What is "prostopinije"

Prostopinije (meaning Plain Chant in Rusyn) is a type of monodic church chant, closely related to Znamenny Chant. Prostopinije is used in the Ruthenian Catholic Church and among the Carpatho-Russian Orthodox.

The tradition of Prostopinije chant is used in the lands of Galicia, Volhyn and Ruthenia. The Prostopinije traces its roots to the Slavic traditions of Old Kievan chant and Bulgarian chant, both stemming from the ancient Byzantine chant tradition; however, it was also affected by the local folk Carpathian music. The Prostopinije chant is purely monodic, lacking ison or any other support, as well as folk choral polyphony. Melodically, Prostopinije resembles Znamenny Chant, and is closely related to it historically, but is considerably richer with chromatic movements, reflecting its relative closeness to the Bulgarian branch of the Byzantine tradition.