This is an advanced composer’s note. It shows how syllabic chromatic melodies go beyond the usual Byzantine and Nenano modes and sometimes use a completely different mode, still related to Nenano.
As a general rule, specific syllabic melodies of Second Tone are chromatic. This usually depends on the type of the hymn: syllabic Stichera, Ascents, Canons (and thus the Katavasiae), the Magnificat, and certain Doxologies are chromatic and typically composed in the Byzantine mode with occasional modulations, either toward Nenano or Mixolydian.
Also as a rule, all syllabic melodies of Plagal Second Tone are diatonic, in Mixolydian to be specific. However, there are a few exceptions, such as the syllabic doxology by Manuel in the Plagal Second Tone, which is chromatic. But is it in the expected D Byzantine Mode or is there something else going on here?
Strictly speaking, if we want to maintain theoretical accuracy, this was intended to be the Byzantine mode with frequent diatonic modulations (also noted in the neumes). Yet these modulations, although hinting at Mixolydian, are so frequent that they actually define a Nenano-derived mode. This specific Doxology uses the pitch material of G Nenano, but is centered on D.
If a composer tries to arrange this based on the traditionalist rulebook (modulators and all), the harmony will lack something significant.
The Interval Grid
Let’s extract the actual intervals used in the practical execution of Manuel’s Plagal 2nd Syllabic Doxology, rooted on D:
- D to E♭: Half step
- E♭ to F♯: Trisemitone (Augmented 2nd)
- F♯ to G: Half step
- G to A: Whole step
- A to B♭: Half step (Rarely, the ascending B is natural making it a whole step; this is an exception to the governing grid and actually a modulation to G Mixolydian).
- B♭ to C: Whole step
- C to D: Whole step
The sequence is: Half – Trisemitone – Half – Whole – Half – Whole – Whole.
This is definitely not the Byzantine Mode. The upper C natural makes this clear. This is a mode of the Nenano scale.
D Phrygian Dominant
Does Nenano have modes? Yes it does – every asymmetrical scale has modes. Any rotation of the scale creates a mode. In fact, Nenano is very popular: It is taught in every music theory course because it is the Harmonic Minor scale. Since we have identified the scale as a permutation of G Nenano, the exact mode is now clear.
The modes of the G Harmonic Minor scale are:
- G Nenano itself (G Aeolian ♮7 or G Harmonic Minor)
- A Locrian ♮6
- B♭ Ionian ♯5 (B♭ Augmented Major)
- C Shepherd (as taught in Mastering Byzantine Polyphony, also called C Romanian Minor or C Ukrainian Dorian)
- D Phrygian Dominant
- E♭ Lydian ♯2
- F♯ Ultralocrian
And there you have it: It is the D Phrygian Dominant Mode: {D, E♭, F♯, G, A, B♭, C, D}
In Western music theory, Phrygian Dominant is the 5th mode of the Harmonic Minor scale. Hence, Manuel’s Doxology is actually written in D Phrygian Dominant. This classification makes everything easier: It preserves the Nenano connection, eliminates the need for manual modulation tracking, and determines how this melody should be harmonized.
How to Harmonize D Phrygian Dominant
Consider the following:
- The Phrygian Dominant mode does not have a leading tone.
- The melody is not a Western import.
- The melody does not establish the fifth degree (A) as a functional dominant pulling back to D.
The harmony here is modal. This Doxology should not be harmonized as ordinary Plagal Second Mixolydian, nor as generic D Byzantine Mode, nor as G Nenano tonal harmony. Its practical pitch field is D Phrygian Dominant, the dominant face of Nenano. The composer should therefore preserve D as the modal center while allowing the characteristic Nenano tensions, especially E♭-D and F♯-G to shape the harmony.