The singing book Kondakar: the initial period of research

This article describes the early studies of the oldest Russian singing book Kondakar covering the period from 1840s to the beginning of the 20th century. It is based on the first scientific descriptions of manuscripts containing Kondakarian notation, presentations, historical and paleographic studies, articles, courses of lectures and monographs dedicated to this subject. A few now forgotten works are introduced for the first time. These are studies by the outstanding figures of the time: historians, philologists, archaeographists, palaeographers and famous Russian Orthodox churchmen. Author of this article traces the process of formation and development of scientific knowledge on the Kondakar for the first time; she analyzes achievements of her predecessors and states some hypotheses. Directions and approaches elaborated during the described period have prepared the further development in this field of science.