, non-modal music in some Orthodox churches, the traditional forms have been lost. In [[Byzantine chant]], sticheraric modes are of "medium" speed (slower than [[irmologic]] but faster than [[papadic]]), with each syllable often having two or three notes in its singing. The sticheraric mode is most often used for singing stichera, but it is not exclusive to it. In some traditions, the sticheraric mode has been reserved mainly for the services of [[Sunday]]s or [[feast day]]s., and the irmologic mode has been substituted for singing stichera at the daily services.

==Usage==

Stichera are commonly written in cycles on particular themes or for use in particular liturgical contexts. Examples of such themes include:

*[[Vespers]] (the evening office)

*The [[Litia ]]

*The Praises (at the end of [[Orthros]], the morning office)

Stichera are usually sung in alternation with verses from the [[Psalter|Psalms]] or other [[Holy Scripture|scriptural]] sources. In liturgical books, they are designated as having a particular [[tone]].

Settings of stichera are frequently found in recordings of Orthodox liturgical music, some by well known composers.

[[Category:~~Church Music~~Hymnography]]

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