Musicology Annotation << Back Features of the texture in the hymns of Matins of Great Friday of Archimandrite Matthew (Mormyl) Tatyana A. Starostina The article is devoted to the peculiarities of the texture in the harmonizations of Archimandrite Matthew (Mormyl). This outstanding regent for decades led the choir of Holy Trinity St. Sergius Lavra. During this time, he shifted to the set of male choir chants. Among them were the chants, preserved in the ancient church repertoire as well – copyright works intended for performance in church. The paper examines in detail the eight ichos harmonizing tunes, which are used by Archimandrite Matthew in the so-called "service of the Twelve Gospels" (Matins of Great Friday). From the point of view of the author, chord tissue in the hymns of Matins is typically a multiple interweaving melodic voices that are involved in a variety of contrapuntal permutations that promotes constant timbre repainting choral sonority. The analysis shows that the texture of Mormyl’s harmonizations represents a unique example of creative interpretation of the Obikhod tradition by this great church musician, who is committed to the safety of the sound atmosphere of a simple church singing, but enriches its rich and subtle variability, which reinforces the emotional impact of a long and magnifi cent service of Matins of Great Friday. Keywords: Archimandrite Matthew, Matins, harmonization, authorized chant, Obikhod, tradition, texture. Contacts: E-mail: i.starostin@gmail.com Pp. 32-44.