ARTES. JOURNAL of MUSICOLOGY Vol

Home , Adrian Enescu, Akathist, Alexander I of Moldavia, Aposticha, Banat of Temeswar, Grigore II Ghica

“GEORGE ENESCU” NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF ARTS IAŞI FACULTY OF PERFORMANCE, COMPOSITION AND MUSIC THEORY STUDIES

RESEARCH CENTER “THE SCIENCE OF MUSIC”

DOCTORAL SCHOOL – MUSIC FIELD

ARTES. JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY vol. 23-24

ARTES 2021

RESEARCH CENTER “THE SCIENCE OF MUSIC”

ARTES. JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY  Editor-in-chief – Prof. PhD Laura Vasiliu, “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași, Romania  Senior editor – Prof. PhD Liliana Gherman, “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași, Romania

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE  Prof. PhD Gheorghe Duțică, “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași, Romania  Prof. PhD Maria Alexandru, “Aristotle” University of Thessaloniki, Greece  Prof. PhD Valentina Sandu-Dediu, National University of Music Bucharest, Romania  Prof. PhD Pavel Pușcaș, “Gheorghe Dima” National Music Academy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania  Prof. PhD Mirjana Veselinović-Hofman, University of Arts in Belgrade, Serbia  Prof. PhD Victoria Melnic, Academy of Music, Theatre and Fine Arts, Chișinău, Republic of Moldova  Prof. PhD Violeta Dinescu, “Carl von Ossietzky” Universität Oldenburg, Germany  Prof. PhD Nikos Maliaras, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece  Lect. PhD Emmanouil Giannopoulos, “Aristotle” University of Thessaloniki, Greece

EDITORS  Assoc. Prof. PhD Irina Zamfira Dănilă, “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași, Romania  Assoc. Prof. PhD Diana-Beatrice Andron, “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași, Romania  Lect. PhD Rosina Caterina Filimon, “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași, Romania  Assoc. Prof. PhD Gabriela Vlahopol, “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași, Romania  Assist. Prof. PhD Mihaela-Georgiana Balan, “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași, Romania

ISSN 2344-3871 ISSN-L 2344-3871

Translators: PhD Emanuel Vasiliu Assist. Prof. Maria Cristina Misievici

DTP Ing. Victor Dănilă PhD Carmen Antochi www.artes-Iași.ro

The rights on the present issue belong to Editura Artes. Any partial or whole reproduction of the text or the examples will be punished according to the legislation in force.

Editorial

The current volume Artes. Journal of musicology (joining issues 23-24) continues and develops the established themes of study, profiled onto historical research, musical analyis, intepretation – psychology – pedagogy in various connexions and along specialised investigations in the area of Byzantinology. Most of the titles were presented in the Conference with international participation “Art and Research – contemporary challenges”, organised by the doctoral school on 6-7 November 2020 – a scientific event which produced a lively dialogue between maestros and disciples, established musicologists and young researchers. Reflecting the emulation of the conference, the volume associates fundamental research signed by seniors of musicology – Gheorghe Duțică, Carmen Chelaru, Elena Chircev, Alex Vasiliu, Laura-Otilia Vasiliu – with rigorous scientific studies elaborated by specialists from the younger generations – Leonard Dumitriu, Zamfira Dănilă, Adrian Sîrbu, Mihaela Balan, Consuela Radu-Țaga & Dumitriana Condurache, Rosina Filimon a.o. – and with debut works, written by Ph.D. candidates of the “George Enescu” National University of Arts, of the “Transylvania” University from Brașov, of the “Gheorghe Dima” National Academy of Music from Cluj-Napoca and of the “Al. I. Cuza” University from Iași. The readers of the journal can benefit from the thematic plurality, from the ideas offered by rich bibliographic references, from learned or professional musical analyses, from stimulating cultural connexions for the current musicological thinking, from widely interesting pieces of research. Out of these, we recommend the interdisciplinary study History – Culture – Music in the Romanian Eighteenth Century, a thorough reconstruction of the Phanariote century, joined by the comparative analysis of the Romanian and European reality, Ion Baciu – a musician who needs to be rediscovered – a documented piece of research of the peak artistic achievements and of the conducting style, upon celebrating 90 years from his birth, Voices of Edification. Oratorio „Calls for Salvation (Pilgrims to Saint Parascheva)” by Viorel Munteanu – a

iii hermeneutic and compositional analysis of a unique work in contemporary music, Tradition and Characteristics in the Approach to Psaltic Music Theory in Romania – the 20th Century – the investigation of the configuration and evolution of the local Byzantine musicology, „Noi istorii ale muzicilor românești” [New histories of Romanian types of music] – The most important editorial publication in the Romanian musicology of recent years – an extensive analytical review of fundamental volumes for the revelation of national sound art. The recommendations could continue, but I shall allow readers to discover the articles that interest them, which inspire their reflection and writing, which stimulate their own research.

Laura-Otilia Vasiliu, Professor PhD Editor-in-chief

Content

STUDIES

A. Music history. New directions in the interpretation of the artistic past

History – Culture – Music in the Romanian Eighteenth Century CARMEN CHELARU “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași, Romania ...... 1

Ancestrality – a fundamental concept in the creation of the composer Tudor Chiriac ALIONA PACIURCA “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași, Romania ...... 41

Aspects of Translating Musical Instruments in Foreign Travellers Through the Romanian Principalities, I-X Series of Volumes EDUARD RUSU “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iași, Romania ...... 51

Ion Baciu – a musician who needs to be rediscovered ALEX VASILIU “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași, Romania ...... 67

B. Analytical views of modern and contemporary musical works

Voices of Edification. Oratorio Calls for Salvation (Pilgrims to Saint Parascheva) by Viorel Munteanu GHEORGHE DUȚICĂ “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași, Romania ...... 97

Syntaxes and metro-rhythmic categories in Viorel Munteanu’s Concerto for flute and string orchestra LEONARD DUMITRIU “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași, Romania ...... 133

Polystylism in the context of Postmodern Music. Alfred Schnittke’s Concerti Grossi MIHAELA-GEORGIANA BALAN “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași, Romania ...... 148

Discovering music cryptograms in the works of Viorel Munteanu through computer aided methods MIHAELA RUSU, CIPRIAN COSTIN “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași, Romania ...... 165

C. Current musical performance

Childhood as a musical theme – affectivity and instrumental expressiveness in the works of Schumann, Debussy and Enescu CRISTINA-NICOLETA ȘOITU “Gheorghe Dima” National Music Academy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania ...... 174

German Musical Baroque, a mini European Union avant la lettre. The bassoon concerto LAURENȚIU DARIE “Transilvania” University, Brașov, Romania ...... 187

Verdian lyric theatre. Hermeneutics of the performance and contemporary challenges EDITH GEORGIANA ADETU “Transilvania” University, Brașov, Romania ...... 196

A Subjective Approach of the Performance of Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16 CRISTINA RĂDUCANU “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași, Romania ...... 207

D. From the psychology of the reception to the pedagogy of music

Aspects related to the interconnection between music and the human brain. Scientific discoveries and contemporary challenges ROSINA CATERINA FILIMON “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași, Romania ...... 224

Voices in Space or the Contemporary Realism in the Pedagogy of the Future Opera Singer CONSUELA RADU-ȚAGA, DUMITRIANA CONDURACHE “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași, Romania ...... 242

Interdisciplinary aspects in organizing the Music Education lessons ALEXANDRA-IOANA HOMONE “Gheorghe Dima” National Music Academy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania ...... 252 vi

Emotional and spiritual intelligence – aesthetical and semantic implications PETRUȚA-MARIA COROIU “Transilvania” University, Brașov, Romania ...... 262

E. Sacred music

Tradition and Characteristics in the Approach to Psaltic Music Theory in Romania – the 20th Century ELENA CHIRCEV “Gheorghe Dima” National Music Academy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania ...... 269

Romanian-Greek manuscript inventory number 27 – Anthology – An Account of the activity of the copyist Chiril Monahul from Bisericani Monastery (Neamt County) IRINA ZAMFIRA DĂNILĂ “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași, Romania ...... 300

“Style” or “yphos” in Psaltic Art? ADRIAN SÎRBU “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași, Romania ...... 321

BOOK REVIEWS

Noi istorii ale muzicii românești [New histories of Romanian types of music] – the most important editorial publication in the Romanian musicology of recent years LAURA OTILIA VASILIU “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași, Romania ...... 329

Impressions after reading a fascinating book: Bayreuth – Oraș al Festivalurilor. Prezențe românești [Bayreuth – City of Festivals. Romanian presences] LOREDANA IAȚEȘEN “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași, Romania ...... 344

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STUDIES

A. Music history. New directions in the interpretation of the artistic past

DOI: 10.2478/ajm-2021-0001

Studies

History – Culture – Music in the Romanian Eighteenth Century

CARMEN CHELARU, Professor, PhD “George Enescu” National University of Arts Iași ROMANIA∗

Abstract: Recently, I made a few forays in the history of the society, culture and music of the people in the Carpathian-Danubian space, without the intention and claim of unlocking doors thrown widely open before me by established researchers such as Lucian Boia, Theodor T. Burada, Gheorghe Ciobanu, Octavian Lazăr Cosma, Neagu Djuvara, Costin Moisil and many others. I did it especially in order to try to tear myself away from the old spread-eagle patterns, from prejudice. Thus, I ascertained that, in the flow of time, of events, of facts, the European eighteenth century constitutes a page about which I do not know enough yet; I felt at the same time that it represents a stage that can bring (to me) additional understanding of the following two hundred years (the 19th and 20th centuries). Therefore, I let myself be overcome by curiosity, beginning by undertaking a reconnaissance survey “over” the 18th century of European history. I continued by approaching the European socio-political and cultural configuration and dynamics of the same period. Finally, I tried to understand – keeping, at the same time, a comprehensive perspective – the Romanian socio- cultural and musical phenomenon of the 18th century, with the intention of integrating it with the logic of historical progress and with that of territorial connections.

Keywords: the 18th century, Romanians, music, West, East.

1. Historical panorama of the eighteenth century in Europe In recent years I made a few forays in the history of the society, culture and music of the people in the Carpathian-Danubian space, without the intention and pretence of unlocking doors thrown widely open before me by established researchers such as (in alphabetical order!) Lucian Boia, Theodor T. Burada, Gheorghe Ciobanu, Octavian Lazăr Cosma, Neagu Djuvara, Costin Moisil and many others (Chelaru, 2016; Chelaru, Cui i-e frică, 2020). I did it in order to understand our history differently, better, to try to tear myself away from the old spread-eagle patterns, from prejudice. I “visited” the old age, I ran through the first millennium, with its blank rather than known areas, then the first centuries of the principalities on both sides of the Carpathians, until the dawn the of the 18th century. Then I made a leap over a hundred years and rediscovered the 19th (Chelaru, 2017) and the 20th centuries (Chelaru, Romania in The Last Hundred Years, 2019). Thus, I ascertained that, in the flow of time, of

∗ [email protected], sites.google.com/view/carmen-chelaru 1 Artes. Journal of Musicology events, of facts, the European eighteenth century constitutes a page about which I do not know enough yet; I felt at the same time that it represents a stage that can bring (surely to me) additional understanding of the following two hundred years (the 19th and 20th centuries). Therefore, I let myself be enthralled by curiosity, beginning by undertaking a reconnaissance flight “over” the 18th century of European history.

1.1. General framework What is the background colouring of the European eighteenth century? Historians, especially the Western ones, called it the century of Enlightenment. The name is, of course, acceptable, but not sufficient. It is merely a cultural- philosophical side of that which meant an age ripe with contradictions, with fusing of tensions and conflicts, that would become acute and would explode in the following two hundred years. It is the century in which Europe, with its anxieties, cannot be detached from the other continents anymore, with which it is tied ever more tightly, through multiple and diverse crosspollinations. As I was saying, I started from above, from general trajectories, gradually descending ever closer to areas, regions and communities in order to understand phenomena, events, evolutions, fact…

1.2. Chronology 1669. The Treaty of Karlowitz (Vojvodina, Serbia) between the Holy League (the Habsburg Empire, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Venetian Republic, Russia) and the Ottomans (defeated); at the end of the Austrian-Ottoman war (1682-1699): Transylvania becomes an autonomous principality, vassal to the Habsburgs. The moment of the foundation of the Greek-Catholic Church in Transylvania. 1711-1715. The Phanariotes1 begin to govern in the Romanian principalities Wallachia and Moldavia. 1718. The Treaty of Passarowitz (northern Serbia), as a consequence of the Austro-Venetian-Ottoman war (1714-1718): the Ottoman Empire lost the Banat of Temeswar, the north of Serbia (including Belgrade), the north of Bosnia and Oltenia in favour of the House of Habsburg. 1736-1739. The Russo-Austrian war against the Ottoman Empire, closed with the victory of the Turks and the treaties of Belgrade and Niš (1739).

1 Phanariots, Phanariotes, Fanariots (Greek: Φαναριώτες), were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar (Φανάρι, modern Fener), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumenical Patriarchate is located, who traditionally occupied four important positions in the Ottoman Empire: Voivode of Moldavia, Voivode of Wallachia, Grand Dragoman, and Grand Dragoman of the Fleet. Despite their cosmopolitanism and often-Western education, the Phanariotes were aware of their Hellenism. (t.ly/6TC7, accessed on 29 December 2020) 2 Studies

1770. The revolt from Peloponnese: a fight of the Greeks from the Peloponnese peninsula against the Ottoman Empire. The rebellion was prepared and actively supported by the Russian Empire. The outbreak of the revolt was coordinated with the maritime expedition led by prince Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov, the commander of the Russian imperial fleet. 1774. The Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji (a village in the Silistra region, southern Dobruja, north-eastern Bulgaria) after the defeat of the Ottomans by the Russian Empire (1768-1774): Russia interpreted the treaty as granting it the right to protect the Orthodox Christians in the Empire and especially used this prerogative in the Danube Principalities (Moldavia and Wallachia). Austria receives Bukovina. 1787-1982. The Austro-Russo-Ottoman war, ended with the victory of the Russians and the treaty of Iași. 1804, 1815. Revolts of the Serbs against Ottomans. 1821. The independence war of the Greeks starts. Tudor Vladimirescu’s revolt in Wallachia (Mazower, 2019, pp. 9-10)

2. The European socio-political spectacle in the eighteenth century. Main roles in the unravelling historical events Reviewing the events and distinctive characters who marked the history of the eighteenth century, a dynamic spectacle is gradually outlined, with tragic moments, with achievements, with winners and losers, with important characters and extras. “[…] Europe – and at the beginning some of its very small regions – was the one which differed fundamentally from the rest of the world. In other parts of the world there were no crises to trigger change; this was produced when the Europeans – pushed by innovation, greed, religious zeal or the shortcomings from home [our italics] – began conquering the world.” (Roberts, 2018, p. 583) This assertion by historian John Morris Roberts 2 compresses down to its essence and explains the progress of the West for over three hundred years, from the first forays looking for new territories and sea passages (the end of the 15th century) up to the beginning of the Romantic century (the 19th cent.). Regarding it “from left to right” (from the West to the East), Europe of the 18th century is presented thus: the West, with consolidated royal states, great colonial powers; the centre – crumbled from north to south, but having economic centres of great influence on the continent and vast colonial territories (e.g. Holland, the Papal State) and the East – dominated by four powers: Austro-Hungary, the Polish-Lithuanian-Saxon coalition, Russia (of

2 John Morris Roberts, 1928-2003, was a leading British historian, professor at the Oxford and Southamption universities and Governor of the famous BBC company. (is.gd/WlU1Cn, accessed on 6 July 2020) 3 Artes. Journal of Musicology

Peter I, later the Russian Empire) and the Ottoman Empire. This Central- Eastern configuration would suffer a change halfway through the 18th century by the elimination of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the ascent of Prussia. Therefore, the European 18th century features, in essence, a few socio- political, economic and cultural phenomena which would define subsequent history: in the West consolidations, with the first steps towards what would become globalisation in the following two hundred years, through: England, France, Spain, Portugal – the owners of vast and rich colonies in the New World (the two Americas, Oceania, Australia, Africa) and in the already known continent, Asia. In the Centre, the ascent of states or coalitions of states, which would generate: the second Reich (the Holy Roman Empire)3 and the Habsburg (Austro-Hungarian) Empire. In the East – decay (the Ottoman Empire) but also a spectacular ascent of the Russian Empire, beginning with Peter the Great and continuing with empress Catherine II.

Fig. 1 Europe in 1700: the West vs. the Central-Eastern area

3 whose existence ends in the early 19th century, as it is defeated by Napoleon Bonaparte. 4 Studies

All of these converge towards the end of the century in what historian Brendan Simms 4 calls the geopolitics of the three revolutions: “At the end of the 18th century, geopolitics was dominated by three revolutions. Both the American Revolution [the War of Independence of the thirteen North- American states from 1775 to 1883, o.ad.] and the French Revolution [1789- 1799] began as revolts against the great strategy of the [feudal, o. ad.] ancient regime, whether it was about London’s territorial restriction in the West [through the loss of the North-American colonies, o.ad.] or the diplomatic retreat of the Bourbon monarchy in Central Europe. The new states initiated new forms of internal organisation in order to maximise their advantage in the international system: the American Constitution and Revolutionary and Napoleonic France [o.b.]. […] This is how the third revolution was born, a geopolitical transformation in which the revolutionary regime and Napoleon destroyed the balance in the Holy Roman Empire and finally in the Empire itself, thus upsetting the balance of power.” (Simms, 2015, p. 144)

Fig. 2 The territorial division of the North-American continent in 1775. On the eastern coast, at the Atlantic Ocean, there are the thirteen British colonies that won their independence in 1776, constituting the nucleus of the Unites States.5

4 Brendan Simms (b. 1967 in Dublin, Ireland) is a professor of The History of International Relations at the Department for Political and International Studies at Cambridge University. (t.ly/OZwp accessed on 30 December 2020) 5 Artes. Journal of Musicology

For the West, the 18th century represented what was called enlightened absolutism: the state dominated by the monarch, feudal vassalage and the power of the church on the one hand (the absolutism) and the stage of coagulating ideas and reforming intentions on the other hand (Enlightenment). All through the 18th century, in the fertile “bed” of the Western enlightened culture and philosophy there germinates the national spirit, which, in the following century, would rise and produce on the entire European continent and farther away the fruits of conscience regarding ethnic belonging.

2.1. The West The British Empire Was a parliamentary monarchy after the English had executed their king at the middle of the 17th century (Charles I Stuart, in 1649) and had “experimented” with the republic6 for a short while. The external history of the British is no less agitated. At the beginning of the century, the kingdom adopts the official name of Great Britain, including England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, the Electorate of Hanover7 and important colonies on four continents. Among these, the thirteen colonies on the eastern coast of North America declared their independence in 1776 and constituted the nucleus of the American United States, see fig. 2 (t.ly/PrgO, accessed on 1 July 2020). The British colonies included in the 18 th century territories from Canada, from India, the gradual colonisation of Australia, a part of the Caribbean Islands, the south of Africa. Among the four monarchs of Great Britain who reigned in the 18th century, the first, Queen Anne (reign 1707-17014) belonged to the House of Stuart, while the following three – George I (1714-1727), George II (1727- 1760) and George III (1760-1820) to the Hanover dynasty.

5 This map was obtained from an edition of the National Atlas of the United States. Like almost all works of the U.S. federal government, works from the National Atlas are in the public domain in the United States. (t.ly/7Ayl, accessed on 1 July 2020) 6 Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658, originating in the middle class) defeated the royal army (in 1649), created the Commonwealth, leading England, Scotland and Ireland as Lord Protector. In 1660 royalty was reinstalled in England, sharing power with the Parliament. The execution of a crowned head in the public square was a premiere in European history, which would be repeated by the French 150 years later (in 1789); with the French, the republic lasted a while longer and returned, being definitely set up in 1870. Finally, the last bloody overthrow of a European monarchy through a civil war took place after a further 130 years in tsarist Russia through the Bolshevik revolution (1917), the execution of the tsar and of his family (this time under great secrecy!) with the known dramatic consequences and the setting-up of Communism. 7 a province situated on the continent, in north-western Germany, which from 1707 until the beginning of the 19th century was part (with short interruptions) of the British Commonwealth. 6 Studies

The Spanish Empire and the Kingdom of Portugal At the beginning of the century, the French kings from the Bourbon dynasty took over the leadership of the Spanish Empire, starting with Philippe d’Anjou, Louis XIV’s nephew, who became king Felipe V. The European territories of Spain are gradually reduced compared to what they had been in previous centuries, but the colonial ones are still vast and constitute a source of considerable opulence: Central and South America, the Caribbean Islands. The Spanish Empire keeps within the sphere of absolutist monarchy and of the considerable influence of the Roman-Catholic Church. (t.ly/7w3u, accessed on 1 July 2020) To these there must be added the colonial power of the small kingdom of Portugal. At the beginning of the 18th century there takes place on the territory of today’s Brazil a veritable exodus of gold and diamond searchers, rapidly stimulating the mining industry and all adjacent economic branches. Researchers note that in this period approximatively 80% of European gold came from Brazil. In Portugal, the royal family received one fifth of the Brazilian gold. The rush after the precious South-American metal amplified the emigration to the new continent, the population of the Iberic kingdom registering thus a significant decrease. (t.ly/9yhm, accessed on 11 June 2020)

Italy and the Papal State Until 1700, Italy had a population of approximatively 13 million inhabitants. (Black, 2001, p. 21) It had 45 larger cities, marking small quasi- autonomous regions, with own leaderships, administrations and even languages/dialects, Latin being spoken only by the rich and educated people. The 18th century registered new innovations as the country gradually began to pass from feudalism to risorgimento (it. rebirth). (Black, 2001, p. 13). Nevertheless, numerous travellers of the time related the degree of poverty and backwardness, especially in the towns south of Rome and Venice. Wars and epidemics profoundly marked especially the life of the urban population. Milan, Verona, Bologna, Livorno, Porto Ferraro were well-known as smallpox centres, with a high mortality rate, especially among children. The Italians from the 18th century also suffered from typhus, syphilis, tuberculosis, malaria, cholera and dysentery as a result of the general lack of hygiene. Drought and famine were also causes of high mortality, especially in the Kingdom of Naples, in Toscana and in Rome, from 1709 to 1710 and from 1764 to 1767. (Black, 2001, pp. 28-29) In the 18th century the Papal State contained most of central Italy: Latium, Umbria, Marche, Ravenna, Ferrara and Bologna, stretching towards the north in Romagna; it also included the small enclaves of Benevento and Pontecorvo in the south and the Venaissin county around Avignon, in the south of France. Despite the limited administrative territory and the notable

7 Artes. Journal of Musicology consequences provoked by the “earthquake” of the Lutheranism (the 16th century), the power of the Roman-Catholic Church was still considerable, also extending its influence on the Hispano-Portuguese and French colonies in the New World.

France An absolutist monarchy like Spain, it was also led in the 18 th century by the Bourbon dynasty – the kings Louis XIV (until 1715), Louis XV (until 1774) and the unhappy Louis XVI (until 1793, when he was beheaded); also a colonial power, especially rivalling England, with territories in North America, in the Caribbean, in the Asian Far East, in North Africa. France was at the same time a European cultural “arbitrator”, even if throughout the 18th century the French language and culture competed with the German and English ones.

The Low Countries In the 18th century, the Dutch sea commerce and transportation managed to maintain the level reached at the end of the preceding century, but finally gave in in front of the French and English competition. Holland, however, retained its rich accumulated capital. The bankers in Amsterdam were among the most important in Europe, rivalling those in London and Geneva. In Holland, the quality of life was among the highest in Europe. (t.ly/5vv8, accessed on 15 June 2020)

The Holy Roman Empire Like Italy, Germany was represented in the 18th century by a multitude of small kingdoms and principalities, forming a union dominated by Prussia and Austria, with the dream of recreating the Roman-German empire. The rivalry between the two ascending states deepened halfway through the 18th century, ending 100 years later, in 1866, when Prussia forced Austria to leave the German confederation. At the beginning of the 18th century, king Frederick I extends the influence of Prussia over the other German states and his heir, Frederick II named “the Great” continues territorial enlargement and the establishment of economic and social reforms; among the latter, the creation of the so-called enlightened absolutism (Germ. aufgeklärter Absolutismus): the king represented “the first servant of the state”; economic reforms, the abolition of torture, the improvement of the situation of Jews, the peasants’ emancipation, the encouragement of education were applied – all these contributing to an increase of the inhabitants’ prosperity. (t.ly/hsMu, accessed on 10 June 2020)

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2.2. Central and Eastern Europe The Habsburg Empire The Habsburg dynasty (with beginnings in the 11th century) led Central Europe in the 18th century. 8 In this period, the empire included: Austria, Slovenia, territories from Italy (Naples, Parma, Venice, Milan, Mantua) and Sicily + Sardinia, the south-west of Germany, Bohemia, Hungary, Croatia, Belgium, Luxemburg, Galicia (a territory found today in Poland and the Ukraine), Serbia and Transylvania, the Banat of Temeswar, Oltenia, Bukovina.

Poland A state with an interesting and important history in the 18th century was Poland, more precisely the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, constituted in 1569. Although relatively powerful and unitary, with a democratic leadership for those times, in which the power was held by the szlachta of the nobles in the Sejm and not by the king, the Polish-Lithuanian kingdom did not resist the wishes of territorial expansion manifested by Russia, Sweden and the Ottoman Empire. During the 18th century it enters under the influence and guardianship of Russia and in 1772 there takes place the first partition of the Polish- Lithuanian Union between Austria, Russia and Prussia.

The Russian Empire The most spectacular and complex ascent in the period that I am referring to here knew Russia, which had become, through the substantial contribution of tsar Peter I, the Russian Empire.9 Peter’s intelligence, energy and dynamism, visionary and reforming spirit would not, however, have been enough for Russia to change from a kingdom/tsardom into an Euro-Asian empire without one of the most imposing sovereign figures of the time, empress Catherine the Great, with a reign of 34 years (1762-1796).10 She continued and deepened her predecessor, tsar Peter I’s reforms, fighting the obscurantism, primitivism, ignorance which dominated the life of most of the inhabitants of the empire.

8 The Austrian line ended (on the male side) in 1740, once emperor Charles VI died (reign 1711- 1740). He was succeeded by the descendants of his elder daughter, Maria Theresa (who reigned from 1745 to 1780), married to Francis III, Duke of Lorraine. As a consequence, the succeeding house was formally conceived as the dynasty of Habsburg-Lorraine (germ. Habsburg- Lothringen). (Roberts, 2018, pp. 503-507) 9 Peter I from the Romanov dynasty reigned from 1682 to 1725. 10 The empress came from a German family, bearing the name of Sophie Augusta Fredericka of Anhalt-Zerbst. With a view to marrying the heir to the Russian throne, Grand Duke Peter, Sophie dedicates herself to learning the Russian language and to adopt the Orthodox religion, to which she converts in 1744, receiving the name of Catherine. 9 Artes. Journal of Musicology

The Ottoman Empire The main rival of Europe in the 18th century remains, however, the Ottoman Empire. In the 16th century the empire had reached the apex of power and territorial stretch, during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent (1520- 1566). It had become a multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic, multi-religious colossus, with territories in SE Europe, W Asia, the Caucasus, N Africa. At the beginning of the 17th century, the empire included 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. With the capital in Constantinople and controlling the entire Mediterranean basin, the Ottoman Empire was a political, economic and social force in the East-West relation for nearly six centuries (14th – 19th). The 18th century finds the Ottomans still powerful, with ambitions of territorial expansion into the European West. Only towards the end of the century and during the first decades of the following one (19th) do they begin to suffer defeats, to lose territories and influence, as the decadence, corruption and intrigues at the sultan’s court overpass in scope the military capacities, the discipline and the cohesion of internal organisation. (t.ly/jh5g, accessed on 2 July 2020) The first half of the 18th century also registered the most thriving cultural era in the history of the Ottoman Empire, known as the Tulip Era, 1718-1730, especially during the time of sultan Ahmed III (reign 1703-1730)11. Constantinople was one of the most cosmopolitan and populated urban centres of Europe, where different religions, cultures and ethnicities met.

2.3. Addenda Before lowering the historical gaze onto the Carpathian-Danubian principalities, I thought it necessary to make some observations regarding two ethnic groups, as present in history, as oppressed: the Jews and the Gypsies (or Roma 12). Both of these ethnic groups marked without a doubt the history and culture of humanity – especially in Europe.

11 “The name of the period derives from the tulip craze among the Ottoman court society. Cultivating this culturally ambiguous emblem had become a celebrated practice.” (Salzmann, 2000, p. 84) 12 Until recently, the term Gypsy (without a pejorative sense) seemed to me the only representative one historically and linguistically. Recently, I had the occasion to know the opinion of a respected representative of this ethnicity, sociologist Gelu Duminică, an opinion which seemed convincing to me: “The truth is that we have been calling each other «Roma». For a long time, even for a very long time. We do it not because that is what Iliescu, Roman or Soros told us, and not because we did not know how to stir some linguistic confusion. We do it because that is what we have been calling ourselves since we have existed and because that is our name. We say that the term «Gypsy» has been a mocking nickname (etymologically the term named a group of heretics and, in the current Romanian space, it equalled the state of slavery) for nearly 100 years. In 1919, the leaders of the Transylvanian Roma sent a letter to the leaders of Greater Romania (the Meeting of Ibașfalău) through which they asked «[…] to have the mocking name of 10 Studies

The Jews At the middle of the first millennium (4th – 7th centuries AD), the province Palestine in the Byzantine Empire (situated in the Middle East, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean) dismembers, loses its autonomy, Jerusalem is conquered and destroyed, there take place revolts, slaughters, anarchy installs, the territory enters Arabic-Islamic control. The Mosaic-rite population, which had not fallen prey to massacres, begins its long wandering through history, through Europe, Asia and northern Africa, almost miraculously resisting persecution, through unsuspected regenerative energy, through cohesion, the keeping of traditions concomitantly with the power to adapt and the profound respect for education, until modern times, when they had the energy to set up their own state again (in 1948). In the history of the Jews, the 18th century is named the Enlightened Century or Haskalah. “At the beginning of the eighteenth century most European Jews lived in restricted settlements and urban ghettos, isolated from the surrounding dominant Christian cultures not only by law but also by language, custom and dress. By the end of the century urban, upwardly mobile Jews had shaved their beards and abandoned Yiddish in favour of the languages of the countries in which they lived. They began to participate in secular culture, and they embraced rationalism and non-Jewish education as supplements to traditional Talmudic studies. The full participation of Jews in modern Europe and America would be unthinkable without the intellectual and social revolution that was the Haskalah, or Jewish Enlightenment.” (Feiner, 2004) However much anti-Semites have tried across history (they have not given up nowadays, either!) to diminish the value of some emblematic Jewish representatives and of the entire ethnicity they came from – to suppress them or, worse, to demonise them -, history bears witness to their value and integration first in the edifice of European culture (until the 19th century), then in that of the whole humanity. An anecdote relates about an old Jew found on his death bed with all his relatives around him. Before giving his last breath, the old man drives everyone away from the room and remains only with his nephew, saying that he wants to share the secret of his fortune with him. Everyone conforms, the child approaches and the old man whispers in his ear: “my nephew, remember that the Jew’s dearest fortune, that no one can take away from you, is learning.” – is, I consider, one of the explanations of the century-old vitality of this ethnicity.

Gypsy changed […]». Only 20 years later […] the dictionaries of the Romanian language would also feature the «correct» name, assumed by the members of the community.” (Duminică, 2019) 11 Artes. Journal of Musicology

In the 18th century, most of the Jews of European origin came from two cult rites: • The Sephardic Jews, settled in the Iberian Peninsula during the Roman domination and influenced in the 700 years of Arabic rule by the Mauro-Spanish culture. As a consequence of the pressures of the Spanish Inquisition, founded in 1478 by the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella (abolished in 1834), the Jews’ exile from Spain was decreed in 1492. They took refuge in Northern Africa, in the Ottoman Empire (including Greece, Bulgaria and Wallachia), Italy, Holland (from where they also passed to the British Islands) and in South and North America. • The Ashkenazi Jews, speakers of the Yiddish language 13, emigrated from the Roman Empire, at the beginning of the first millennium, in central and Western Europe. Later, during the Middle Ages, because of persecution, the Ashkenazi also migrated towards Eastern Europe, settling on territories which would be part of the Polish-Lithuanian state Union (which included parts of the Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Russia and Poland). (Ashkenazi Jews, 2013)

In the 18th century, in the principalities Moldavia, Wallachia and Transylvania there lived small Jewish communities (both Ashkenazi and Sephardic)14, who, despite anti-Semite prejudice, had integrated with the local communities, with their own culture, religion, traditions and occupations, but also with relentless power of adaptation. “On the plane of current life, the Jews were considered redoubtable competitors as merchants or usurers, bankers and were always perceived as agents of foreign powers (Ottoman, etc.). In the history of the Romanian principalities there were princes or regimes that granted them a privileged status in commercial or other types of activities (Alexander I of Moldavia, Ștefan Tomșa, Constantin Brâncoveanu a. o.) but there were also situations when they were persecuted or extorted (Peter the Lame, Eustratie Dabija, Petru Rareș, etc.). In Transylvania, the Jews are also present around the same period, proving their usefulness as merchants or creditors, but also as doctors at the court of princes such as Stefan Bocskay, Gabriel Bethlen or Gh. Rakoczi. In 1623, Gabriel Bethlen granted to them a privilege act through which a favourable status is regulated. They had freedom of settlement and movement in the principality, the unrestricted practice of

13 the Yiddish language = a dialect of the Ashkenazi Jews, with a German lexical fund and Hebrew-Aramaic, Romanic, Slav component. (Matras) 14 “The first Jewish community formed out of emigrants from Turkey probably settled in Iași around the middle of the 17th century.” (Hitchins, 2013, p. 93) 12 Studies

commerce, the free exercise of their cult, the absence of discrimination. Although amended by subsequent acts, these privileges consecrated a favourable status to the Jews in the principality of Transylvania.” (Nicoară, 2005, p. 29) Even though they were regarded as foreigners, the Jews were accepted in local communities also because of economic causes. “The Romanians, most of them tied to the land – peasants or boyars – and to traditional activities, did not much excel in economic and commercial occupations. Numerous foreigners – not only Jews but also Germans, Greeks and Armenians – occupied these sectors, impressing the Romanians with an inferiority complex.” (Boia, 2012, pp. 230-231) The Roma or the Gypsies Come, apparently, from northern India, and their exodus from the Middle East started around the 7th century (one does not know exactly the causes), then to Europe at the beginning of the second millennium, from 1000 to 1050 (Kenrick, 2007, p. XIX). Their presence on the Carpathian-Danubian territory is attested from the 14th century. Depending on the categories of masters, they were grouped in prince, monastery or boyar Gypsies. What state were the Roma in the 18 th century in? Mostly (it seems) slaves. Only in the middle of the 19th century would they be freed through explicit laws in Wallachia and Moldavia 15. “The Romanians’ impression about Gypsies is that they do not work but live out of petty thefts and begging. Actually, some of them are able craftsmen; they have a tradition in processing iron, wood and gold. No one contests at least one of their qualities: they are born musicians. The lăutari are by definition Gypsies, and Gypsy music is an important component of the artistic sensibility in this part of Europe.” (Boia, 2012, p. 239) This contribution – of the lăutari – situates the Gypsies/Roma among the ethnic groups whose presence is taken into consideration not only in the Romanian space, but in Central and Eastern Europe. Impressive there remains the living picture of Romanian society in the early 19th century, of uncontestable harshness, realised by Radu Jude – director and script-writer – and Florin Lăzărescu – writer in the film Aferim!, launched in 2015 and awarded the Silver Bear prize at the International Film Festival in Berlin. The musical illustration of this film was made by the traditional music band Trei Parale, with their own remakes and pieces composed by Anton Pann, thus deepening the authenticity that the film impresses spectators with.

15 In Transylvania, the enslavement of the Gypsies had been abolished in 1786 by the Austrian emperor Joseph II. 13 Artes. Journal of Musicology

Fig. 3 The Eighteenth Century in Western and Eastern Europe

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3. European culture in the 18th century, with special references to music In Table 1 and Fig. 3 there appear face to face the two parts of Europe, leaderships and conflicts, religious, cultural and musical events – all from the perspective of space (Western vs. Central-Eastern) and from that of time (the 18th century).

The East/ … and yet… The West The Romanian principalities the state of most of the population The Church loses The Greek-Catholic church in The European east = rural society power Transylvania supports ↔ Romanians’ access to education. The European west = urban society The Romanianisation of the *** Orthodox cult by the translation The western monasteries generated the first of liturgical texts universities M oldavian Prince Dimitrie ↔ Cantemir The eastern monasteries conserved the Constantin Brâncoveanu ruler Orthodox tradition Prince in Wallachia *** Enlightenment The Latinist School in Illiteracy – 16 Voltaire Transylvania gradually becomes an offence in the West In music: Baroque-Classical musical in the East – a normal state Pre-classicism influences in the Court music in *** and Transylvania Viennese Classicism Opera companies on tour in the Principalities

Table 1 The cultural 18th century: events, trends, personalities If the (cultural) history of Western Europe is more widely and minutely known, we cannot state the same about that from the (cultural) east of the same continent. Regarding the 17th and 18th centuries, for instance, many more of us have heard of the musical Baroque, with Bach, Händel and Vivaldi, of Louis XIV and the rococo style, of Don Quixote, Newton and Stradivarius. For Western music, the 18th century plays an essential role: it is the period of confluence of tradition with the innovative spirit. At the same time, too few of us know about Peter the Great, the Tulip

16 The Latinist School in Transylvania: “cultural movement founded at the end of 18th century, after part of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Habsburg-ruled Transylvania accepted the leadership of the pope and became the Greek-Catholic Church (c. 1700). The links with Rome brought to the Romanian Transylvanians the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment. […] Its members contemplated the origin of Romanians from a scientific point of view, bringing historical and philological arguments in favour of the thesis that the Transylvanian Romanians were the direct descendants of the Roman colonists brought in Dacia after its conquest in early 2nd century AD. The Transylvanian School had a notable impact in the Romanian culture of both Transylvania, but also of the Romanians living across the Carpathians, in Wallachia and Moldavia […].” (Wikipedia t.ly/5wMO accessed on 1 January 2021) 15 Artes. Journal of Musicology era, about the Moldavian chroniclers17 or the architectural style of prince Constantin Brâncoveanu18 time. From the mosaic of problems, contrasts, events which colours the European continent in the 18th century, a few defining aspects come off crosswise and along its territory from the perspective of the Romanian principalities.

3.1. The musical life in the Romanian Principalities in interaction with the regional and the European ones Again, in knowing the Carpathian-Danubian musical life before the 19th century we are faced with too few or even with the lack of information sources.19 At the same time, however much we would want – however much we would have been taught to want! – that our territory, people, language, culture be considered as an indivisible whole (from the Dacians to nowadays!), the present and the past tend to prove diversity. In the Transylvania of the 18th century, for instance, at the courts of the Hungarian counts, in the Saxon villages Renaissance and Baroque instrumental and vocal-instrumental music in Hungarian, Italian, French was being listened to; in the Catholic and Protestant churches missas, motets, chorals were being sung in the Latin, Hungarian and German languages. In the Romanian settlements there resounded traditional songs and dances, with local performers or nomadic Gypsy lăutari. The latter would sing, according to the audience’s wish, in Romanian or Hungarian, often mixing or inverting either the languages or the songs. Folklore thus fulfilled its dynamic function. In the Orthodox churches there resounded the monodic and vocal psalmodies, the liturgies and sermons in Greek, Romanian and Slavonic. “In 1698, the patriarch Dositei of Jerusalem orders Atanasie of Transylvania that: «the service of the church, that is the Octoechos, the Menaion and other books which are sung on Sundays and on holidays and the everyday service you should try your utmost for all of them to be read in the Slavonic or Greek language, not Romanian or in any other way», the Gospel should be read in Slavonic or Romanian and the sermon should be Slavonic for Serbians and Russians, Romanian for Romanians. We mention that the Greek and Slavonic

17 Moldavian and Wallachian chroniclers were boyars of c. 16-18 who wrote the historical account of events arranged in chronological order in the Romanian principalities; among them: Grigore Ureche (1590-1647), Miron Costin (1633-1691), Constantin Cantacuzino (1639-1716), Ion Neculce (1672-1745). (t.ly/bzj4 accessed on 17th January 2021) 18 Constantin Brâncoveanu was Prince-ruler in Wallachia between 1688-1714. He was a great patron of culture, his achievements being part of the Romanian and world cultural heritage. The so called “Brâncovenesc Style”, also known as Wallachian Renaissance, is an art and architectural style that evolved during the administration of Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. (t.ly/1lho accessed on 17th January 2021) 19 An observation also underlined by Costin Moisil in the study Construcția unei identități românești în muzica bisericească (Moisil, 2018, pp. 55-56). 16 Studies

languages, apart from being considered sacred, were kept as a means of opposition to the Calvinist and Catholic propaganda, a reason why these languages persisted in Transylvania more than in Wallachia and Moldavia.” (Barbu-Bucur, 1989, p. 53)

The same way, in Wallachia one could hear lăutari playing for Romanians, Serbs, Bulgarians, Turks; the Orthodox service in Greek, Romanian and Slavonic; the meterchane or Western music at the Princely Court a.s.o. In Moldavia things stood similarly, with the difference that instead of the Serbo-Bulgarian influences there appeared the Russian, Polish, Ukrainian ones.

3.2. Recent comments and interpretations regarding the Romanian psaltic music from the eighteenth century Because of the lack of relevant information, some controverses were born regarding the music practiced in Romanian churches until the 19th century. Byzantinologists’ research of recent years and especially the access to documents and external information sources, which were inaccessible until three decades ago, have led to reconsiderations or at least more nuanced outlooks on the history of psaltic music in the Romanian principalities. Keeping the synthesis position adopted in this text, I shall only underline one aspect regarding the liturgic musical phenomenon from the Romanian 18th century: Romanianisation20. This initiative was attributed to psalm singers from the 18 th cent., among whom Filothei sin Agăi Jipei and more to those from the early 19 th century, among whom Macarie Ieromonahul (Hieromonk Makarije), Anton Pann and Dimitrie Suceveanu. In studies published in recent years, researcher Costin Moisil approaches courageously and with his characteristic minuteness this theme, which I confess I had considered until not long ago definitely and wholly clarified. His comments, supported by reasonable arguments, as well as Iași Byzantinologist Adrian

20 Of authentic use was the conversation on 2 January 2021 with the young Byzantinologist Adrian Sîrbu, from the “G. Enescu” National University of Arts in Iași, regarding new conclusions as a consequence of the complex research from his doctoral studies at the Artistotelis University in Thessaloniki, finalised in December 2019 with the thesis on Ifos și țesătura muzicală în tradiția psaltică din Moldova, din secolul 18 până astăzi [Iphos and the musical discourse in the psaltic tradition of Moldavia, from the 18th century to the present day]; supervisor was associate professor Maria Alexandru, Ph.D. and the members of the thesis assessment commission: professor Nicolae Gheorghiță, Ph.D. (National University of Music Bucharest), professor Dimitrios Giannelos, Ph.D. (University of Ioannina, Greece), professor Achilefs Chaldaiakes, Ph.D. (Kapodistria State University, Athens), professor Anasthasios Papathanasiou, Ph.D., Abbot professor Nektarios Paris, Ph.D., associate professor Em. Giannopoulos, Ph.D. (Aristotelis Univ.). 17 Artes. Journal of Musicology

Sîrbu’s research have convinced me that the interpretation of historical facts must undergo some renovation, which is why I continue by including succinct references. Both Costin Moisil and Adrian Sîrbu depart on the one hand from information offered by the Romanian Byzantinologic historiography of the last 150 years, from Mihail Grigore Poslușnicu and George Breazul, to Sebastian Barbu-Bucur and Vasile Vasile, and on the other hand from the research of manuscripts and bibliographic references from European libraries and book funds. The same way that it happened with the writings of Romanian general history from the interwar period and especially from the Communist one, in this case also the nationalist mark came to the fore and many researchers presented the process of Romanianisation of our church singing as one of translation of the liturgical text together with adapting the music to the Romanian national specificity.21 However, here is what I have found out as a consequence of the research in recent years. Out of reasons of accessibility in relation to those who attended religious services – mostly people who could not read or write – the penetration of the Romanian language in the church began much earlier than originally thought – as early as the 16th century (Moisil, 2012, p. 159, note 1; Mosil, 2016, pp. 10-12) –, through the sermon and through some words or even liturgic verses, in which the local language gradually replaced Greek or Slavonic. In time, the passages with Romanian text multiplied, so that Filothei’s initiative from the beginning of the 18th century of creating Psaltichia rumănească (Romanian Psaltic Music Handbook, 1713), even if it was not spread through print, can be considered as a corollary of an already existing phenomenon at least in Wallachia and Moldavia. However, the linguistic problem is not entirely solved. On the one hand, the number of musical manuscripts with a text in the Romanian language is reduced compared to those in Greek or Slavonic (Moisil, 2012, p. 159, note 2), on the other hand, it is also C. Moisil who remarks that until the 19th century, in our church singing there coexisted the Greek, Romanian and Slavonic languages, with the mention that “the most honourable position was held by the Greek language, irrespective of the quantitative weight it would have had.” (Moisil, 2018, p. 60) At the same time, another existing situation in the liturgical practice from the principalities must be taken into account: orality, under the conditions that the written musical text (in Byzantine notation) circulated in

21 With greater or smaller insistence and good intentions, our inter- and post-war Byzantinology – argues C. Moisil – pleaded for a national church music, different from the Greek one, going all the way to imposing standardised singing in the second half of the 20th century (the Communist period) (Acc. to Moisil, 2012, pp. 24-26; Moisil, 2018, pp. 75-86) 18 Studies restricted circles, in monasteries with a tradition of psaltic chant school and among erudite clergy; otherwise, much more frequently, the ritual of psaltic singing circulated orally, being thus subjected to inherent changes, from singer to singer. One still needs to mention that both researchers reminded here also signal the following fact: until the end of the third decade of the 19th century, when the Chrysantine reform was imposed in the musical organisation and especially in the organisation of the Byzantine notation, and the books of chants began to be printed, in the liturgic practice there functioned the Neo-Byzantine (Koukouzelis’) style, in which the psalm singers would learn melodic patterns, tempo styles22, the various types of chant, on which they would then apply small variations, embellishments, adapting at the same time Romanian or Greek text, according to the tradition. After the reform, the new system 23 imposed a strictness in the notation, diminishing or eliminating the possibility of ornamental variations. As a last observation, it needs to be said that until the middle of the 19th century one cannot speak in Europe of national cultures, home-land, ethnic conscience, but rather of religious difference or religious belonging. In this regard, the metropolitan churches of Moldavia and Wallachia were subordinated to the Patriarchate of Constantinople and received influences of form and content in the organisation of the liturgical service from Constantinople and from Mount Athos. It follows that the Romanianisation did not have the nationalist-patriotic connotation attributed to it subsequently, beginning with the late 19th century, for more than 100 years, out of easily understandable reasons.

22 “Each of the eight modes can be subdivided into several categories based on the ratio of notes to syllables and on the tempo of a particular genre. Chrysanthos of Madytos, one of the three teachers, wrote that the ʻforms of psalmody belong to four melodic genera: the old sticheraric, the new sticheraric, papadic, and heirmologic.ʼ ” (t.ly/e05Y accessed on 14th January 2021) 23 “Eisagoge eis to theoretikon kai praktikon tes ekklesiastikes Musikes kata ten neoteran methodon, etis esynathreste para ton en Konstantinupole didaskalon tu geniku systematos kyrion, agiu Dyr(r)rahiu Hrysanthu kai Gregoriu protopsaltu kai Hurmuziu tu megalu hartofylakos kai dierethe eis ith kefalaia” = Introduction to the theory and the practice of church music after the most recent method, which was gathered from that of the general system from among the honest teachers of Constantinople, Chrysantos Durahiul and Gregory Protopsaltes and Hurmuz, the great chartophylax and was divided in 19 chapters, Constantinople, 27 April 1822. (t.ly/bOGS, accessed on 4 January 2021) 19 Artes. Journal of Musicology

Fig. 4 The subordination of the orthodox church in the Romanian lands before the foundation of the Romanian Orthodox Church (1872-1885), after N. Iorga, N.M. Popescu, and N.M. Popp24 (t.ly/P9Wm, accessed on 4 January 2021)

3.3. The diversity of urban and Court music Of the three main spheres of Romanian music in the medieval era: the folkloric one, the religious one and court music, the most open to every kind of influences and novelties remains the third, Court music. Taking into account the historical conditions, we can speak, on current Romanian territory, about two distinct types of urban and court music: a) that of the extra-Carpathian historical provinces Moldavia and Wallachia and b) the music at the Prince’s, nobles’ Court and from the salons of the wealthy bourgeois in Transylvania. The difference comes from the national influences suffered by the local Romanian population along the centuries: in Transylvania, from the Saxons, Szeklers, Hungarians and from the Austro-Hungarian Empire; in Moldavia and Wallachia from the Turks, Russians, Poles, Phanariotes, and from the neighbouring ethnic groups. Much the same way, various cults and religions influenced the Romanians’ language, culture, religion, way of life, psychology. If traditional secular and religious music followed a slow evolution, with unspectacular changes, the one in the cities and towns of the principalities and the Court one had a heterogeneous character in time and

24 Ipek is the Turkish name of the city of Peć (Serbian) or Peja (Albanian) from the north of the Kosovo province. The city of Alba Iulia was called Bălgrad in Old Romanian language. Proilavia is the old name of Greek (Proilaba) or Slavic (Proilava) origin, of the city of Brăila. 20 Studies space, depending on customs and fashions, on the protocol of princely and noble/boyar courts, varying from one era to the next, sometimes from one generation to the next, along states, provinces, even regions. In the last years of the 17th century, Georg Franz Kreybich, a German master glassblower from Bohemia travelled several times to Transylvania and Wallachia, and decades later (1730s) he wrote his memories from these travels; the manuscript was published in 1870. In one of his travels to Wallachia (October 1697), Kreybich mentions short information regarding the atmosphere at prince Constantin Brâncoveanu’s Court on the occasion of his daughter, Ilinca’s marriage. “There was merriment and there was plenty to see, only things worth seeing, for after the banquet was over, in the same hall where lunch had been served a citadel was erected […] surrounded by Turks, and in the citadel there were Germans. […] And there were many other games and all sorts of dances, Turkish, Arabic, Chinese, Tatar, French, Spanish and Polish and they lasted the whole night through to dawn; […]” (Călători, 1983, pp. 127-128) Whether those were authentic “Chinese” dances we do not know, but what appears clearly is the musical diversity at the ruler’s Court. The musicologist Octavian Lazăr Cosma mentions musicians and events of the musical life from the Romanian principalities from the 18 th century (Acc. to Cosma, 1973, p. 263): In Transylvania, a great number of German precentors activated in the protestant churches of Sibiu and Brașov, occupying themselves at the same time with the musical education of the children in the church choir, with the musical component of the religious service, they were composers, organists and looked after the publishing and spreading of the liturgical musical repertoire in the community. Among them: Johannes Barth, Petrus Schimmert (a pupil of J. S. Bach in Leipzig), Johann Sartorius father and son a. o. In Istanbul, Dimitrie Cantemir writes his works of the theory and notation of Turkish academic music (1703-1710). In Descriptio Moldaviae, D. Cantemir also presents Romanian customs and musical practices, thus marking the first research on our musical folklore. In 1730, three Romanian dances are included in a Slovak collection – a testimony of the regional circulation of traditional music. In the more important cities there take place public musical performances with foreign performers and bands or with local ensembles: a local vocal-instrumental ensemble is mentioned in Timișoara (1730);

21 Artes. Journal of Musicology

Samuel Bruckental25 founds in Sibiu, in 1753, the instrumental chapel Collegium musicum, with periodic concert activity; from 1757 to 1769, in Oradea there activates an instrumental chapel, and in 1780 another is mentioned at the court of ruling Prince Alexandru Ypsilantis 26; in 1770- 1772, in Bucharest, Sibiu and Timișoara the Italian company Livio Cinti holds opera performances a. s. o. (Acc. to Cosma, 1973, pp. 443-444)

“It [fashion, o. ad.] had gradually driven the hora27 away from the circles of high society […] introducing the à l’anglaise contra-dance, the waltzes and the Polish mazurka. […] At one of prince de Ligne’s balls oragnised in Iași, one could see all the dances known then: «the Pyrrhichios and other Greek, Turkish, Wallachian, Moldavian and even… Egyptian dances».” (Lemny, 2017, p. 81) And the American doctor James O. Noyes, after his passing through Wallachia, at the middle of the 19th century, concludes: “I have never before seen luxury and poverty, beauty and ugliness joined in such striking contrast.” (Noyes, 2016, p. 115) These are mentions which testify to the exchanges of influences existing between the different East-European regions and between these and the rest of the continent – still cautious, due to all manner of difficulties with which information circulated and the real or presupposed threats to travellers who dared step in this part of the world. To these there was added the almost continuous fighting which, in numerous periods, had as theatre of display the territory between the Carpathians and the Danube – it was the beginning of the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the ascent of the Russian and Habsburg empires. That is why the 18th and 19th centuries did not bring many occasions for happiness for the Romanians in the three principalities. “On the contrary – observes historian Stefan Lemny –, for the inhabitants of the Carpahian-Danubian space this era was one of the most oppressive in their existence. The foreign rule [Phanariot, Russian, Austrian, o. ad.], the wars, the plunder and territorial amputations, social oppression, internal political instability, economic and cultural precariousness made life seem almost a nightmare, in which historical traumas rarely left room for moments of quiet.” (Lemny, 2017, p. 15)

25 Samuel von Brukenthal, 1721-1803, was the Habsburg governor of the Grand Principality of Transylvania between 6 July 1774 and 9 January 1787. He was a personal advisor of Empress Maria Theresa. (t.ly/g1RH accessed on 14th January 2021) 26 Alexander Ypsilantis, 1726-1807, Greek Prince ruler of Wallachia (1774-1782), then of Moldavia (1786-1788). 27 hora: a type of circle dance originating in the Balkans (Wikipedia). 22 Studies

3.4. Internal contrasts and their consequences on the Romanian social and cultural life (unity and diversity) It has to be mentioned again that until the middle of the 19th century, the statistical data regarding the population in the Romanian principalities are wholly insufficient and imprecise. “Censuses were organised only occasionally, for taxing reasons, but these tended to register villages and families, rather than individuals.” (Hitchins, 2013, p. 78) I mentioned above the slow evolution of the East-European society/societies compared to Western dynamism. This fact can be understood through the collaboration of several factors: the wars from the 18th century, especially the ones between Russians and Turks, took place on the Carpathian-Danubian territory, gravely affecting the population increase, agricultural activity and social life, through “civil disorder, the destruction of harvests, requisitioning, plunder and the spreading of diseases” (Hitchins, 2013, p. 79). The rural–urban ratio appears (the same as now!) clearly in favour of the first; this could be an explanation for the slower rhythm of change. “In 1803, the rural population of Moldavia was 479,850 persons (representing 90,9 percent of the total), the urban one was of 48,050 persons (9,1 percent).” (Hitchins, 2013, p. 79) Moreover, the access to education and culture was (still is!) clearly in favour of city dwellers. The three main social states, which had stood out in the past two centuries (17th-18th) were, at the beginning of the 19th century: the first state – the aristocracy, the second state – the clergy, the third state – the bourgeois, city folk, peasants (Djuvara, 2015, p. 81). Privileges of all kinds – among which the access to education – belonged to the boyars and the clergy. From here, the numerical and cultural fracture between a favoured minority and the majority, which had remained in the sphere of medial quasi-primitivism (at the end of the Phanariot era, “when the boyar class considerably increased numerically, in 1832 one registered less than five boyar families per every 1000 families in Wallachia.”) (Djuvara, 2015, p. 81) In the second half of the 18th century, in the extra-Carpathian principalities there takes place a very important phenomenon regarding the cultural-educational level of the privileged class: “The French influence – introduced by the Phanariot rulers – was increasingly strong and widespread. The moment marks the beginning of the Europeanisation of the Romanian upper classes, however superficial that process would have initially been.” (Djuvara, 2015, p. 83) The contact with the French language and culture was made here also through the Russian officers who had come with the tsarist armies in various periods in the Romanian principalities. Only through the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century

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(culminating with the annexation of Bessarabia in 1812), the Russians occupied Romanian territories five times, during and after carrying out wars especially against the Ottomans:

I. 1711, Stănilești, the Ruler of Moldavia Dimitrie Cantemir vs. Turks. Peter I enters Moldavia with an army up to Vaslui. II. 1739, war Austria & the Russian Empire vs. the Ottoman Empire. Russia occupies Moldavia. III. 1769-1774, war the Russian Empire vs. the Ottoman Empire. Russia occupies Moldavia, Wallachia and Dobruja. IV. 1788-1792, war Austria & the Russian Empire vs. the Ottoman Empire. Russia occupies Moldavia and the east of Wallachia. V. 1806-1812, war the Russian Empire vs. the Ottoman Empire & France. Russia occupies Moldavia and Wallachia; in 1812, Russia annexes Bessarabia (until 1918). (Acc. to the video De câte ori au venit rușii în România?)

One must also remark the sensible differences that the social states registered from one area to the next, between the three principalities with a majority Romanian population. In Transylvania, the state of the peasantry was, it seems, better (less bad!) than of the Wallachian or Moldavian peasants. Even the educated minority from the three historical regions presented visible differences, through the Transylvanians’ access to the Western culture and educational framework. “The Transylvanians and the Banatians [people of Banat, the Western region of present-day Romania, o. ad.] evolved, for centuries, alongside the Hungarians, and the Germans in the framework of Central Europe. Thus, they bear a cultural mark, which does not make them any less Romanian, but enriches them with a Central-European component.” (Boia, 2018, p. 57) If at the census from 1930, in Romania, those who could read and write represented 57%, we can easily imagine how things stood one and a half centuries or two centuries earlier (… and we definitely know how they stand nowadays!). The situation was the same regarding the access to culture. Here, however, an observation is necessary: exactly because of the relative isolation towards radical changes, towards the hectic urban life and of a slow rhythm of social and civilisational evolution, the East-European rural universe – including the Romanian one – conserves folkloric values much better and for longer. Out of this reason, when the artists brought in front of a Western audience wanting novelty works with Central and East-European national specificity, considered exotic, the surprise was as great as it was pleasant. Under these conditions, culture, including the music of this 24 Studies territory presents both features of continuity and multiple contrasts, influences and transformations. The principalities Moldavia and Wallachia follow a similar route in many regards. From the moment Transylvania entered the direct sphere of influence of the Hungarian kingdom (10th century), the principality was connected, with good and bad things, to the West. Musically, two main branches distinguish themselves, musical folklore (traditional music) and psaltic music, to which Court music would be added. The church played a unifying role in the Romanian-populated territories. The church music from the period of the 14th–18th centuries can be considered the richest and most valuable period in the history of Romanian psaltic music. In 1713, Filothei sin Agăi Jipei (a psalm singer from the Bucharest School) publishes Psaltichia rumănească (The Romanian Orthodox Music Textbook); other representatives: Ioan sin Radului Duma Brașoveanu, Șărban Protopsaltul, Constantin vtori Psalt, Naum Râmniceanu a. o. After 1814, the New Method 28 is adopted in the Romanian Church, as a result of metropolitan Chrystantos of Madytos’ Reform (Ciobanu, 1974, Muzica bisericească, pp. 338, 393). Regarding the non-religious – traditional and court – music, the lăutari (Gypsy fiddlers) constitute one of the most dynamic ways of circulation of melodies from one rural area to another, from villages to towns, from the peasant horas to princely courts, from the Western music to the national one and the other way around. In Transylvania more information has been kept regarding musical life, especially from the urban sphere, but in most cases this information refers to the musical life of the Hungarians, Szeklers and Saxons29. In the beginning, foreign singers who had come from the West were invited to the prince’s or the Hungarian nobles’ courts. Gradually, local performers appeared, who took over the foreigners’ manner. This is how there

28 the New Method [sistima nouă] = “Chrysanthos of Madytos (ca. 1770–1846), Gregory the Protopsaltes (c. 1778 – c. 1821), and Chourmouzios the Archivist were responsible for a reform of the notation of Greek ecclesiastical music. Essentially, this work consisted of a simplification of the Byzantine Musical Symbols that, by the early 19th century, had become so complex and technical that only highly skilled chanters were able to interpret them correctly.” (t.ly/siNy accessed on 5 January 2021) 29 “In 1438 a pact of mutual aid was codified, Unio Trium Nationum (Latin for ʻUnion of the Three Nations’), by three social groups of Transylvania: the (largely Hungarian) nobility, the Saxon (German) patrician class, and the free military Székelys. The Union was directed against the whole of the peasantry, regardless of ethnicity, in response to the Transylvanian peasant revolt. In this typical feudal estate parliament, the peasants (whether Hungarians, Saxons, Széklers or Romanians) were not represented, and they did not benefit from its acts, as the commoners were not considered to be members of these three feudal ʻnationsʼ.” (t.ly/mDfD accessed on 5 January 2021) 25 Artes. Journal of Musicology penetrated musical styles of the West, like the Baroque and the Classical one, which were sometimes interwoven with timid Romanian influences. Among the representatives of this period in music were Johann Sartorius- the father (1680-1756), precentor and organist in Sibiu, Johann Sartorius- the son (1712-1787), precentor, organist and music director (kapellmeister) in Sibiu/Hermannstadt and Sighișoara/Schässburg, Martin Fay (1725-1786) singer and preacher in Mediaș/Medwesch, Petrus Schimert (1710-1787, Sibiu), Johann Knall (d. 1794, Sibiu) a. s. o. (Văidean, 2020, pp. 117-120) Also as an influence of the German Baroque, there appear in the 18th century in some Saxon towns chapels (Baroque-type instrumental or vocal- instrumental ensembles constituted out of professional performers, led by a music director, with attributions of conductor, main performer and composer), that activated at noble courts, as well as collegium musicum – urban musical associations composed of professional and amateur musicians, which were subsidised by the municipal councils. Such chapels and collegium musicum associations functioned in Sibiu (in count Brukenthal’s house), in Sighișoara, Brașov, Oradea a. o. The most well- known music directors mentioned by Transylvanian archives are Michael Haydn (1737-1806, Joseph’s brother) and Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739-1799). The repertoire included instrumental, vocal-instrumental religious genres (missas, motets, oratorios, cantatas, etc.) and lay genres of Western influence, in which the classical tonal systen gradually penetrates. The entire musical life – religious (Catholic and Lutheran) and secular – of the Hungarian, Szekler, Saxon and Swabian masters from the 10th to 18th century coexisted with that of the majority Romanian population, of the folkloric and Christian-Orthodox type. Romanians with outstanding musical inclinations could gain access to the rows of professional musicians, enjoying the appreciation of the community only by leaving their religion, transforming their name and changing their language. Such cases were, however, very rare, and history only retained Ioan Căianu in the 17th century. In Moldavia, a special “case” was Dimitrie Cantemir (1673-1723)30 – prince Dumitrașcu, who had come to the Ottoman capital in 1688 (at the age of fifteen) firstly as a hostage, but was treated as princely offspring (Chelaru, 2012, pp. 223-240). His education was not, apparently, as strict, as dogmatic, as it would maybe have been had he stayed in Moldavia. In Istanbul, the young

30 Dimitrie/Demetrius Cantemir was prince ruler of Moldavia in 1693 and 1710-1711, writer, philosopher, musician; he “was a polyglot known as one of the greatest linguists of his time, speaking and writing eleven languages. Well versed in Oriental scholarship, his oeuvre is voluminous, diverse, and original, although some of his scientific writings contain unconfirmed theories or simple inaccuracies. Between 1711 and 1719 he wrote his most important works. In 1714, he became a member of the Royal Academy of Berlin.” (t.ly/sg9j accessed on 17th January 2021) 26 Studies man had a much vaster, more varied, more exciting cultural, religious, social, political extent of knowledge awaiting, that befitted his special spirit and intelligence. This is how we explain the liberal, lay tendency in his writings. That is why Cantemir’s personality and work is the symbol of the European spirit in its essence, the West-East synthesis. It seems that Cantemir was not a comfortable figure – neither as ruler, nor as politician, philosopher or writer; maybe only as a musician! That is why we consider, on the one hand, that his figure has remained too little known in relation to the value it represented; with time, many of his initiatives, ideas, works were forgotten or ignored. On the other hand, Cantemir-oğlu (-oğlu, 1. Turk. = son of) represents a culture not at all familiar to the West; and it is known that the West has owned the initiatives in the social-culture dynamics of Europe. Both aspects explain therefore this amazing character’s lack of posthumous European scope. Speaking of Cantemir-the musician, we cannot, of course, ignore the other gifts of his personality: writer, historian, folklorist, philosopher. Undoubtedly, these sides influenced each other, each constituting, at the same time, reflexions of a complex, unique and amazing temperament. From what is known about his ways, we deduce a non-conformism, a joy of life and its pleasures, will, vanity and other suspected human weaknesses, which made him be for a long time an irreconcilable adversary of his contemporary in Wallachia, prince Constantin Brâncoveanu. Of his 50 years of life, prince Dumitrașcu spent 22 in Istanbul, from 1688 to 1710, from the age of fifteen to 37 – a period of concurrent education and self-assertion. This is how we can explain the wide, unrigid, non-dogmatic views, the liberal convictions, and regarding music, his almost exclusive orientation towards the oriental repertoire and technique, especially towards the so-called Turkish classical music, in fact the music of the intellectual and cultural elite from the Ottoman Imperial Court. In Istanbul he learned the music and instrumental performance from Kemadi Ahmed, who taught him to play the kemânče and from the Greek Angeli, who introduced him to the secrets of the tanbur. “Since he was a smart man and knew well how to read and write in Turkish, his name had become famous in the entire Istanbul, so that officers called him to their Turkish banquets for sayings.” – chronicler Nicolae Costin was writing. “That he knew so well how to play the tanbur that no person from Istanbul could play like him.” – noted Ion Neculce, too (Popescu-Judetz, 1973, p. 14) And prince Dumitrașcu himself mentioned about Turkish music: “[…] it is learned particularly in families, in private; it is taught by musically educated people to almost all sons of dignitaries (many, though, among ordinary people, as well) and to ulemas, that is all the learned men of

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which I have not found a single one who could not play or at least understand music naturally, again, as a pleasure.” (Popescu-Judetz, 1973, p. 16) At the same time, Cantemir activated intensely as a performer at the Ottoman Imperial Court and in the intellectual and cultural elite of Istanbul from the period of over two decades spent here. The young Romanian prince collected and noted over 350 melodies of the time. His virtuosity became famous, especially as a performer at the tanbur, and his repertoire was enriched with numerous own compositions, much appreciated by connoisseurs. Musical pieces signed by him remained for a long time in the repertoire of the artists in the Empire. Thus, Frenchman Charles Fonton’s comments have reached us, who, in 1750, relates of the “great success” of Dimitrie Cantemir’s music “still listened to with great pleasure”. In 1781, Italian Giambattista Toderini heard in Istanbul “ample connoisseurs” talking about “Cantemir’s Turksh airs”, after more than seven decades since the prince had left the Ottoman capital. (Popescu-Judetz, 1973, p. 147)

4. Conclusions 4.1. East versus West Numerous historians have remarked on, commented, and searched for explanations for the multiple and complex contrast between the east and the west of Europe (Chelaru, 2017, pp. 14-18).

Western Europe Eastern Europe Antiquity. the Greeks and the Relative unity in the Mediterranean basin Romans The Middle Ages c. 4. The division of We st East – Byzantium the Roman Empire Ethnic reconfiguration with Ethnic reconfiguration with 31 c. Germanic nomad populations c. Turanian , Slavic, Arabic 4-8 5-15 nomad populations relative predominantly Christian Ethnic and religious mosaic: religious unity Jews, Christians, Muslims until c. 18 feudalism medieval organisation centralised monarchies, colonies dependence on the Ottomans urban populations rural populations economic power cultural-economic backwardness

Table 2 The gradual division of Europe between the West and the East from the ancient times to the 18th century

31 Turanians = populations from Central Asia and Ural-Altaic region (t.ly/i5Sz accessed on 5 January 2021) 28 Studies

Starting with the middle of the first millennium, the civilisation of the European continent separated ever more, along an unseen, yet profoundly felt border until nowadays, which follows the Adriatic coast, the Austrian Alps, the German-Polish Sudetes, up to the Baltic Sea and a great part of Scandinavia (Fig. 5). The causes of this fracture have been long and profoundly debated. Some invoked the climatic conditions, the geographic placement, the less fertile lands; others, the nomads’ invasions from central Asia; some blamed the Ottoman rule; others the preponderantly rural character, the predominance and the rigidity of serfdom in the European east (Roberts, 2018, pp. 476-478); or, with a greater degree of generalisation, the (plausible) theory about the historic patterns of civilisations, argued by historian Neagu Djuvara 32. The states created in the east, on the territory and in the sphere of influence of the former Byzantine Empire, know a double and contradictory state: on the one hand a prevalently rural, backward population, with reduced access to education. Significant in this regard are testimonies – some exaggerated, others full of bitter humour – of travellers, foreign or even local observers, referring to the downright primitive conditions, in which the locals of the territory north of the Danube led their lives. 33 In the writing entitled Balta-Albă, published in 1847, Vasile Alecsandri (1821-1890, Moldavian writer, politician and diplomat) imagines the travel notes of a young French painter, from Brăila to Balta-Albă 34 (not to be confused with the well-known Bucharest neighbourhood) – a settlement on the shore of the lake of the same name, close to the health resort of Amara, today in Buzău county. “Consequently, I kept my eyes on the left shore of the Danube, with the hope of seeing something that would multiply my knowledge of Wallachia; but it is clear that this province wanted to punish me, for it showed me nothing but barren plains, which united with the sky at the horizon. From time to time, however, I would see a being wandering through those limitless fields or some pile of huts covered with reed; but I could not understand from afar whether that being was human and whether those primitive dwellings formed a village. […] I asked Mr. consul to facilitate a way to carry me immediately to Balta- Albă and, half an hour later, a soldier entered the salon announcing me that the carriage was ready. I took a travel bag and descended quickly into the street. But lo and behold! In place of a coach, a little box full of hay on four wooden wheels with broken spokes.” (Alecsandri, 1847, p. 2)

32 … in his book Civilizații și tipare istorice. Un studiu comparat al civilizațiilor [Civilizations and historical patterns. A comparative study of civilizations], published in Paris, in 1975, awarded a history prize by the French Academy in 1976 and published at the Humanitas Publishing House in 2012. 33 The ascertainments do not regard, of course, only this territory, but the entire East-European area. 34 Brăila→Balta-Albă (Amara) = 62 km 29 Artes. Journal of Musicology

And the American doctor James O. Noyes, in his travel diary (1854), notes, not less humorously: “After a six-week stay, I decided to leave Bucharest. I had stayed enough among its boyars and slaves, among palaces and huts, among gardens and swamps; […] The Daco-Romans […] have a terrible substitute for the fast American iron road. Nothing can be more primitive than their waggons or coaches, which must originate in the times that the Scythians roamed the Wallachian plains. Not even a particle of iron is used in the construction of the four little wooden wheels, that a knitted basket is tied to, like a little trunk for crockery, and just as large as to fit a single person with flexible extremities and moderate horizontal dimensions.” (Noyes, 2016, p. 166) On the other hand, the East-European territories totalise religious and lay cultures, in which the Byzantine tradition is present and stimulative of authentic values – e.g. in the Romanian-populated territories: the painted churches of Bukovina (15th–16th cent.), the cule (the defence towers) and the architecture style of prince Brâncoveanu time from Wallachia (the beginning of the 18th cent., e.g. the Văcărești Monastery near Bucharest, demolished in 1986, on Ceaușescu’s order) etc.

Fig. 5 The imaginary line dividing Western Europe from Eastern Europe

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Without rejecting the already enunciated causes of this east-west out phasing35, I shall add an observation, which has drawn my attention almost brutally. Running through the history of the 16th–17th–18th centuries, I have ascertained the scope and the multitude of all kinds of changes intervened in the European West as a consequence to discovering, conquering and assimilating the vast territories, with their riches (people and goods) from the so-called “New World” – the two Americas, Africa, Australia, the Asian Far East, etc. I could not stop myself from comparing, be it only territorially (even if in relatively imprecise terms), the dimensions of the main metropolitan state from the 18th century – great colonial powers –, with the vastness of the colonies owned by them on other continents (Table 3).

The colonial The European European state in (metropolitan) Colonies owned Colonial territory the 18th cent. territory England & Ireland ≈ 314.000 km2 Colonies in: the Americas, Asia, ≈ a quarter of the surface Africa, Australia of the inhabited territories in the whole world! France ≈ 640.000 km² Colonies in: North and South ≈ the second colonial America, the Caribbean, West territory in size, after the Africa, Islands from the Indian Oc. British one Sp ain ≈ 500.000 km² Colonies in Central and South ≈ over 9.000.000 km2 America: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, Cuba, Mexic, Peru, Venezuela Portugal ≈ 92.000 km² Colonies in: South America ≈ over 9.000.000 km2 (Brazil), SE Africa, India Holland ≈ 40.000 km2 Colonies in: Africa, Asia ≈ over 1.000.000 km2

Table 3 The main Western colonial powers in the 18th century. The relation between the (European) own territory and the one of the owned colonies Even though enough important information lacks in the table (the number of inhabitants and their density, the main occupation, the urban-rural ratio, the main riches extracted from the colonies, etc.), the comparison seemed to me revealing. For instance, the smallest colonial metropolis-state included in the table is Holland, which owned and controlled territories (with ground, underground and inhabitants, many of them in a state of slavery) of 1 million km2! Let alone mentioning the British Empire, the Commonwealth – a genuine territorial colossus in the century that we are speaking about here, which owned and controlled ca. a quarter of the inhabited territory of the whole world! Here is an incontestable cause of the prosperity and civilisational (sic!)

35 There is a better-balanced out phasing between the European north and south, as well. 31 Artes. Journal of Musicology dynamism of the European West. However, it is no less true that it is not sufficient to own riches and power – you have to also know how to use them. To these I would add British historian Mark Mazower’s arguments from his book about the history of the Balkans. He claims, among other things, that the reticence, even the arrogant superiority manifested by westerners towards the European east, especially towards the Balkan area come from their century- old “dislike” of the Muslims, their religion and culture. The origins of this attitude, which had become a tradition, is found in the crusades of the 11th–15th centuries, as a consequence to which the knights of the west plundered Constantinople (1204), but finally lost territories and influences in eastern Europe. As the Ottomans’ power grew, the intolerance of Catholic Europe towards the “heretics” was amplified, manifesting itself in the most varied forms, from the subtle ones to brutal repression and expulsion. “While the Muslim states accepted non-Muslims as citizens – who were in a majority in the Ottoman Balkans – the Christian countries [in the West, o. ad.] expelled the Muslims, whom they regarded as a theat.” (Mazower, 2019, p. 27) At the same time, the attitude towards the Ottoman Empire, in the period of maximum stretch and influence (until the 17th century) was of fear and respect neighbouring on admiration. Subsequently, however, when the corruption and the internal plots from the Ottoman Court began to be known, and the armed force of the empire reached its limits, respect was gradually replaced by references to “tyranny” and “despotism”. (Mazower, 2019, p. 29) Beside this intolerance of the heretics, taken all the way to fanaticism, the weak opposition of Byzantium to the ascending Ottoman power, closed in 1453 with the conquest of Constantinople – until then considered to be the symbol of Orthodox Christianity – also produced strong disapproval of eastern Christianity. “The [western, o. ad.] Christians interpreted the fall of Constantinople, in 1453, as proof of the decay of Orthodox Christianity, the last failure of Byzantium as an imperial system and a divine punishment of people’s sins.” (Mazower, 2019, p. 28) Whichever the causes, the religious rivalry between East and West has existed for over a millennium. Once these ascertainments made, one must underline the tone of (at least) superiority adopted by westerners in relation to the Balkan peoples, which they considered – from a distance – as Ottoman territory36. The influences of the west on the east begin to manifest themselves from the second half of the 18th cent., but rather superficially.

36 The maps of the time represented the Romanian principalities as part of the Ottoman Empire, although they were formally independent. 32 Studies

“About the Balkan cities, [the western travellers, o. ad.] note that they have a European façade, behind which there hides the oriental reality: picturesque images but also squalor, stink, backwardness and disorder. […] The oriental realities – the power of religion, the domination of poverty in villages – are regarded as phenomena which have not changed for centuries.” – observes the same historian.” (Mazower, 2019, pp. 31-32)

4.2. Final observations Comments, additions, notes from a very recent historiographic publication

In December 2020, a book in two volumes was published at Editura Muzicală [Musical Publishing House], which had been signalled for quite a while and was anticipated with great interest: Noi istorii ale muzicilor românești [New Histories of the Romanian Music], containing studies signed by a group of reputed authors – musicologists and historians – under the coordination of Valentina Sandu-Dediu and Nicolae Gheorghiță from the National University of Music Bucharest. I took advantage of the coincidence of this publication and the finalisation of this piece of writing in order to confront information and interpretations; I therefore included among references those studies, which approach the historical period that is the object of this text. In the mentioned “fresh” bibliographic sources I have come across two types of qualities: of content – information, interpretations, syntheses, cross-references (generous bibliographic lists, with Romanian and foreign authors, old and recent publications close each study) – and of form – albeit different authors, a condensed, explicit, objectifying language, without useless mannerisms or hermetic modes of expression. Thus, Costin Moisil (În loc de istorie a muzicii vechi românești) summarises a vast pre-1989 bibliography, signalling both the perennial attributes and the necessity of a revision economising in nationalist appreciations and conclusions. For instance, “The histories also mention proudly Daniel Speer’s sojourns in Moldavia and Michael Haydn and Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf’s in Oradea, despite the fact that all of them were employed here at the beginning of their career and none of them stayed for longer than five years.” (Moisil, 2020, pp. 20-21) Costin Moisil also argues how equivocal the historical interpretation can become, which sits on sporadic information or on completing the void of information with subjective presuppositions. For instance, the publication of the first Romanian Psaltic Music Handbook – Filothei, 1713 – does not subsidiarily presuppose the wide, priority use of the local language in the Carpathian-Danubian churches from the 18th century but induces this idea. (Acc. to Moisil, 2020, pp. 23-25)

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Nicolae Gheorghiță’s study, referring to the Practici musicale laice la curțile domnești și boierești din Valahia și Moldova în epoca fanariotă (1711- 1821) realises a lively-coloured picture of the musical life from the century when the novel Ciocoii vechi și noi37 was set. Very welcome are the numerous, diverse and detailed bibliographic sources, displayed with the same logic and clarity as in the first case. There appear distinct categories of music and musicians at the Prince ruler Courts, that bring diversity and contrast, that delight, especially the “Turkish natives” or horrify, especially the guests coming from the West (Gheorghiță, 2020, pp. 49-52). There are evoked: the official Ottoman music with genres and performers; the music destined to princely and boyar parties; the lyrical poems with an erotic character (Gheorghiță, 2020, pp. 52-56), the dances of Phanariot and Levantine origin “and from what the Balkans had maintained, with sources difficult to identify, such as the kerchief, the oilcloth, the zoralia, the arcan, the ciauș, the giambara, the irmilik” (Gheorghiță, 2020, pp. 52-56); finally, portraits of performers and authors are outlined: the lăutari, psalm singers with a lay musical activity and educated musicians of Phanariot origin (Gheorghiță, 2020, pp. 56-70). The section referring to old music (until the beginning of the 19th century) closes with Vlad Văidean’s study, Între cosmopolitism și localism – etape premoderne ale culturii muzicale profesioniste în Transilvania (secolele XVI – XVIII). The author underlines the state of the main ethnic groups in the Transylvanian principality, without, however, engaging in the traditional nationalist rhetoric. The study treats the musical performances mentioned in documents of the era, with rich and interesting information originating from numerous Hungarian sources and from the accounts of Western travellers at the noble courts of the principality and in the communities of Szeklers, Swabians and Saxons. “[…] the most notable Transylvanian composers in the premodern era – remarks Vlad Văidean – came from or became integrated with the Saxon community, […] [yet] their relevance remains at a strictly local level.” (Văidean, 2020, p. 102) One of the traits of the study consists in expressing well-known comments, ideas, arguments, which are usually avoided out of the same partial reasons. For instance, “the regular practice and listening to music […] have always constituted for the Saxons a prominent activity both on an individual and community level. […] Here is why the Saxon contribution remains the most consistent and representative sector of the artistic-type musical culture in premodern Transylvania, definitely.” (Văidean, 2020, p. 103)

37 Ciocoii vechi și noi – The Old and the New Parvenus – is a novel written by Nicolae Filimon (1819-1865), Wallachian novelist, folklorist and musical critic. (t.ly/LqQK accessed on 15th January 2021). 34 Studies

In the same tone, Vlad Văidean underlines the state of the Transylvanian “nations” in the second half of the 18th century on the background of the Habsburg reign and of the Austro-Hungarian rivalries. In this context, the Romanians gradually become aware of their own ethnic identity, even receiving some (promises of) favours from the Court in Vienna. (Acc. to Văidean, 2020, p. 122) I close this survey in three of the studies included in the new historiographic publication mentioned above with two expectations: 1) the wide access both of specialists and non-specialists to the two volumes by an enough number of copies, and 2) their adequate translation in English!

End point The eighteenth century means the gradual internal connection of Europe (especially the east to the west) and also the external one, with cultures from other continents, and in the spiritual sphere, the Enlightenment – dynamic in the West, confused in the East. Despite the apparently stimulative, creative atmosphere, the century was marked by numerous bloody conflicts and destructions, by politico-social and territorial changes – all these having dramatic consequences in people’s lives. 38 Contrasts of all kinds deepen, among which slavery, still present in Eastern Europe and much more acute in the colonial territories. The European empires, the colonial ones and the Euro-Asian (Ottoman) one continue their dynamics in accelerated fashion – ascent and descent – most of the times under violent conditions. Christianity suffers a dynamism with multiple contrasts, as well: in the West pronounced anti-religious manifestations (the Voltaire “case”, for instance 39), in the East traditionalism, conservation, protections and collaborations – see the role of the Greek-Catholic Church in Transylvania, in the state of living of the Romanian people, having as a result the appearance at the end of the century of the Latinist School; in Moldavia and Wallachia the Romanianisation of church singing. In Europe the fracture West ↔ East deepens increasingly: in the West, the prevalently urban society is subjected to all sorts of ever more

38 From 1682 to 1821 (approx. 140 years) in Europe there took place fights with destructions for over 40 years, with short periods (between one and three decades) of relative peace. All conflicts were directed against the Ottoman Empire, consequently most of them had, in variable measure, the Carpatho-Balkan area as theatre of war! 39 «Tant qu’il y aura des fripons et des imbéciles, il y aura des religions. La nôtre est sans contredit la plus ridicule, la plus absurd, et la plus sanguinaire qui ait jamais infecté le monde.» [As long as there are scoundrels and imbeciles, there will be religions. Ours is without a doubt the most ridiculous, the most absurd and the bloodiest that has ever poisoned the world.] (Voltaire, 1869, p. 184) 35 Artes. Journal of Musicology accelerated changes; in the East, the mostly rural population perceives changes sporadically, with delay and reticence having as a result the slow rate of cultural interactions, but at the same time the preservation of genuine traditions. Among the inhabitants of the Carpathian-Danubian principalities there are both unifying features – the main fund of the language, old folkloric strata – and regional and community differences – linguistic elements, level of civilisation, culture and traditional art, influences and tendencies among the elites; consequently, one observes diversity and even contrasts in the content of the main branches of music: musical folklore, music for connoisseurs and court music in the three Romanian principalities. Towards the end of the 18th century, ever louder echoes of Western culture make themselves known in the Carpathian-Danubian principalities through direct relations with the West or through the elite of the Russian army, frequently (too frequently!) present in this space. Without a doubt, the Phanariot era has not remained as the “brightest” time in our history. It seemed like happiness cannot be accessible to the most inhabitants of these lands and that it must be searched and can be found only in the “salvation of the soul” (Lemny, 2017, pp. 231-233). Yet, new research has led to the conclusion that historical realities have not only had negative effects. Contemporary historians have reconsidered some aspects of the Romanian 18th century. Especially in the second part of the 18th cent. frequent movements of communities of inhabitants are noted: towards the south of the Danube and the other way around, from the south towards the north of the river; from the plains to areas safer from wars; from Transylvania to Wallachia; at the beginning of the 19th century, migrations of Jews from Galicia and Bukovina especially towards the towns of Moldavia; among the causes: the wars carried out on Romanian territory, anarchy, requisitioning, plunder; all kinds of taxes; increased mortality from the lack of hygiene and of the network of medical care. With regard to the Jews, increasingly frequent and violent anti-Semite manifestations in the communities of the Russian empire, but also attractive conditions in the handicraft, commercial and financial sphere in the Romanian urban environment. (Hitchins, 2013, pp. 78-80; Lemny, 2017, pp. 136-144) Under such conditions, it is understandable that civilisation, education, culture, the arts suffered in several regards: firstly, through the presence of the disproportionate social fracture between the favoured minority of the elites and the most of the population, lacking access to education. The Phanariot era had unfortunate consequences mainly due to the frequent changes of rulers – e.g.: “from 1791 to 1802 there were six ruling-princes in Wallachia and five in Moldavia” (Hitchins, 2013, p. 33) –, rather than as a consequence of the specific mode of governing.

36 Studies

“They [the Phanariot rulers, o. ad.] were not the cause of evil, but that tough and corrupt Turkish regime, characteristic of the decadence period of the Ottoman Empire. […] In defence of the Phanariot rulers we must also signal a few positive aspects – it is Nicolae Iorga’s merit to have been the first to underline the fact. Some of these Phanariot rulers were men of culture and willing to introduce some reforms in the administration of the country, for instance Grigore II Ghica and his cousin Constantin Mavrocordat.” (Djuvara, 2015, pp. 214-215; Hitchins, 2013, pp. 32-35, 44-52) Moreover, the multiple resemblances between the two Romanian principalities caused some rulers to be appointed consecutively in Moldavia and Wallachia – the record was reached by Constantin Mavrocordat, with six reigns in Wallachia and four in Moldavia! It seems insignificant, but this coming-and-going on the throne of the two countries increasingly emphasised the community of the local population, producing the inevitable in the following century: the union of 185940. This grey and uniform, rather than lively coloured and dynamic landscape meant in our cultural-musical history: a continuous path, without deviations or breaks, of the most comprehensive branch of combined art – the folklore; the internal (between areas, rural-urban, secular-religious, between Romanians and minority ethnic groups, etc.) and external influences (the exchange of influences with neighbouring ethnicities, the Ottoman influences, western influences come directly or through the Russian army a. s. o.) continue to act. The predominantly orthodox religious sphere registers some changes and even some contrasts: the process of Romanianisation and the foundation of the Greek-Catholic Church in Transylvania with its consequences, among others. The Court music, the most “colourful” and diverse, is also the most dynamic in borrowings of all kinds. It would give birth to an ever more present urban musical life, receptive to western “absorptions”. In this environment of urban art of the ruling elites there would take shape the signals, which would give birth, during the following century (the 19th), to the musical education and academic music of western influence. Far from me the intention to establish a hierarchy of any kind between East and West – what needs to be observed are the difference, the contrast. As Lucian Boia stated several times, although we are incontestably European, history has approached Romanians to the neighbours in western Asia, rather than to those in Central and Western Europe. It is neither the rejection or the silencing of reprehensible facts and historical phenomena, nor the exaggeration of the praiseworthy ones which will help us to understand our traditions correctly and in balanced fashion. At the same time, let us not forget that the

40 On 5th (in Moldavia) and 24th (in Wallachia) January 1859, Alexandru Ioan Cuza was elected ruling-prince in both principalities, thus achieving the first union of the Romanian provinces. 37 Artes. Journal of Musicology last two hundred years of ties, connections, assimilations from the West can compensate with difficulty the almost ten centuries of Byzantine-oriental interactions and influences that preceded them; the placement of our history in a zonal, European and world context can lead to ascertainments, understandings and tuning (in the sense of regulation) of today’s Romanian society in consonance with the symphonic diversity of the European Union.

References Alecsandri, V. (1847). Balta Albă. In (2009). Balta-Albă și alte scrieri în proză [Balta- Albă and other stories]. București: Editura Art. Barbu-Bucur, S. (1989). Cultura muzicală de tradiție bizantină pe teritoriul României în secolul XVIII și începutul secolului XIX și aportul original al culturii autohtone [The Byzantine Music on the Romanian territory in the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century and the genuine contribution of national culture]. București: Editura Muzicală. Black, C. (2001). Early Modern Italy: A Social History, 1st Publishing House, from t.ly/k988. Boia, L. (2012). România, țara de frontieră a Europei [Romania, a border country of Europe]. București: Editura Humanitas. Boia, L. (2018). De la Dacia antică la Marea Unire. De la Marea Unire la România de azi [From ancient Dacia to the Great Romanian Union. From the Great Romanian Union to today's Romania]. București: Editura Humanitas. Chelaru, C. (2017). Cântecul-simbol, istorie și conținut. Despre imnurile naționale [The symbol-song, history and content. About national anthems]. București: Editura Muzicală. Chelaru, C. (2017). Required Dichotomies in the Romanian (Music) History. Lambert Academic Publishing House. Chelaru, C. (2019). Romania in The Last Hundred Years. Historical and Musical Considerations. What was done? What are we doing? What to do?. Artes. Journal of Musicology, 19-20. Iași: Editura Artes. Chelaru, C. (2020). Cui i-e frică de Istoria muzicii?! [Who’s afraid of the History of Music?!], 3. București: Editura Muzicală. Ciobanu, Gh. (1974). Muzica bisericească la români [Church Music at the Romanians]. In Studii de etnomuzicologie și bizantinologie [Studies of Ethnomusicology and Byzantinology], I (pp. 329-401). București: Editura Muzicală. Cosma, O. L. (1973). Hronicul muzicii românești [Romanian Music Chronicle], I. București: Editura Muzicală.

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Djuvara, N. (2015). O scurtă istorie ilustrată a românilor [A Short Illustrated History of the Romanians]. București: Editura Humanitas . Duminică, G. (2019). Adevărul e unul singur: noi ne numim romi. Restul sunt povești! [The truth is one only: we call ourselves Roma. The rest is fiction!]. Text from 8 April 2019 on the occasion of the (Inter)National Roma Day, Facebook, t.ly/r8Wp, accessed on 3 July 2020. Feiner, S. (2003). The Jewish Enlightenment (trans. Chaya Naor). University of Pennsylvania Press, t.ly/i40e, accessed on 3 July 2020. Gheorghiță, N. (2020). Practici muzicale laice la curțile domnești și boierești din Valahia și Moldova în epoca fanariotă (1711–1821) [Secular musical practices at the ruling prince court and boyar courts in Wallachia and Moldavia in the Phanariot era (1711–1821)]. In Noi istorii ale muzicilor românești [New Histories of the Romanian Music], I (pp. 35-78). București: Editura Muzicală. Hitchins, K. (2013). Românii, 1774-1866. București: Editura Humanitas. Kenrick, D. (2007). Chronology of Gypsy History. In Historical Dictionary of the Gypsies (Romanies). Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., Lanham. T.ly/Ja4a, accessed on 8 July 2020. Lemny, S. (2017). Sensibilitate și istorie în secolul XVIII românesc [Sensitivity and history in the Romanian 18th century]. Iași: Editura Polirom. Matras, Y. (without year). Archive of Endangered and Smaller Lanugages, t.ly/puey, accessed on 19 July 2020. Mazower, M. (2019). Balcanii, de la sfârșitul Bizanțului până azi [The Balkans, from the end of Byzantium to the present day]. București: Editura Humanitas. Moisil, C. (2012). Românirea cântărilor: un meșteșug și multe controverse. Studii de muzicologie bizantină [Romanianisation of the Orthodox Chant: a skill and many controversies. Byzantine musicology studies]. București: Editura Muzicală. Moisil, C. (2016). Geniu românesc vs. Tradiție bizantină. Imaginea cântării bisericești în muzicologia românească [Romanian Genius versus Byzantine Tradition. The image of church singing in Romanian musicology]. București: Editura Muzicală. Moisil, C. (2018). Construcția unei identități românești în muzica bisericească [The construction of a Romanian identity in church music]. București: Editura Universității Naționale de Muzică. Moisil, C. (2020). În loc de istorie a muzicii vechi românești [Instead of the history of early Romanian music]. In Noi istorii ale muzicilor românești [New Histories of the Romanian Music], I (pp. 15-34). București: Editura Muzicală. Nicoară, T. (2005). Istoria și tradițiile minorităților din România [History and traditions of minorities in Romania]. București: Ministry of Education and Research. Noyes, J. O. (2016). România, țară de hotar între creștini și turci. Cu aventuri din călătoria prin Europa răsăriteană și Asia apuseană, 1854 [Romania: The Border

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Land of the Christian and the Turk, Comprising Adventures of Travel in Eastern Europe and Western Asia]. București: Editura Humanitas. Popescu-Judetz, E. (1973). Dimitrie Cantemir, Cartea științei muzicii [The Book of Musical Science]. București: Editura Muzicală. Roberts, J. M. (2018). Istoria lumii. Din preistorie până în present [History of the World]. Iași: Editura Polirom. Salzmann, A. (2000). The Age of Tulips Confluence and Conflict in Early Mondern Consumer Culture (1550-1730) in Consumption Studies and the History of the Ottoman Empire, 1550-1922. New York: Albany State University of New York Press. Simms, B. (2015). Europa. Lupta pentru supremație de la 1453 până în present [Europe. The Struggle for Supremacy, 1453 to the Present]. București: Editura Polirom. Văidean, V. (2020). Între cosmopolitism și localism – etape premoderne ale culturii muzicale profesioniste în Transilvania (secolele XVI-XVIII) [Between cosmopolitanism and localism - premodern stages of professional musical culture in Transylvania (16th-18th centuries)]. In Noi istorii ale muzicilor românești [New Histories of the Romanian Music], I (pp. 79-130). București: Editura Muzicală. Voltaire [François-Marie Arouet] (1869). Oeuvres complètes de Voltaire, 7. Paris: Aux Bureaux de Siècle, t.ly/UrhX, accessed on 13 July 2020. *** 2013: Ashkenazi Jews, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 20 Oct., is.gd/s7WNqF, accessed on 19 July 2020. *** 1983: Călători străini despre Țările Române [Foreign travellers about the Romanian Principalities], VIII (eds. Maria Holban, M. M. Alexandrescu-Dresca Bulgaru, Paul Cernovodeanu). București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică,. *** 2020: De câte ori au venit rușii în România? [How many times did the Russians come to Romania?], 21 Feb., t.ly/060X, accessed on 11 October 2020.

Further Websites *** Britannica. Netherlands, from t.ly/5vv8 *** 18th-century History of Germany, from t.ly/hsMu *** The Digital Library of “Mihai Eminescu” Central University Library Iasi, from t.ly/bOGS *** Evoluția Bisericii la nord de Dunăre, sec. X–XVIII, from t.ly/P9Wm *** History, from t.ly/PrgO *** History of Portugal, from t.ly/9yhm *** History of Spain. 18th Century. Overview, from t.ly/7w3u *** Lumen learning. The Ottoman Empire, from t.ly/jh5g *** National Atlas of the United States, from t.ly/7Ayl

40 DOI: 10.2478/ajm-2021-0002 Studies

Ancestrality – a fundamental concept in the works of the Romanian composer Tudor Chiriac

ALIONA PACIURCA, PhD Student “George Enescu” National University of Arts Iași ROMANIA ∗

Abstract: Originally from the Republic of Moldova, the composer Tudor Chiriac built his entire work of art on several key concepts such as ancestrality, identity, “music from notes” (a concept that belongs to him), ethos, modernity, tradition, etc., which we find both in his music and in his reflections, musical principles and beliefs assumed over time. Tudor Chiriac achieved in his creation what he set out to do, regardless of the public's preferences or other opinions, an aspect that emphasizes once again his compositional “belief”, from which he did not abdicate. In this study we aim to highlight the technical and expressive means by which the author capitalises on the concept of ancestrality in the work Doinatoriu – Opus Sacrum Dacicum: from generating a new musical genre to exploring matrix symbols of Romanian culture. Connected to the universal ancestral inheritances, but especially to those belonging to the Romanian geographical space, the composer stands out by the originality of the musical construction, of the particular timbre associations, as well as through a unique ideational conception. Concerned especially with the meaning of the music he writes, the author explores sounds particularly “alive” and fresh in the context of Romanian musical culture, meant to complete his compositional vision, as well as to strengthen the perspective of the musical aesthetics he has adopted over time.

Keywords: ancestrality, composer, identity, tradition, ethos.

1. Introduction The last 30 years have represented for the Romanian society a period of continuous transition, both socio-political and cultural. The democratic boom after 1989 manifested itself in all spheres of life. Political freedom and cultural openness marked a new era of search, rediscovery, renewal, resurrection, etc., which symbolizes, in fact, the return to a normality based and built on real models and values, on freedom of expression and on the identification of common ideals in the current context of globalization. However, the need to express one's identity is becoming more and more acute. This aspect is mainly reflected in culture, implicitly in music. Thus, concepts such as ancestrality return to the attention of current musicological research, as they shed light on a new side of the revaluation of sui-generis resources. In order to discern the musical creations that express the most

∗ [email protected] 41 Artes. Journal of Musicology conclusive compositional vision of the authors that resonate with the principle of ancestrality, it is necessary to make some semantic clarifications in connection with this term. The Explanatory Dictionary of the Romanian Language (DEX) defines the notion of ancestral as something “transmitted by heredity, ancient; which comes from ancient times”; Vasile Breban adds to the above as something “coming from more distant ascendants; ancesto” (Breban, 1992, p. 47). Starting from these definitions we will do an exercise of imagination and judgment outside the first and raw meaning of this term, trying to “see” beyond words. Ancestrality evokes everything we have inherited (no matter what path), exists today, and is to be passed on. So, it is all about defeating time and not undergoing substantial changes, but rather reinterpretations, adaptations, new perspectives. In fact, the basic characteristic of ancestrality is timelessness, and history has shown us that what endures in time is the essence and the “zero point” from which we started and which we will always have as a benchmark. By virtue of personal beliefs regarding the inexhaustible capacity of exploring new meanings related to the creative potential based on the concept of ancestrality, we will approach the meaning and symbolism of this notion through the prism of the creative aesthetics of the composer Tudor Chiriac. In fact, a subject chosen from the desire to highlight some works left in a shadow cone in the context of the “explosion of musical avant-garde” at the end of the last century. We selected for this study the work Doinatoriu – Opus Sacrum Dacicum, synthesizing some representative elements that highlight the concept of ancestrality. The work was written for: soloist (High Priestess/contralto), choir (Sopranos, Alti, Tenors, Bassi), panpipes, percussion (toaca1, church bell, vibraphone) and organ. Although I am still in the early stages of an elaborate research on the creation of the composer Tudor Chiriac, I will assume the statement to consider the work Doinatoriu – Opus Sacrum Dacicum as edifying in terms of the ancestral substratum taken to another level, sublimated and enhanced through his unique, personal conception. This awareness and perception also come from knowing and experiencing a reality from a period of deep socio-cultural tumult, on the background of imposing an ideology foreign to Romanian spirituality and consciousness.

2. Doinatoriu – a superior Romanian musical genre We will start from the meaning and symbolism of the title of this work, that was not chosen at random. In his book Romanian Music of Ancestral

1 Autophone percussion instrument. 42 Studies

Filiation, Tudor Chiriac pays special attention to the process of becoming2 Romanian classical music: “The postulate about the possibility of establishing Romanian music in its own cult genres is based on the realistic idea that a phenomenon, once it appears, develops from its inferior to the superior forms” (Chiriac, 2006, p. 79). The following axiom was expressed by the author himself, who observed and noticed the results of the evolution of music in general and in particular, in the cultural context of other nations, as well as a result of the ethnomusicologist Constantin Brăiloiu’s statements: “As far as I am concerned, I persist in believing that the form in which the Romanian superior musical genre will take shape will have nothing in common with the German symphonic discipline. My confidence in the future of the Romanian superior musical genre […] therefore remains unwavering” (Brăiloiu, 1974, p. 189)/ Therefore, knowing the Romanian compositional reality of the second half of the twentieth century, but also of other nations who managed to create classical music in their own musical genres 3, the author expressed himself through music as dictated by his destiny as a creator, assuming the inheritance of the millennial tradition of the culture to which it belongs. The composer shapes from the “archetypal genes” (Chiriac, 2019, p. 2) of doina, which he considers the “Romanian musical adagio” (Chiriac, 2019, p. 24), cultivated through the musical tradition of this land, a new genre of music – doinatoriu – belonging to the Romanian academic music of ancestral filiation. In this work, the composer “aims to achieve a deep synthesis between music and poetry, philosophy and pragmatics, human and divine, time and eternity” (Chiriac, 2019, p. 11). We notice that beyond the conception with a deep semantic load, the author raises the problem of materializing the idea launched by Constantin Brăiloiu, namely the constitution of the Romanian music of ancestral filiation in its own genres. The second part of the title – Opus Sacrum Dacicum – has a double meaning. On the one hand, it wants to suggest the circular architecture of the work, an aspect that we will develop further. On the other hand, this completion highlights the spiritual side of the work, which is rooted in the phenomenon of sacredness identified in the symbols, traditions, ancestral beliefs of this Romanian geographical space.

2.1. The architectonic form The work is structured in nine parts, respectively: The Being, The Spring, The Star, The Last Sleep, The Face, The Resurrection, Eminescu, The Doina,

2 The composer Tudor Chiriac was guided in his creation by the principle of the music becoming laws, taken from philosophy, according to the Hegelian dialectic. 3 Eloquent examples are the Arab-Islamic cultures, especially the Mughals, who, by cultivating genres from the professional creation of the people, have developed new cult genres of music. The compositional achievements of the representatives of the Azerbaijani culture, Fykret Amirov or Javanshir Gu liyev are indisputable testimonies in this respect. 43 Artes. Journal of Musicology

Dacian. Following the selection of the thematic material and the relationship of the ideational and musical conception, a circular architecture resulted around the central part (The Face), thus outlining several concentric circles, which had at diametrically opposite poles two parts of the work, respectively: the part I (The Being) – part IX (Dacian); part II (The Spring) – part VIII (The Doina); part III (The Star) – part VII (Eminescu); part IV (The Last Sleep) – part VI (The Resurrection). We emphasize the fact that this circular structure and the relation of the parts two by two is revealed not only by the ideational concept, but also by the musical material by the presence of thematic-tonal replays and by the correspondence of the tono-modal centers. Conceived in this way, the structure of the Doinatoriu has similarities with the shape of the great Dacian sanctuaries, an aspect also reported by the composer in his semantic code, mentioning that this coincidence was not premeditated.

Fig. 1 Structure of Doinatoriu

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Fig. 2 The Dacian circular sanctuary from Sarmizegetusa

2.1.1. The circle – an ancestral symbol The circle is one of the most important symbols of humanity. “Its circular shape and concentric structure reflect the shape of the outer universe and the meaning of inner perfection. Focusing on its form and content is a way of praying and meditation, ultimately leading to being one with the world.” (Adkinson, 2009, p. 562) “It is the symbol of perfection, of homogeneity, of immutable and eternal movement that has neither beginning nor end. [...] It is also the symbol of time, of eternal rebirth, rendered iconographically by the image of the snake biting its tail (Ouroboros).” (Evseev, 2007, p. 118) Most peoples of the world attribute to the circle the function of defence. In the Romanian tradition and spirituality we find innumerable examples in which the symbolism of the circle is concretized, through which it is invested with different magical, apotropaic functions. The ring, the earring, the belt, the hora dance, the carol (related to the idea of the surrounding procession) are just a few representations of this kind. An additional reason why the composer resorted to such a construction connected to the symbols of the ancestral tradition meant to consolidate his ideational conception. And, as mentioned above, the analogy of the structure of the Doinatoriu with the architecture of the great Dacian sanctuaries determined him to complete the title with the phrase Opus Sacrum Dacicum. Like these mysterious, complex sanctuaries that express wisdom and a deep knowledge of the ancestral mysteries, of the divine laws, the music of the Doinatoriu materializes this condition, awakening in the listener the feeling of belonging, of returning HOME.

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2.2. Ancestrality through the prism of Sacredness Doinatoriu – Opus Sacrum Dacicum was conceived “as a ritual 4 to commemorate the heroes and martyrs on both shores of the Prut” (Chiriac, 2019, p. 1). That is why the composer evokes both the history of the nation and its spirituality, approached as a global phenomenon of perception of divinity, both in terms of the ancestral beliefs of the world and current religions. Through such an approach, the Doinatoriu becomes the Romanian version of the universal sacred genres, such as the Catholic Mass or the oratory with the narrator, with the mention that the work includes both elements of religious origin (either from the Christian-Orthodox or from the Catholic one) and lay elements (arising from historical realities). “The work has a character of extended synthesis, similar to Christian ecumenism: the Prologue is conceived after the pattern of the Sacred Hymns (pre-Christian) from Pythagora's times, the organ, as a musical instrument, is an attribute specific to the Catholic Church, and some of the phrases from the Narrator's part are taken from the Orthodox Christian rite. The basis of this ‘ecumenism’, though, remains the Romania n people's belief.” (Chiriac, 2019, p. 3)

2.2.1. Ancestral musical timbres The sermon pronounced by the narrator (the High Priestess) is always accompanied by the sound of the church bell, the significance of which we will explain in the following. According to René Guénon's Dictionary of Symbols (Pănculescu, 2001, p. 62), universally the sound of church bells or simple bells has purifying powers, removing evil influences. That is why this sonority has been taken over by most religions, cultures in the world, with subtle variations in its symbolism. “In Christianity the sound of bells is, on the one hand, the voice of the House of God, the Church, her calling and exhortation to pray and hear the Word of the Holy Book, and, on the other hand, the sound of bells calls for divine grace or, in case of danger, divine protection – so it is about communication between Heaven and Earth in both directions.” (Pănculescu, 2001, p. 62) The sonority of the bell is associated with the primordial vibration, and in the context of the Doinatoriu the primordiality is related to the origin of the nation: “In the name of the Grandparents. / Of Grandchildren and Great- Grandchildren. / And of our survival through Spirit” (lyrics from the Prologue of the work Doinatoriu – Opus Sacrum Dacicum). Another very suggestive instrument from a spiritual point of view is toaca. The composer uses it at the beginning and at the end of the work,

4 Religious ceremony with folkloric implications, which takes place, according to certain rules, in important moments in the life of the community; magical act with folkloric implications, having as object the orientation of an occult, evil or beneficial force, towards a determined action, according to certain rules, etc. (cf. https://www.dex.ro/ritual, accessed on 22.10.2020). 46 Studies highlighting once again the circular construction of the work, as well as the inclusion in certain ritual rules. Although very close in significance to the bell, the toaca5 is distinguished primarily by its more limited spreading area (only in the area of Balkan Orthodoxy), by its sonority, of course, but also by some nuanced interpretations of its symbolism, specific to the Romanian space. The pre-Christian origin of this instrument is intuited, keeping the purpose of its ancestral use – to drive away evil spirits. “In the beliefs of Romanians, there is a time of day, when it is said that ‘the angel beat the toaca in the sky’ marking the end of the night and the dominion of evil spirits and the beginning of ‘pure’ time, when all spells and halluc ina tio ns fall apart.” (Evseev, 2007, p. 602)

3. Doinatoriu – Opus Sacrum Dacicum: symbols In part I – The Being (lecta part) – there appears for the first time the symbol of the mother that we meet during the work in multiple hypostases, thus becoming the central symbol. Carl Gustav Jung considers the “mother” as one of the most important archetypal symbols due to the multitude of meanings it generates. In his turn, Tudor Chiriac uses in this first part the symbol of the mother with the meanings the Birth-Giving Mother, Universal Mother, Mother- Faith. The music is closely related to the poetic message, together concretizing the idea of this first part, of conscience of faith. The author chooses the organ as the protagonist instrument of the whole opus, exploiting the innumerable timbre availabilities in an ingenious orchestration and of great expressive and semantic impact. In the cantata section of The Being there takes place the constitution of the first doina (Doina I), where the symbol of destiny prevails, and in this case of the Bessarabian destiny until 1989. “On the green mountain veil, / With the grass up to the knees, / Three shepherds climb, / With the sheep after them. // The oldest are good cousins, / The youngest is a stranger, / They keep moving him up and down / With his sheep at the spring, / Planning to kill him”. We notice an analogy of the lyrics with the famous ballad The Little Ewe. The author appeals to the symbolism of The Little Ewe as a component part of our spirituality and as an element present in our tradition for several centuries already. The second part – The Spring – symbolizes permanence, continuity, eternity, and in this case, all these characteristics are attributed to the people (of a nation). In the lecta part, the profile of the people, of steadfastness, of force is outlined by the musical discourse of the organ that starts from the lower register and in only a few measures crosses a great ambitus, gradually highlighting several timbre colours close to those of the shepherd's pipe and

5 Represents a great maple wooden deal (“softer” wood). The height of the sound is determined by the power of the attack and of the place where it is hit by the hammers: on the center of the instrument or on its edges. 47 Artes. Journal of Musicology kaval. This is how the author prepares the generation of the second doina (Doina II), in the cantata section, in which the protagonist becomes the mixed choir, as if having wished to outline even more the idea of the people (of a nation). In the third part – The Star – the organ brings back the theme of Doina I, respectively the symbol of the mother, this time in association with the meaning of the guiding star. Here it seems that the recitative is the one that has the role of accompanist, and the organ plays with sober nobility the theme displayed in the first part, surprising us from time to time not only with the change of registers and timbre colours, but also with the change of the tonal- modal centers. In the fourth part – The Last Sleep – it is important to emphasize that the text belongs to the greatest Bessarabian poet, Grigore Vieru, who composed this poem on the night his mother left this world. Of course, the composer took over the lyrics by extrapolating their primary meaning by associating the words Mother-Homeland. It is a very inspired choice to express despair – the symbol of this part. The message of the text was amplified by music, through very special timbre associations: vocal soloist, nai (pan flute), vibraphone and orchestra. A glissando of the nai (pan flute) in the low register as a thousand words (!), in association with the voice that “says” a doina of mourning on a “sound canvas” created by the murmur of the mixed choir, with small flashes of the vibraphone, makes us think of a real vigil procession, but at an oversized level. The fifth part – The Face – is the only one that has no match in the architecture of the Doinatoriu, but is the perfect representation of a coexisting circle in itself, due to the recurrence of the verses, as in the example of Mihai Eminescu's poem Gloss: “Far away I do not run like the river / That whoever forgets falls apart / With the dew of the ear under my eyelids / I return to what is holy and close to me / To your golden face mother / And my soul flows like wheat”6. The musical discourse itself is nothing but a harmonic figuration in a continuous movement, as in Prelude no. 1 of the first volume of Bach's Well- Tempered Clavier. It is the most representative part of the subject in question – ancestrality – as it invokes the symbol of memory. Also for semantic purposes, the composer achieves a timbre differentiation with a spacing effect between the first and the second articulation. In the sixth part – The Resurrection – the symbol evoked by the composer is the wake. It is the moment when the sublime, the sacred are intensely experienced, through the respect given to the holy things (not from an ecclesiastical point of view), in this case to the Faith, Mother, Homeland. As mentioned above, this part is correlated with The Spring (second part), that is,

6 And the resumption of the lyrics, in the opposite direction, from the last to the first. 48 Studies from a musical point of view, we find in the discourse the theme of Doina II, which supports a profound transformation at the level of several technical parameters. In the seventh part – Eminescu – as the title suggests, is present the symbol of the Star – as the great poet was named – emblematic exponent of the spirituality and value of the Romanian artistic creation. The recitative is conceived as a moment in the Orthodox Christian procession (which is also found in Catholic procession), when the community repeats in chorus the prayer said by the priest (for example before Holy Communion, the Sacraments of Holy Marriage or Holy Baptism). It is a moment of utmost importance, similar to an incantation by which the one who utters those words assumes them and promises to respect them. Musically, after this sermon (as the author himself calls it), the organ comes back in the centre of attention, processing the pre-existing thematic material in parts I and III (Doina I). The eighth part – Doina – has the greatest emotional impact, due to a different dramaturgy from the other parts. The famous Doina on Mihai Eminescu's verses was musically conceived as a work that could exist as well independently, although from a semantic point of view it completes the Doinatoriu, giving it a very special symbol – that of anathema. “Doina represents an equivalence of the part Confutatis maledictis from the Catholic Mass, which is translated in Romanian: Reject the cursed, and it has a clear address – mancurtism.” (Chiriac, 2019, p. 11) The ninth part – Dacian – is intended for the symbol of sacrifice, the same one we find in the ballad The Master builder Manole, that is, the sacrifice in the name of creation. The Doina I theme is amplified to a tutti for the organ, realizing the denouement of the entire musical dramaturgy. “Born in the spirit of honouring the sacred, in Christian faith, and extending the sacredness regardfully and respectfully towards the ancestors, the Doinatoriu is constituted in a work which has symbolic dimensions that exceed the usual ones.” (Chiriac, 2019, p. 11)

3. Conclusions With complex musical thinking and through the scientific approach of the musical phenomenon, the composer Tudor Chiriac accesses universality by elevating and cultivating the Romanian ethos. Notions such as ancestrality, tradition, modernity, ethos, etc. are indispensable in his thoughts and creation, connected to the realities specific to the period in which he composed and activated. Doinatoriu – Opus Sacrum Dacicum is an eloquent example of the materialization of music in which both the melos specific to the Romanian ancestral culture and the inventiveness, the originality of the artistic expression, transpire. Amplified also by a text that abounds in symbols and meanings, the work goes beyond the dials of a pre-existing structure and significance, but

49 Artes. Journal of Musicology especially inspired by other geographical areas, thus constituting a new musical genre belonging to academic music of Romanian ancestral filia tio n.

References Adkinson, R. (2009). Simboluri sacre. Popoare, religii, mistere [Sacred symbols. Peoples, religions, mysteries]. București: Editura ART. Brăiloiu, C. (1974). Opere, III. București: Editura Muzicală a Uniunii Compozitorilor. Breban, V. (1992). Dicționar general al limbii române [General dictionary of the Romanian language]. București: Editura Enciclopedică. Chiriac, T. (2006). Muzica românească de filiație ancestrală [Romanian music of ancestral filiation]. Iași: Editura Artes. Chiriac, T. (2014). Semantica muzicii. Principii fundamentale [The semantics of music. Fundamental principles]. Iași: Editura Artes. Chiriac, T. (2019). Doinatoriu – Opus Sacrum Dacicum. Iași: Editura Artes. Duțică, Gh. (2016). Orizonturi componistice românești [Romanian compositional horizons]. București: Editura Muzicală. Evseev, I. (2007). Enciclopedia simbolurilor religioase și arhetipurilor culturale [Encyclopedia of religious symbols and cultural archetypes]. Timișoara: Editura Învierea. Lovinescu, V. (1996). Dacia hiperboreană [Hyperborean Dacia]. București: Editura Rosmarin. Pănculescu, C. (2001). Taina Kogaiononului. Muntele Sacru al Dacilor [The Mystery of Kogaionon. The Sacred Mountain of the Dacians]. București: Editura Ștefan. Roxin, D. (2012). Spiritul dacic renaște [The Dacian spirit is reborn]. București: Editura Vidia. Sandu-Dediu, V. (2002). Muzica românească între 1944-2000 [Romanian music between 1944-2000]. București: Editura Muzicală. Săvescu, N. (2012). Noi nu suntem urmașii Romei [We are not the descendants of Rome], I. Buzău: Editura Teocora.

50 DOI: 10.2478/ajm-2021-0003

Studies

Aspects of Translating Musical Instruments in Foreign Travellers Through the Romanian Principalities, I-X Series of Volumes

EDUARD RUSU, PhD “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University Iași ROMANIA ∗

Abstract: Whether we are talking about those written directly in Romanian, or whether we are referring to those translated into the same language, the narrative sources are the main source of documentation in the process of reconstructing any aspect related to our past. Regarding music and all the elements related to it, the category of sources we refer to is the most important source of information, even if, in relation to other aspects, music is relatively little “present” within these writings. Therefore, trying to correctly and accurately determine the described musical instruments, as well as the related terminology, is important, but also difficult. On the occasion of a more extensive work (i.e. doctoral thesis) I noticed, especially in the category of sources referred to here, a series of mistranslated musical instruments which makes it difficult or even far from understanding and creating a more accurate picture of the musical atmosphere of past centuries. All these aspects draw our attention first of all by resorting to comparing the translations with the original version after which they were made, but also by comparing the descriptions regarding music related to Romania with those referring to Romaniansʼ neighbors or those with which we have come into consistent contact with throughout history. Therefore, in the following, we propose to analyze the main cases of mistranslations identified by us, a comparison with the original alternatives of the texts after which they were made, but also a framing of the historical context, without which the proper understanding risks would not be fully achieved.

Keywords: music, musical instruments, translation, literary sources, Romanian Principalities.

1. Introduction The aim of this material is to bring forward some important aspects, from our point of view, regarding the translation of musical instruments from different foreign languages into Romanian, translations that also represent important testimonies belonging to several foreign travellers in the Romanian territory, over the centuries. Although several categories of sources translated or even written directly into Romanian could enter this analysis, we will refer here only to the first series of volumes which contain a great deal of such kind

∗ [email protected] 51 Artes. Journal of Musicology of testimonies, chronologically organized from the second half of the 14th century to the last years of the 18th century and included in the Foreign Travellers Through the Romanian Principalities collectio n, volumes I-X. Despite the fact that the approach may seem somewhat reckless and less unfounded at first glance, we believe that those who want to find out as accurately as possible things about musical instruments and bands, but also about their use in the period covered here will find all the information included valuable. The reason why we have come to question the correctness of the translations of certain musical terms lies at the basis of broader research (Rusu, 2020a) and consisted of drawing a comparison between the proper translations and the original variants after which they had been made – with the cases when this was possible – because, from a logical point of view, some instruments described in the mentioned texts were adapted neither to context nor to the musical ensemble referred to. We will therefore proceed to expose the main cases of mistranslated musica l instrume nts identified by us.

2. The trumpet Probably, the most common issue refers to the reason why in the Romanian language sources, translated or not, we rarely find references to the musical instrument called “trumpet”. We came to be in the position of wondering ourselves about this by consulting the bibliography on European military music, noting that there, in most cases, one talks about the “trumpet”, in places where in our country people talk about the “trâmbiță”. Starting from here, we compared the original sources to the translated ones and we concluded that in the Romanian language the term “trumpet” was mostly often translated as “trembita” (trâmbiță) (Fig. 1, Fig. 2).

Fig. 1 (Papană, 2019, p. 527) Fig. 2 (Solcanu, 2002, p. 177, fig. 54) Trembita Trembita, Herodʼs feast, Sucevita Monastery

52 Studies

In order to try to give a proper explanation of this fact, firstly it is useful to see what exactly the “trembita” is and what its role was in the history and musical practice of the Romanian Principalities. From the chronicle’s accounts regarding the first centuries of state existence of Moldavia and Wallachia one can see that in addition to drums, in the military music the “bucium” and sometimes the “trembita” are mentioned first, or they are sometimes taken one for the other. One of the first documentary testimonies of the presence of the “trembita”, in sources whose written language is the Romanian language, refers to the account of the battle of Vaslui, in 1475, fought by Ștefan cel Mare against the Ottomans. Recounting that event, Grigore Ureche (Ureche, 1958, p. 92) mentions the “buciume” and “trembitas”, while admitting that there is a difference between the two musical instruments. Other testimonies of the presence of this instrument, belonging to almost the same period, are the vernacular Psalters, where the “trembita” appears as a distinct term to the “bucium” (see Toma, 1979). Although it is similar to the “bucium”, the “trembita” emits sharper and clearer sounds (Trembita ...). The “trembita” seems to be originated in the Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains area, where it represents the specific traditional Hutsul instrument, used mainly in the pastoral environment. It was made of coniferous wood (Dallais, Weber, Briner & Liengme, 2002, pp. 22-24), and in other places one finds out that the “trembita” is an ancient “trumpet” used for sound signaling in the mountainous area of the Ukrainian Carpathians (Nestyev, 1950, p. 316). If the “ancient trumpet” refers to an instrument made of metal, because the trumpet is an instrument exclusively made of this material, we believe that there is a possibility of existence of a variant of this instrument, made of metal and most like ly used in the milita r y fie ld . Teodor Burada states that “in our country, as well as in other old countries, the trembita is made of metal and is in the hands of soldiers in order to signal war” (Burada, 1975, p. 230), and elsewhere, the same author says that the trembita is an instrument made of wood, which resembles the Roman “tuba” in terms of shape and sound (Burada, 1974a, p. 230). Burada, trying to tell the differences between the bucium and the trembita, also says that the Romans used an instrument called “buccinum” or “buccina” made of metal and which remained in the territory inhabited by Romanians for the use of shepherds, where it was used for calling animals or for long distance communication through emitting sound signals. He also adds that after analyzing the chronicles and old folk poems, it turned out that the “bucium” made a terrible sound, which makes him believe that this instrument was made not only of wood, but also of

53 Artes. Journal of Musicology metal, “a kind of military trumpet” (Burada, 1974b, pp. 98-100). Or, the “tuba”, translated into Italian by “tromba”, was made of metal or animal horns, being used by the Roman armies to transmit various signals (Scoditti, 2010, p. 181). Most likely, the instrument entered our territories at the same time with the presence of the Romans here and remained in the use of the locals, especially of those from the mountainous areas1. Another example refers to the moment after the anointing of Constantin Brâncoveanu as ruler, when all those present leave the church and go to the palace, where they are greeted with “zurnas” (surla), princely trembitas and Turkish trembitas (Mazilu, 2004, p. 677). The princely trembitas are mentioned, separately from the Turkish ones, precisely because there was a difference in meaning. Those Turkish trembitas are nothing but the “boru” trumpets from the mehterhane (Fig. 3, Fig. 4) – which we have talked about on other occasions (Rusu, 2020b, pp. 51-52; Rusu, 2020c, pp. 50-51) – the band that is often mentioned in the reports of the lord leaving the church, after he was anointed to the throne. Apart from some sources in the Romanian language, no other source or specialized work consulted gives a name to the boru trumpet of the mehterhane and the trembita, because it was not in fact a trembita. We believe that this example is very important to notice that in the Romanian language or in other Romanian language sources there is no difference in usage between the trumpet and the trembita, even if it was obvious. Therefore, there appears the idea suggesting that Romanians did not use the trumpet, which was a very popular instrument throughout Europe and not only here. The “princely and Turkish trumpeters” phrase confirms the hypothesis mentioned before and attests this widespread terminological confusion.

1 The synonymity of some terms, proposed by Zoltán Falvy for comparison, is very interesting as well. According to him, the Latin word “buccina” is translated into Hungarian as “síp, egyenes trombita busina”, into English as “straight-trumpet busina”, and the Romanian correspondent being most likely “trembitas” (Falvy, 1987, p. 104). Specifically, the Romanian “bucina” or “buccina” was a military musical instrument (translated into Italian by “military trumpet” (Altieri, 1749, p. 118)), made of an animal horn or bronze, the bronze one having a curved shape (Scoditti, 2010, pp. 32-33). As there was no instrument of a similar shape in the central-eastern part of Europe, the only logical variant which corresponds both in terms of the material of which it was made, the sound and the period of time in which it was used is the trembita, as the Hungarian and English terms specify, is indeed straight in shape. 54 Studies

Fig. 3 (Kastner, 1848, sketch VIII) Fig. 4 (Vural, 2016, p. 39, fig. 15) Boru trumpet Mehterhane, detail

Turning thus to foreign travellers’s testimonies, which refer to the trumpet (Fig. 5, Fig. 6), one can notice that they are translated into Romanian in most cases by the term “trembita” (trâmbiță). We will try to prove our hypothesis by giving some examples, one from each volume. The first chronological example is an account from the first volume of this series, where “trompettes” (Wavrin, 1859, p. 114, passim) is translated as “trembitas” (trâmbițe) (Holban, 1968, p. 119, passim); in the second volume, the Latin “tuba” (Sommero, 1587, p. 42) is translated as “trembita” (Holban, Alexandrescu-Dresca Bulgaru and Cernovodeanu, 1970, p. 265); in the third volume, the Italian term “trombe” (Pascu, 1944, p. 167) is translated as “trembitas” (trîmbe) (Holban, Alexandrescu-Dresca Bulgaru and Cernovodeanu, 1971, p. 7); in the fourth volume, the French term “trompettes” (M.I.B.A. En P., 1620, pp. 66-67; Papiu Ilarianu, 1863, p. 35) is translated as “trembitas” (Holban, Alexandrescu-Dresca Bulgaru and Cernovodeanu , 1972, p. 397); in the fifth volume, the Latin “tubae” (Cipariu, 1867, p. 13)2 is translated by “the trembitas” (trâmbițele) (Holban, Alexandrescu-Dresca Bulgaru and Cernovodeanu, 1973, p. 65); in the seventh volume, “trompettes” (from Croix, 1684, p. 196) is translated as “trembitas” (Holban, Alexandrescu- Dresca Bulgaru and Cernovodeanu, 1980, p. 263)3, and in the eighth volume,

2 This source offers a bilingual version of the text, Latin and Romanian, and the term “tubae” has been translated as “timpanis” which is also a mistranslation, because the timpanis are in fact, drums. 3 It is somewhat strange that in the same account, translated from the same source, the same terms were translated correctly. See (Holban, Alexandrescu-Dresca Bulgaru & Cernovodeanu, 1980, pp. 258, 261; de la Croix, 1684, pp. 180, 189). 55 Artes. Journal of Musicology the Polish term “trębaczów” (Panaitescu, 1930, p. 88)4 was translated as “trembita players” (trâmbițași) (Holban, Alexandrescu-Dresca Bulgaru and Cernovodeanu, 1983, p. 166; Panaitescu, 1930, p. 101). Although the examples may go on, we limit ourselves to these.

Fig. 5 (Duțu, 1984, sketch V). Military trumpet, Fig. 6 (Dima, 2014, p. 432). Trumpet, end of the 18th century, miniature of Nastase Negrule the novel Erotocrit, miniature by Chancellor (Logofăt) Petrache, 1787

In conclusion, we consider that such a trumpet really existed, it was used in Moldavia and Wallachia, and it came into use from the Western European part together with the statal development and implicitly with the army or court life, being very well known and becoming to be represented in several cases, but which was not necessarily imposed from a terminological point of view, getting lost among the names of the older instruments from the same large musical family, used by the Romanian people. In fact, the differences between the instruments discussed can be easily seen from the church painting, where the painters captured the everyday reality of those historical times. The oldest evidence of the presence of the trumpet on the Romanian territory comes from Transylvania, during Borilă’s time and it is captured by the Geoffroi de Villehardouin chronicler, who talks about the armed confrontation between Borilă and the crusading knights, in 1207, when the Wallachians used trumpets to give the battle signal (Cosma, 1973, p. 133).

3. The “Nagara” Drum This term represents variants of the name of the same musical instrument, which belongs to the category of the percussion ones, of Arab- Persian origin; ancient tympanum with hemispherical or conical base, of small size, made of wood or bronze. The nagara drum was specific to the martial

4 In Polish “trębacz” is translated as “trumpeter”. Cf. (Swan, p. 359). 56 Studies music of the Arabs and later of the Ottomans – in the well-known mehterhane (Rusu 2020b, pp. 46-48; Rusu 2020c, pp. 44-46) –, being made in the modern versions of terracotta, which has a membrane attached to it by some leather ties and it is used in pairs (Farmer 2000a, p. 35; Bărbuceanu, 2014, p. 178). The nagara drum (Fig. 7, Fig. 8) is considered to be the ancestor of the tympanum currently used in symphony musical orchestras (Demian, 1968, p. 39). The identification of this musical instrument in the indicated volumes was the most difficult because, depending on the language from which the text was translated, the nagara drum can be found under several names, each of them eventually leading to the same musical instrument. Thus, in French the term appears as: “caissettes” (dʼOhsson, 1824, p. 155), “petites timballes” (Hammer, 1839, p. 17; Dumont and de Rousset Missy, 1739, p. 497 ), “naré” (d’Ohsson, 1824, p. 23) or “timbales” (d’Ohsson, 1791, p. 416), a term most often used and translated into Romanian by “ţimbal/țambal” (dulcimer) (Suciu, 2010, pp. 533). “Kettle-drum” is the variant of the term in English (Farmer, 1929, pp. 224-225), which can be considered even a variant of the “tom-toms” similar instrument (Pașcanu, 1980, pp. 155-156). The multitude of translation versions of this musical instrument has generated a lot of confusion, and an explanation for it is given by Henry George Farmer, who shows the source of the name and the transformations that this term undergoes. Until the establishment of a common, stable terminology, the nagara drum was called by multiple names, but later, after crystallizing under the name of “naḳḳāra”, this instrument was known in Europe under several names such as “naker”, “nacaire”, and the synonymous Persian term “ṭinbal” becomes “timbale” or “tymbala” (Farmer, 2000b, p. 32).

Fig. 7 (mehter.com) Fig. 8 (auburnsymphonyinschools.weebly.com) Nagara drum Performer at nagara drum at the bottom of the image

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As the terminological course of the nagara drum throughout time has been shown, we will proceed to bring forward some examples taken from the volumes of Foreign Travellers Through the Romanian Principalities collection, showing both the original term and the one given by the translators of these texts. A first example is the account of the Swedish peace envoy led by Clas Brorsson Ralamb, in 1657, who passes through Târgoviște on their way to Constantinople. It is described as the time of raising the toast glasses to honour the sultan and the rulers of the neighbouring countries, as usual, during the festive meal. Each glass was accompanied with music played at “skripkas”, “buciume”, drums, “ţimbale” and other Turkish instruments that played together making a lot of noise (Holban, Alexandrescu-Dresca Bulgaru and Cernovodeanu, 1973, p. 611). “Țimbale” corresponds to the term “kettle- drums” taken from the version after which the translation of this text was made (Rolamb, 1732, p. 677), referring to a mehterhane which includes the nagara drum as well. De la Croix accurately captures the customs that are held at the Moldovian and Wallachian Courts on the occasion of celebrating Easter. According to him, the ruler followed by many members of the Court leave the palace in the sounds made by trembitas and drums and heads towards the Metropolitan Church, where he is greeted by the Metropolitan Bishop and where he attends the Resurrection service (Holban, Alexandrescu-Dresca Bulgaru and Cernovodeanu, 1980, p 263). After it, all those present, according to their rank, go and kiss the hands of the Metropolitan Bishop and the lady and probably the icon of the Resurrection, each greeting the others with the traditional words “Christ is Risen”, while the drums, trumpets, “țimbalele” (the nagara drums (De la Croix , 1695, p. 47)) and the oboes (the zurnas), meaning the mehterhane, play their own music, along with the cannon and rifle salute, but also with the cheers of the people (Holban, Alexandrescu-Dresca Bulgaru and Cernovodeanu, 1980, p. 267). The Moldavian prince Nicolae Mavrocordat’s music, played at the moment when he greeted the Polish peace envoy in 1712, is rendered as: “the Moldavian music [...] playing the whistles, zurnas, trembitas and drums and the janissaries beating the daraban drums; skripkas, “țimbale”, drymbas and discreet mandoras completed the concert given by the gypsies” (Holban, Alexandrescu-Dresca Bulgaru and Cernovodeanu, 1983, p. 594). The term “țimbale” in the version after which the text was taken from is “timbale” (Panaitescu, 1930, p. 136), which specifically refers to the nagara drums. The procession of the ruler Matei Ghica, when greeting a Polish peace envoy, consisted of trembitas and “țimbale” (Holban, Alexandrescu-Dresca Bulgaru and Cernovodeanu, 1997, pp. 364-365). The term “țimbal” in the quoted text refers to the same nagara drums, and in French (Iorga, 1899, p. 35), the version after which the translation was made, the term used is “timbal”. In

58 Studies another welcoming procession, that of the ruler known as Teodor Callimachi, the same musical instruments – trembitas and “țimbale” – were mentioned (Holban, Alexandrescu-Dresca Bulgaru and Cernovodeanu, 1997, p. 426). The term “țimbal” in the French version (Iorga, 1899, p. 44) after which the translation was made, is “tymballe” and it refers again to the same nagara drum, not to “țimbal” or “țambal” (dulcimer). Another account refers again to the Romanian lands. The description made in 1768 by Nicolaus Ernest Kleemann, a German commercial agent, travelling through Wallachia, Chilia and Crimea, captures the beauty of the musical atmosphere in the yard the Căușani khan, as follows: “I’ve never heard anything more sinful, more discordant as song and tone. Ten individuals blew in some instruments similar to an oboe [zurna], which was about half of it and with a very thick end. Three were beating on small dulcimers about which you could not know what they were made of, because of the mud on them. Ten men had large drums hanging from their necks to which patches of red cloth were tied; these beat tactfully with a large stick which was bent over the drum and with another one, smaller, beat very fast below the drum. This music was started by ten oboists who blew for a few minutes in the same tone; then one blew a solo and made cadences, fugues, triolets, musical ornaments until his face turned green, blue and black; then they all sang together, and a little later the dulcimers began their rattling, which was accompanied by drums. Everything was going andante, but to get a real song would have been a pure impossibility. When a piece was finished, the first oboe began again and the others followed it again according to the way described above. At the end, one of the musicians made a wish for the khan in a loud voice and all the others ended it with a loud shout” (Holban, Alexandrescu-Dresca Bulgaru and Cernovodeanu, 1997, p. 638). As in previous cases, one can find here another example of terminological inconsistency, this time translated from German. The term “țambal”, which in the original version of the text is “Pauke” (Kleeman, 1773, p. 69) with the equivalent “paucă” into Romanian, translates as “timpan” (Bărbuceanu, 2014, pp. 198, 250), which is a kind of drums. In the text, these timpanis are described as being of a small size, certainly the author having the intention of referring to nagara drums, because the nagara drum is a type of small-sized timpani. Most likely, although it is specified in the ninth volume of the Foreign Travellers Through the Romanian Principalities collection, at the beginning of the text, that the translation was made after the German version (Holban, Alexandrescu-Dresca Bulgaru and Cernovodeanu, 1997, p. 621), it was actually made after the French one. The biographical file dedicated to the author also specifies the languages in which the work was translated, among which, French. Comparing the French version to the Romanian one, we noticed that the translation of the Romanian text was made after the French version, not

59 Artes. Journal of Musicology after the German original, because as mentioned before, the type of nagara drums is translated as “țimbal”, having absolutely nothing to do with “Pauke”, and in French the same term “timbal” appears (Kleeman, 1780, p. 59), mistranslated in so many cases. The translator could not derive “Pauke” to “țambal”, while from “timbal” the possibility is more than obvious. Following the same reason, all the terms “țimbal” encountered in the volumes of Turkish Chronicles (Guboglu and Mehmet, 1966; Guboglu, 1974; Mehmet, 1980) also indisputably refer to the nagara drums. A less common case is the account about Pasha of Hotin’s Ottoman music with which he welcomes the peace envoy led by Iosif Podoski. It consisted of “trembitas and drums covered with red cloth and bagpipes”, which produced a “loud noise, very unpleasant for the ears unaccustomed to such a thing“ (Holban, Alexandrescu-Dresca Bulgaru and Cernovodeanu, 1997, p. 410). Not only from the enumeration of the instruments, but also from the description of the unpleasant sonority often encountered in the stories of foreign travelers, can one infer that this kind of band was a mehterhane, especially since its members adorned their drums with red cloth. The bagpipe appears unnaturally listed among the instruments of the mehterhane, and in the version after which the translation used here was made – P. P. Panaitescu, Polish Travellers Through the Romanian Principalities – the term “tulumbase” appears in between inverted comas (Panaitescu, 1930, p. 196), probably being taken as such by Panaitescu from the text after which he made the translation. “Tulumbase” or “litavră” (litavry) is a percussion instrument (drum) specific to the military music of Russia and Ukraine which is struck with a leather strap called a “boshchaga” (Katchanovski, Kohut, Nesebio and Yurkevich, 2013, p. 182; Bărbuceanu, 2014, p. 155). Most likely Adam Golarlowski, the author of the account, referred by this term to the nagara drums, associating them with a similar musical instrument, known to him, as one has noticed in other cases, too.

4. The Zurna From the description of Auguste de Lagarde, a traveller through Wallachia, one can see that the Ottoman music played at ruler Caragea’s court consisted of “fifty big drums, the same number of “țambale” (dulcimers), three bagpipes and six oboes” (Filitti, Marinescu, Rădulescu-Zoner and Stroia, 2004, pp. 568). There is to be noticed here the mentioning of the bagpipe, which is a unique one, as in the previous example. Indeed, the first meaning in the Romanian language of the French “musette” (de Lagarde, 1824, p. 336) is “bagpipe” but, the reason why one cannot believe that the bagpipe is a component part of the mehterhane is due to the fact that it is mentioned only in accounts about the Romanian Principalities, translated from other languages. We believe that Auguste de Lagarde tried to translate the instrument seen at

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Carageaʼs court by an instrument endowed with a similar sonority or form, to those known to him, most probably referring to the “musette de Poitou” instrument, which, according to the Dictionnaire de la musique Larousse, is an instrument similar to a short oboe, emitting shrill sounds, totally different from “musette” (Vignal, 2005, p. 2490). Probably, the instrument seen by Legarde is a zurna or a species of zurna (Fig. 9., Fig. 10). In addition, in the Dictionary of Musical Instruments (Bărbuceanu, 2014, p. 173), “zurnas” appears as an equivalent term for bagpipes, and in the same dictionary, the second meaning of the term “musette” is a modern term for the type of keyless oboe or rustic bagpipes, found in France, similar in shape to the “musette de Poitou” instrume nt.

Fig. 9 (Dima, 2014, p. 433). Zurna, Fig. 10 (commons.wikimedia.org). Zurna, at the the novel Erotocrit, miniatured by middle of the image, Topkapı Serail Museum Chancellor (Logofăt) Petrache, 1787

5. Conclusions These few examples are intended to illustrate how a mistranslation can impede the reader’s correct understanding or even change the outcome of a piece of research, thus depriving a possible attempt to reconstruct our Romania n musica l past of some important elements. These three instruments – the trembita, the nagara drum and the zurna – referred to in this short account represent the most obvious examples of erroneous or incomplete translations, which distort or even keep somebody away from a correct understanding of the texts or from the apprehension of the musical instruments used centuries ago.

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Except for the examples included here, there are many others for the same musical instruments, all leading to the same result. But there are other instruments as well that have been mistranslated or incompletely translated, such as: the tanbûr, the cistra (cetera) (etc.), which can join those already displayed above.

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Kleeman, N. E. (1780). Voyage de Vienne a Belgrade et a Kilianova, dans le pays des Tartares Budziacs & Nogais dans la Crimée, & Kaffa à Constantinople [...] [Travel from Vienna to Belgrade and Kilianova, in the Land of the Budziacs & Nogais Tartars in the Crimea, & Kaffa in Constantinople (...)], traduit de lʼallemand a Neuchatel. M. I. B. A. En P. (Jean Baret) (1620). Histoire sommaire des choses plus memorables advenues aux derniers troubles de Moldavie [Brief History of More Memorable Things that Happened During the Last Troubles in Moldova]. Paris. Mazilu, D. H. (2004). Istoria Țării Românești de la octombrie 1688 până la martie 1717 (Anonimul brâncovenesc) [History of Wallachia from October 1688 to March 1717 (Anonymous Brâncovenesc)], in Cronicari munteni [Wallachian Chroniclers], text selection, introductory study, notes, commentary and glossary by Dan Horia Mazilu. București: Editura Fundației Naționale pentru Știință și Artă, Univers Enciclopedic. Mehmet, M. A. (eds.) (1980). Cronici turcești privind Țările Române [Turkish Chronicles on the Romanian Principalities], extracts, III. Late 16th century-early 19th century. București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România. Nestyev, I., (1950). Moscow Opera, Operetta Theatres Stage Briliant New Productions. USSR Information Bulletin, X, 10, May 26, 315-317. Washington: Embassy of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Panaitescu, P. P. (1930). Călători poloni în Țările Române [Polish Travelers to the Romanian Principalities]. București. Papană, O. (2019). Instrumentele tradiționale românești. Studii acustico-muzicale [Romanian Traditional Instruments. Acoustic-Musical Studies], volume II. București: Editura Etnologică. Papiu Ilarianu, A. (1863). Tesauru de monumente istorice pentru Romania [Treasure of Historical Monuments for Romania], II. Bucuresci. Pascu, Ș. (1944). Petru Cercel și Țara Românească la sfârșitul sec. XVI. [Petru Cercel and Wallachia at the End of the 16th Century]. Sibiu: Tipografia „Cartea Românească din Cluj”. Pașcanu, A. (1980). Despre instrumentele muzicale [About Musical Instruments]. București: Editura Muzicală. Rolamb, N. (1732). A Relation of a Journey to Constantinople [...], translated from the Copy printed in Swedish at Stockholm, A Collection of Voyages and Travels Some Now First Printed from «Original Manuscripts», Others Now First Published in English in Six Volumes, V. London. Rusu, E. (2020a). Muzica și puterea politică în Moldova și Țara Românească, secolele XV-XVIII [Music and Political Power in Moldavia and Wallachia, 15th-18th Centuries], (Ph.D. thesis, Department of History, University „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” of Iași, coordinator Ștefan S. Gorovei). Iași (514 pp.). Rusu, E. (2020b). The Political Symbolic and Musical Artistic Role of the Mehterhane. The Case of the Romanian Principalities. Berlin: Lambert Academic Publishing.

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Rusu, E. (2020c). Die politische symbolische und musikalisch kunstlerische Rolle von Mehterhane. Der Fall der Rumänischen Fürstentümer [The Political Symbolic and Musical Artistic Role of the Mehterhane. The Case of the Romanian Principalities]. Berlin: Verlag Unser Wissen. Scoditti, F. (2010). Musicae Latinae Glossarium [Latin Music Glossar], prefazione di Aldo Luisi. Roma. Solcanu, I. I. (2002). Artă și societate românească (sec. XIV-XVIII) [Romanian Art and Society (14th-18th Centuries)]. București: Editura Enciclopedică. Sommero, J. (1587). Vita Jacobi Despotae Moldavorum Reguli [Life of Moldavian Ruler Iacob Despot], Witebergae, 1587. In Deux vies de Jacques Basilicos seigneur de Samos, marquis de Paros, comte palatin et prince de Moldavie [Two Lives of Jacques Basilicos Lord of Samos, Marquis of Paros, Count Palatine and Prince of Moldavia], publiées par Èmile Legrand. Paris, 1889. Suciu, E. (2010). Influența turcă asupra limbii române. Dicționarul cuvintelor românești de origine turcă [Turkish Influence on the Romanian Language. Dictionary of Romanian Words of Turkish Origin], vol. II. București: Editura Academiei Române. Swan, O. E. A Learnerʼs Polish-English Dictionary (https://epdf.pub/learners-polish- english-dictionary.html). Toma, S. (1979). Psaltirea slavo-română (1577), în comparație cu psaltirile coresiene din 1570 și din 1589 [The Slavo-Romanian Psalter (1577), Compared to the Koresian Psalter of 1570 and 1589], established text, introduction and index by Stela Toma. București: Editura Academiei Române. Ureche, G. (1958). Letopisețul Țării Moldovei [The Chronicle of the Country of Moldavia], neat edition, introductory study, index and glossary by P. P. Panaitescu. București: Editura de Stat pentru Literatură și Artă. Vignal, M. (2005). Dictionnaire de la musique Larousse [Larousse Music Dictionary], sous le direction de Marc Vignal, nouvelle edition. Paris. Vural, T. (2016). Mehter Geleneğinin Yaşayan Kimliği [The Living Identity of Mehter Tradition], The Journal of Academic Social Science Studies, No. 46, Spring IV, (29- 40). DOI: 10.9761/JASSS3312. Wavrin, J. (1859). Anchiennes Croniques DʼEngleterre [Old English Chronicles], annotés et publiés par Dupont, tome deuxième. Paris.

66 DOI: 10.2478/ajm-2021-0004 Studies

Ion Baciu – a musician who needs to be rediscovered

ALEX VASILIU, PhD “George Enescu” National University of Arts Iași ROMANIA ∗

Abstract: Ion Baciu is remembered in the history of Romanian music as the organiser of a musical institution, orchestra trainer and a performer of great depth of George Enescu’s works. His exceptional achievements were the foundation and training of the new symphonic ensemble of the Iași Philharmonic, equal to the few high-performing collectives of the country, which had reached a level of European quality, the assertion of superior conceptual-aesthetic standards in deciphering the particular features of Enescu’s music. The encomiastic chronicles of the most important musical critics, the audio-video recordings, the evocations of those who knew him intimately remain precious, incontestable documents regarding the value of an artist who deserves to be brought back to public consciousness. The micro-study reproduced in what follows sketches a few defining trajectories of Ion Baciu’s personality on the basis of archival samples, from bibliographic testimonies, some of them unresearched until nowadays, to patrimony recordings, unfortunately ignored. In the year of the celebration of nine decades from his birth, of four decades from the historic version of the opera Oedipe, on the commemoration of 120 years from George Enescu’s birth, one should emphasise the merits of the Conservatoire professor, philharmonic manager and conductor who contributed essentially to the inscription of Iași among the important musical centres of the country.

Keywords: The Super Orchestra, The Philharmonic from Iași, George Enescu, conducting conception.

1. Introduction A builder of orchestras, a poet of musical colour, a visionary. The goldsmith of sonic substance transformed in highly vibrating psychic climates of the soul. Respectfully devoted to the score, injecting it with his overwhelming sensibility. A performance creator, a subject of admiration of the most cultivated, lucid and parsimonious musical critics, a master of the public attending his concerts like a calling, freeing their inner tension through endless applause after the audition. After Constantin Silvestri, the most appropiate keeper of the keys to the treasures gathered in George Enescu’s music. A winner on the uneven ground of the recordings which often impose the restrictive picture of the construction and spirit of musical works. A conductor scrupulous-affectionate with his orchestra, to which he dedicated himself without reserve, ignoring the gates that would have opened for him the

∗ alexvasiliujazz@gma il.co m 67 Artes. Journal of Musicology road to success in the wide world. A Don Quixote vanquished by the wickedness of the times and of certain people, a Human being who stayed in the memory, in the soul of the performers he trained, of the prestigious soloists partnering with him on the stage.

2. Biographic-artistic references The first coordinates of Ion Baciu’s personality can be found in his family. His father conveyed to him the Wallachians’ expertise in organising their social relations, his mother, having been born in the old village of Brateiu, bequeathed to him the Saxon spirit of organisation and an acute sensibility, often marked by dreamy states. She also bequeathed to him the beautiful appearance – as Ion Baciu was later a pleasant man who convinced, conquered others. It is important that both parents were amateur musicians, his mother played the piano well (her son surpassed her regarding the technical- performing qualities) and the tradition of choirs, of the brass bands in Transylvania, including the native Brateiu, familiarised the future conductor as early as his youth with voices in an ensemble, with instruments. However, out of all illustrious professors from the Bucharest Conservatoire, Constantin Silvestri influenced him most. Certainly the obsessive rigour of the details in working with the orchestra, which did not affect the freedom of treating the sonic substance, always respectful to the style, the spirit of each work, Silvestri’s other creative obsession – Enescu’s music – strongly, beneficially marked Ion Baciu’s evolution. A stressful reality at first sight constituted the base of his great success later. Still a student (he had finished his third year), Ion Baciu began his conducting activity in Ploiești, where the foundation of a symphonic orchestra was desired. The reduced dimensions of the ensemble, the performers’ amateur status, despite their passion and discipline, the lack of many scores, the imposition by the politics of the time of not always valuable works of maximum accessibility did not discourage him. Passionate about this profession, once attending the specialty courses of the Conservatoire, proven to have good prospects, any student receives the advice and convinces himself of the necessity of having an orchestra available. I think this was the dream that he dreamt for one and a half decades, as long as he worked with the orchestra in Ploiești, from 1953, until he arrived in front of the orchestra of the Iași Conservatoire. The multiplication of material difficulties, the impossibility of gathering a sufficiently large, stable ensemble, as the performers had small salaries, did not receive apartments and preferred Bucharest, where in the late 1950s there were three symphonic orchestras (of the Philharmonic, of the Radio broadcasting station and of the Cinema), determined Baciu to forsake Ploiești, where he was leaving so many beautiful memories, where he had won prestige by collaborating with the most important Romanian soloists of the time. Marin

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Constantin, in 1960 deputy manager at the Music Directorate from the Ministry of Culture, proposed him the position of conductor of the Romanian National Opera from Bucharest, Ion Baciu signed the contract but at the last moment he decided to come to Iași. I think four reasons urged him to reconsider: firstly, the opera repertoire would have been restrictive for his possibilities and ambitions, despite the fact that years after he reached unique performances by leading the ensembles of the lyrical theatres from Iași and from Bucharest, reaching the masterpiece of his life, Oedipe, made with the Philharmonic orchestra and with the Choir of the Opera from Iași! Secondly, the positions of conductors of the three Bucharest orchestras were occupied and even if one of those had been allocated to him, he would have had to fight the egos of the titulars (George Georgescu and Constantin Silvestri would have left him little freedom of movement, as they manifested themselves towards Antonin Ciolan when he was a conductor of the orchestra of the Bucharest Philharmonic). Thirdly, he could not betray his dearest dream – of leading an orchestra, even if provincial, which he would have educated according to his exactingness and projects. I am convinced, he trusted his own powers of moulding a symphonic body, of conferring to it a top-of-the-range value status. He proved it, as much as was possible, with the small orchestra from Ploiești, he was certain he was capable of more if he had his own orchestra. Fourthly, the policy of the Romanian state in the 1960s, 70s and 80s imposed the permanent reflection of the cultural life in the other cities of the country. Chronicles and reports about the concerts of the philharmonics were frequently published in the press of the time, concerts, opera performances from Cluj and Iași were quite often broadcast on the radio – one immediately found out in Bucharest about the artistic performances reached “in the country”. Time proved that Ion Baciu thought correctly, in visionary fashion, about the four coordinates of the musical-administrative policy. Additionally, the total support of the rector of the Iași Conservatoire, Achim Soia, Ion Baciu’s meticulous, inspired work with the student ensemble had as an effect rapid, exceptional musical-artistic results, that stimulated the organisation of his tours in Bucharest, the radio-TV recordings, then the conductor’s summoning at the desk of the orchestras of the “George Enescu” Philharmonic and of the Radiotelevision, in front of the orchestras from the other musical centres of the country are important arguments. It is equally true that the second and third part of his musical destiny were beneficially influenced by the context in which the Conservatoire and the Iași Philharmonic were found when he came in 1962, by the massive help he received from the most important musician of the place in those years. Another visionary, composer and professor Achim Stoia, the rector of the Conservatoire re-established not long before (1960), wished to employ top-of-the-range young musicians in order to create a solid musical school. Thanks to him, after

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Ion Baciu, Anton Zeman, Vasile Spătărelu, Sabin Păutza were employed as teaching staff. Achim Stoia’s care for the training of young performers was also visible in bringing prestigious collaborators from Bucharest – it was violinist George Hamza’s case, a professional of chamber music, the leader of one of the most valuable string quartets, Muzica, a respected theoretician of the technique and stylistics of the string quartet performance. Hamza taught chamber music at the Iași Conservatoire, as he is credited with the appearance of a few student quartets appreciated by the chroniclers who listened to them in Iași or Bucharest.1 Nor were the most talented students of the Conservatoire neglected. In 1964 the “Moldova” string quartet began its activity, the first instrumental ensemble of this type asserted nationally through concerts in Iași, at the Romanian Athenaeum from Bucharest, at the Philharmonic in Bacău, at the Chamber Music Festival in Brașov, whose recordings were broadcast at the Romanian Radio Company. Praiseworthy is even now the promptness with which Achim Stoia immediately placed the right man at the right place: beginning as early as the academic year 1962-1963, Ion Baciu taught at the Conservatoire The orchestra ensemble and Orchestra conducting, which proves that Achim Stoia and Baciu were aware of the necessity of renewing the symphonic ensemble of the Philharmonic with the most valuable young people. Having just settled in Iași, Baciu found himself in the double privileged situation of being a young conductor and professor, but the owner of a rich repertoire, mastered during the years spent behind the desk of the orchestra from Ploiești, a repertoire which would be rapidly enriched. With youthful élan, with the possibilities offered to him by the progressively younger orchestra, stimulated by the liberalisation of political and cultural life, begun exactly during the years 1962-1963, Ion Baciu included in the programmes 20 th century works absent until then: Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, The Firebird, L’Histoire du soldat, Béla Bartók’s Concerto no. 2, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, Anton Webern’s Six pieces, Alexander Scriabin’s Poem of Ecstasy, Claude Debussy’s The Sea, Maurice Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé Suites. These are a few examples.

2.1. The Super Orchestra Ion Baciu began the third stage of his career as an artisan of the orchestra from Iași in 1968, after the entire collective grew younger. Once more, the circumstances favoured him: as manager of the Philharmonic, he had the legal

1 In 1974, the quartet Melos held a concert at the “George Enescu” Philharmonic, in 1975 the “Cantabile” quartet. The members of the Voces Contemporanae quartet (as the well-known Voces ensemble was called first) also worked with George Hamza. “Ever since George Hamza became a chamber music professor (at the Iași Conservatoire), a categorical increase of the artistic value of the student chamber ensembles formed by him can be observed.” (Bughici, 1975, pp. 32-33). 70 Studies possibility to employ in one day a great number of performers, each working part-time. I will underline once more the osmotic professional relationship between Achim Stoia and his “lieutenant”, as Ion Baciu was dubbed, whom he trusted completely, insuring all conditions for development to the professor, conductor and to the orchestra of the Conservatoire. The first concert presented in Bucharest on 28 November 1968 can even be considered an achievement. They impressed most with the overture to Richard Wagner’s The Mastersingers of Nuremberg and Franz Schubert’s Symphony no. 8. On that occasion and for the next concerts held at the Athenaeum (1969, 1971), in the “Super Orchestra”, as the students called it (a name taken over from the chroniclers of the time!), there were included a few well-performing professors, but the collective was made up of 90% students. Violinist Angela Dumitrașcu related in a TV documentary about Ion Baciu (Vasiliu, 1993) that the young people then found another formula – the orchestra against everyone, because of the dissatisfaction of some professors from the Iași Conservatoire regarding the numerous rehearsals which pulled students away from other lectures. The situation was confirmed in 1995 by Ion Baciu himself, also on television: “Because we had certain difficulties – the classes at the Conservatoire, some professors did not agree with this situation (well, things that always happen in life…) – the orchestra received from them, the students, the name «the orchestra against everyone». Why? Because to suddenly change a set of experienced performers with 60 students shows great courage, and most of them were not in their 4th or 5th year, but in their 3rd. It was with them that I started then, we would work in the evening, after their lectures, and they would not tire…” (Vasiliu, 2005, p. 29) 2 The chronicles published in the newspapers Scânteia [The Spark] and România Liberă [Free Romania], in the magazines Muzica [Music], Contemporanul [The Contemporanul Journal] and România Literară [Literary Romania] were encomiastic, the importance of the texts owing, of course, to the prestige of the chroniclers present in the hall. Cella Delavrancea’s analytic- stylistic impressions, displayed in an elect literary style (Delavrancea, 1988, pp. 315-317) 3, have often been quoted. The third concert from February 1971 found its admirable comment signed by Alfred Hoffman, who instilled in the first phrase a subtle allusion to the disappointments occasioned by some of the programmes of the Bucharest Radio ensemble or Philharmonic.

2 The interview was first broadcast in the show Fascinația muzicii [The fascination of music], TVR Iași, 4 June 1994, director Alex Vasiliu. 3 The chronicle was initially published in România Literară [Literary Romania], 13 November 1969. 71 Artes. Journal of Musicology

“The orchestra of the Iași Conservatoire held an admirable symphonic concert, one of those that re-establish and consolidate our trust in the constant values of orchestral performance. This ensemble of young people performs with captivating freshness of inner participation, concretised in a special sonic quality, like a meticulously smoothed and shiny surface, off of which any trace of dust has been taken away. Here you can truly enjoy following the careful dosage of the dynamic planes, you can see yourself through the transparent veil of the orchestral textile, studied and shed light upon in its intimate particles, you singuralise the clear unity between goal and realisation. / Ion Baciu is a musician with great power of communication, he has something cordial and pleasant in the way in which he manifests himself, but all these must not make us forget he increasingly tends towards the refinement of interpretation, beyond the – come on, boys – élan, which, by surprising us, can many times hide saddening impurities and negligence. He carries out background artistic-pedagogic work, tending to systematically build an edifice which, already displaying its essential features, will not be late in revealing its imposing proportions. One creates in Iași – it is our impression – one of the great orchestras of the country, without bombast and publicity, with modesty and seriousness.” (Hoffman, 1971, p. 8) An analyst of finesse, acuity and beauty of expression, Alfred Hoffman never launched complacent statements, did not make speculative forecasts, but the end of the quoted chronicle reveals the qualities of the orchestra which only numbered three years of existence, qualities which would thrive under Ion Baciu’s care. In fact, it was also Alfred Hoffman who analysed a decade later, with the same rigour and admiration, the programmes presented in Bucharest by the orchestra of the Iași Philharmonic, which had become on par with the ensembles in the capital city, even surpassing them in the case of the versions to some of George Enescu’s works. The records published abroad under “Electrecord” licence of the recordings of the ensemble from Iași conducted by Ion Baciu are an important argument. But I will return to those artistic achievements. After only two months from the publication of the commentary signed by Alfred Hoffman, in April 1971, another competent, severe, objective chronicler, Teodora Albescu, presented Ion Baciu downright apologetically in the preamble of an interview, in words that had only been written with regard to Sergiu Celibidache as a consequence of the first concert held one year before in Bucharest. Teodora Albescu wrote in a decidedly praising note about Ion Baciu: “[…] we must situate him concludingly among the most enthusiastic, most willing men of arts who determined, through their work and ability, the renaissance of the musical life in Iași in the past 3 or 4 years. […] As a conductor he is characterised by colour refinement, the clairvoyance of an efficient architectonic finalisation of the performed work, a lot of fervour, a lot of artistry of the musical pictures. […] Most of the commitments taken

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down in the press 4 underline ʻthe inner unity of the interpretations’, ʻthe unmatchable freshness”, ʻthe young Romanian conductor’s communicative enthusiasm’, ʻthe richness of colours that he knows how to realise on each stave”. Closing the portrait sketch that prefaced the interview, Ion Baciu was considered ʻa prestigious representative of a specific interpretative profession’.” (Albescu, 1971a, p. 24) After only a few pages of issue 4 from April 1971 of the magazine Muzica, Teodora Albescu was evaluating the second concert held in Bucharest by the orchestra of the Iași Conservatoire under Ion Baciu’s leadership. “[…] leaving aside some technical impurities of execution, a certain dose of roughness in the attack of the wind players – elements justifiable through the age of the band – I could appreciate, however, an interpretative tendency searching the dramatic substance, the transparency of the architectonic construction, sonorities of impressive colour refinement. […] However, the presentation of Richard Strauss’s symphonic poem Death and Transfiguration stood out in relief as much more conclusive for the true performing availability of the ensemble. To conclude: measured against the time and point of the outset, the orchestra of the Iași Conservatoire demonstrates an impressive qualitative leap; competitively it draws near to the level of the best orchestras in our country, which I don’t see as surpassing the figures of 2 or 3.” (Albescu, 1971b, p. 30) To this flattering and courageous statement is added the final phrase of the chronicle – a phrase which constituted, beside the criticism of the eternal disinterest of many experienced and beginner musicians towards the artistic results of their colleagues, the urge to mind the approach of an important competitor: “I would like to believe that the following presence in the Capital city of the ensembles of the Iași Conservatoire will also finally determine the ʻcollegial curiosity’ of the students and professors of the “Ciprian Porumbescu” Conservatoire.” (Albescu, 1971b, p. 30) The quality of the versions of the young symphonic collective from Iași determined the Radio broadcasting station and especially the Romanian Television to record the concerts held in Bucharest in 1968-1969. I wrote “especially” regarding the Television because not all symphonic and chamber manifestations were paid attention by the institution, quite few were printed, but the programmes of the orchestra from Iași, presented in the capital city and at headquarters, were broadcast frequently. Fortunately, some films have been kept. Thanks to these documents, Ion Baciu’s technique, conducting style can

4 T. Albescu was referring to chronicles published in the countries where Ion Baciu had held concerts until 1971 as a guest conductor (the former Yugoslavia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, former East Germany, Poland, France, USA, Canada). 73 Artes. Journal of Musicology be observed now. I will describe them in the following chapter. For now I will only stipulate that Richard Wagner’s overture to the opera The Mastersingers from Nurnberg, Mozart’s Symphony no. 40 in G minor K. 550, Franz Schubert’s Symphony no. 8 in B minor, George Enescu’s Prelude at unison from the Suite I in C major, Maurice Ravel’s 2nd Suite “Daphnis et Chloé”, which would become pieces de resistance of his repertoire, were performed in those memorable concerts. Professor Baciu’s ambition of realising difficult programmes with the orchestra made up of students is obvious, programmes filled with problems of dramatic construction, of underlining inner dynamics, of refined sonority, of fixing the well-known melodics in the space of novelty, of well-tempered fervour – everything defining the “voice”, the personality of an orchestral ensemble. The problems did not belong to conductor and pedagogue Baciu, they belonged to the orchestra made up of students, which lacked, explicably, in experience. Those versions can be studied thanks to the CD edited by the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company.5 Other incentives for the young performers were the confirmation in value of their maestro, often invited to lead the symphonic programmes of the Philharmonic in Bucharest, of the Radiotelevision. Obviously, the tours held later by the new orchestra of the Iași Philharmonic abroad mattered a lot.

2.2. The ascent. Bucharest successes At the beginning of the 1971-1980 decade, Ion Baciu had become used to the concert halls from Bucharest, as a guest or together with his young orchestra, offering the audition of Romanian and international opera. Jean Victor Pandelescu, for instance, was informing (Pandelescu, 1971, p. 26) about the performance in absolute first audition of the symphonic work Masa tăcerii [The Table of Silence] by Tiberiu Olah with the ensemble of the Bucharest Philharmonic 6, composer Mihai Moldovan had praising words as a consequence of the programme of the orchestra of the Iași Philharmonic. The performances of the Prelude to Act I, of the ending of the opera Tristan and Isolda by Richard Wagner, of the symphonic poem Till Eulenspiegel by Richard Strauss nurtured an analytical commentary but one filled with superlatives shedding light on the originality of Ion Baciu’s vision. Mihai Moldovan was writing about the opera by Wagner and Strauss: “[...] a symphonic page which we consider to have no equivalent in the genre of musical theatre constituted a moment of amplitude of the symphonic. Ion Baciu

5 Ion Baciu. Orchestra „Super” a Conservatorului „George Enescu” din Iași. 1969-1979 [Ion Baciu. The ʻSuper’ Orchestra of the “George Enescu” Conservatoire from Iași. 1969-1970]. Editura “Casa Radio”, ADD 177. 2005, The Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company. 6 21 May 1971, The Romanian Athenaeum, concert recording – The Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company. 74 Studies

proved again that he is a refined and delicate colourist (I heard melodic lines, which at other times escaped me7), as well as an admirable constructor. The performing perfection – maybe even in the performative sense – of the symphonic poem Till Eulenspiegel by Richard Strauss, the often modified tempos (some of the soloist moments being, for that reason, sacrificed) were compensated by the dose of humour that I have scarcely come across, in such quantity and quality, in a different sonic equivalence of the score. The observations that I have formulated in this succint material are a duty towards the incontestable quality of the conductor and his orchestra. The concert was a indisputable success (maybe even more, a fact which entitles us to wish for an ever more often presence of the artists from Iași in Bucharest), but since they themselves raised the bar of quality it is opportune to pass from the phase of the amazing renaissance to that of appreciating the performing act along the criteria that the great ensembles require.” (Moldovan, 1972, p. 33) Out of an impressive list of works from the international musical creation presented in Bucharest by Ion Baciu I will only remind of William Schuman’s Symphony no. 8, The Songs of a Wayfarer by Gustav Mahler 8, the music of the ballet The Firebird by Stravinsky, The Dance of the Seven Veils from the opera Salome by Richard Strauss, Shostakovich’s Symphonies no. 5 and 9. Numerous testimonies have remained about the versions of important works in the world music of the 20th century, versions brought by Ion Baciu to a high-performing qualitative level, with an impact on experienced listeners. An edifying example is Iosif Sava’s chronicle about the concert in 1975, held by Ion Baciu together with the orchestra of the Radiotelevision. As this ensemble was used, one may say excessively, in the weekly concert which imposed a vast, oftentimes difficult repertoire, and in the numerous special studio recordings with not always valuable Romanian symphonic works, a working programme which diminished the performers’ energy, weakened their reaction to the requirements of the – many – conductors which followed each other at its desk, the promptness with which the Bucharest performers answered Ion Baciu’s requirements in performing one of Shostakovich’s tragic symphonies, No. 5 in D minor op. 47 remained praiseworthy. One cannot know now whether the programming of the opus took into account the anniversary in 1975 of four decades from the composition and first audition of the monumental work 9. But the chronicler’s impressions remained fixed onto the printed page: “From the Faustian theme of the introduction to the energetic measures of the ending, Ion Baciu found in Shostakovich’s score the framework necessary for

7 ... an ultra-praising appreciation from a musician of the scale of Mihai Moldovan! 8 The first concert in which Ion Baciu conducted the Orchestra of the Radiotelevision. 9 In fact, more than four decades had passed, since the first absolute audition is dated 21 October 1934. 75 Artes. Journal of Musicology

the assertion of his stylistic culture, for his knowledge of capitalising on the expressive resources, of the technique of the ensemble due to his power of emphasising the essential ideas of a score, of organising sonic matter, of “building” the moments of tension of the progress. Signalling the enthusiasm of the ensemble, we must also underline the exceptional quality of some soloist interventions: Ion Năstase (flute), Petre Ignățoiu (clarinet), Mihai Nenoiu (bassoon), Petre Szilei (oboe), Dumitru Florea (kettle drums).” (Sava, 1975, p. 22) Emphasising conductor Ion Baciu’s predilections and exceptional achievements, stable in time, especially with his orchestra from Iași, forces us to go back in time a few years. Having as an instrument a yielding collective, which he had built and continued to polish its qualities, acquiring together with his “children”10 a vast, Romanian and international repertoire, Ion Baciu simultaneously entered even more profoundly, in the years 1972-73 in the stages impressionistic music – Enescu’s music. Tested as early as the foundation of the super orchestra, during the first concerts in Bucharest, then with the new orchestra of the Philharmonic in the headquarters programmes, the two tracks led the conductor and the orchestra from Iași to historic successes. But the undertaking of the reminded trajectories was possibile firstly at home, because the 1973 debut of the conductor and his ensemble in the “George Enescu” festival revealed only the understanding and the complete expression of the Concerto for string orchestra by Sigismund Toduță, the option for Ravel’s music, as the festival organisers ignored Baciu’s predilection for Enescu’s works. Maybe this predilection had not yet manifested itself plenarily in Bucharest, maybe the memory of the versions to Till Eulenspiegel, to Daphnis et Chloé, presented in past years at the Athenaeum, were the reasons behind the choice of the Iași musicians for French pianist Philippe Entremont, who wished to perform the two Concertos by Maurice Ravel. Anyway, the critics’ impressions were expressed in the superlative. The beginning of the second track towards historic successes of conductor Ion Baciu together with his orchestra was constituted by the premiere presentation in Iași, in a concert formula, of George Enescu’s opera Oedipe. The occasion was the commemoration in 1975 of two decades since the composer’s disappearance. Although the title was changed “from above” from The Festival of Romanian Music to The Week of Romanian Music, the concert in Iași had the dimension of a national event thanks to the participation of performers, musicologists and chroniclers from the other musical centres. The presentation of the Oedipe opera required choosing the best vocal soloists of the time, among whom I mention only the baritone David Ohanesian,

10 As he called them in his last televised interview in 1994. 76 Studies performing the titular role. Critic Grigore Constantinescu’s opinions are revealing: “[…] without a doubt, the main merit belongs to Ion Baciu, this enthusiastic musician who had the power to create a new Oedipus, of a clarified ancient beaty. The dramatic planes, the clearness of the melodic textures, the enveloping atmosphere of the sonorities prove to obey a spirit of great clarity and force, who does not repeat previous solutions but finds the truth of Enescu’s opera in deepening the meanings of the score. One can speak, in Ion Baciu’s case, of the opportunity of a special recording of the work, aesthetically valid and pregnantly personal.” (Constantinescu, 1975, p. 34) The chronicle excerpt can be read between the lines. Stating that Ion Baciu “does not repeat previous solutions”, Grigore Constantinescu was referring first of all to Constantin Silvestri, the author of the absolute premiere of the opera Oedipe in Romania (1958)11, which had remained a milestone, then to Mihai Brediceanu, who took over the leadership of the performance and made the special recording of 1964. The exceptional value of the 1975 version signed by Ion Baciu comes out of the last quoted sentence, targeting the urgency of a studio recording, because it was considered a new milestone. Grigore Constantinescu’s thought would only fulfil six years later, but not as a consequence of a Romanian initiative…

2.3. The concert diary – Liliana Gherman The explainable dimensions of this study do not allow the marking of all of Ion Baciu’s artistic achievements. I will only mention the invitations received quite frequently for a while of conducting the orchestras of the Radiotelevision and of the philharmonics in the country, of the opera theatres in Iași and Bucharest, the records (an entire series reflecting, unfortunately, only the relationship of the conductor and of the Orchestra of the “Moldova” Philharmonic with soloists of great class, it is true, among which I mention mezzosoprano Viorica Cortez, soprano Eugenia Moldoveanu and pianist Dan Grigore), the great number of tours abroad – together with his ensemble or as a guest conductor. The step-by-step evolution of conductor Ion Baciu and of the orchestra of the Iași Philharmonic can be observed in the concert diary of the institution, published weekly by Liliana Gherman in the magazine Cronica for 29 years (1966-1995). The lines ordered in one of the many chronicles which interest us in the context of the theme of these notes, would firmly urge us to believe in

11 The recording was censored by the authorities because Silvestri left the country for good that year, immediately after having conducted the premiere of Oedipe. Certainly, at the date the quoted chronicle was published, the sonic document from the premiere was known to Grigore Constantinescu. 77 Artes. Journal of Musicology the author’s subjectivity: “It is quite difficult to write about conductor Ion Baciu: he is too much one of ours, we’re gotten used to him too much” (Gherman, 2003, II, p. 52). And the following phrase essentialises the relationship of the conductor with his orchestra, concretised musically in so many high-performing achievements: “The orchestra, whose componence we owe to him to a large degree, realises together with him a sort of symbiosis which shines through a characteristic sonic colouring and an unmistakable performing manner” (Gherman, 2003, II, p. 52). This element constituted one of the keys of his strategy, remaining a problem which increasingly loses relevance in our time. Unfortunately. I will argue over the course of this study. Although impressed, much like so many composers, performers and chroniclers, by Ion Baciu’s outstanding musical qualities, Liliana Gherman permanently demonstrated balance, an understanding of the contexts which marked the existence of the Iași Philharmonic, a cult for the truth, objectivity in elaborating the chronicles. I am writing the word “elaboration” because her texts do not reveal the hurry of the publishing effort in weekly rhythm for almost three decades, but the calm of choosing, of clarifying each word, each expression, additionally mirroring reality with the measured gift of metaphor. That is why her notes can mirror both the evolution and the involution of the conductor-orchestra binomial at the Iași Philharmonic. The second phrase reproduced above has the quality of generality for all that Liliana Gherman wrote analytically, in a non-partisan manner, about conductor Ion Baciu’s destiny in Iași – a destiny of not only national value, as the chroniclers in Bucharest underlined, as, of course, the en titre chronicler from Iași underlined. At the first steps of the super orchestra, in 1968, L. Gherman underlined: “[…] the conducting technique, perfected and much nuanced, had acquired precision and concision that one can only come across at the true masters of the baton12. The first of the two concerts conducted recently (which featured the overture to Beethoven’s Fidelio and Carl Orff’s cantata Carmina Burana) was registered among those rare events, which impose execution milestones.” (Gherman, 2003, I, pp. 22-23) Two years later, the chronicler was outlining “the exceptional performance of Ravel’s Suite ʻDaphnis et Chloé’, refined to the last sound, unravelling in a fascinating timbral variety, with a perfect mastery of the nuances, followed masterfully in their whimsical succession, with freshness, relaxation, entwined naturally, harmoniously.” (Gherman, 2003, I, p. 50)

12 ... after becoming acquainted with American and Austrian orchestras in their home, but also in relation to the pedagogical nature of professor and conductor Baciu’s work with the student orchestra in Iași. 78 Studies

What was Beethoven’s music like in Ion Baciu’s vision? Here is a first answer of chronicler Liliana Gherman, dating from 1974, after having listened to Symphony No. 9: “The grandeur of the ending, evinced in a realisation [as in] this season-opening concert, has a force capable of melting everything in a unique and overwhelming emotional flow. I believe, in fact, that this is the merit, the characteristic feature of conductor-performer Ion Baciu: the ability to organise and master successive tensional stages in continual ascent; even if not all details were always observed, the perspective is clear and revealing. I would underline a moment which seemed to me completely special: the manner in which, after reminding the main themes of the previous movements in a feverish search, the theme of the ending appeared as a seed of new life. It is possible that the moment was also electrifying for the performers, because all together, the orchestra, the united choirs of the Philharmonic and of the Opera (trained by Ion Pavalache and Anton Bișoc) and the four soloists making up a prestigious vocal quartet (Emilia Petrescu, Marta Kessler, Valentin Teodorian and Gheorghe Crăsnaru) coalesced under Ion Baciu’s baton into a harmonious whole, of grave sonic luminosity, raising the musical and literary text to the height of a moving message of staggering actuality.” (Gherman, 2003, I, p. 125) Since Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 is all over the world a reference of philharmonic programmes, which offers, in principle, the promise of audience success, it was also performed often at the Philharmonic from Iași. Praiseworthy for Ion Baciu is that the chronicler-analyst Liliana Gherman found every time new performing-conceptual qualities of the tireless orchestra leader.

2.4. Oedipe again Another peak moment in his career and in that of the Iași orchestra, in tight connection with Enescu’s music, can be considered the new special recording of the opera Oedipe, owed to Ion Baciu13. In the year of the centennial of the composer’s birth – 1981, the initiative did not belong to a Romanian institution, but, as I anticipated, to the BBC British Television, which financed the audio recording, made in Iași, a basis for the video editing in the studios of the Romanian Television. An entirely significant fact, the limited partners chose Ion Baciu as a conductor of the orchestra of the Philharmonic, the choirs of the Philharmonic and of the Romanian Opera from

13 In 1981, most musicians and the public thought that Baciu was doing the second professional recording of Enescu’s opus, after the one signed by conductor Mihai Brediceanu in 1964. The truth was different: there was also the sonic document from the premiere performance of 22 August 1958, led by Constantin Silvestri, but censorship would suppress it for another 26 years. That is why the recording with Ion Baciu can be considered, at the level of the year 1981, the third in chronological order. 79 Artes. Journal of Musicology

Iași. The BBC’s option was explainable through the performing qualities proven years on end and through the exceptional versions of George Enescu’s works, already circulating on the international record market, especially in England, where the Romanian records with the Iași orchestra were sold under license, the British company indicated, through the appreciative opinions of the British cultural diplomats in Bucharest, who were paying attention to the musical values of the country. One might say that the history which had happened exactly 25 years before regarding Ion Baciu’s conducting professor, Constantin Silvestri, thus repeated itself. In 1956, Silvestri was signalled by chronicler Malcolm Rayment to the London Philharmonic as an exceptional conductor, so that on 25 January 1957 the Romanian musician held a concert in the well-known Festival Hall, beginning his fulminatory world career. But the difference was great: Constantin Silvestri accepted the invitation of the London Philharmonic, while Ion Baciu rejected the tempting offers of permanently leading symphonic ensembles from abroad, preferring to return to Romania, to his orchestra in Iași… Only one of the dramatic effects of this option, for him and for Romanian culture, is that in the exactly 40 years passed up to now, since the recording of George Enescu’s Oedipe opera was made, to which Ion Baciu, the ensembles from Iași and a redoubtable team of soloists, still having as a protagonist the baritone David Ohanesian, took part, it has not been fixed on a disc, despite its value of international level, it is not even periodically, fragmentarily broadcast by the Romanian public radio stations. Critic Grigore Constantinescu’s perfectly grounded suggestion of 1975, of having Enescu’s masterpiece recorded in Ion Baciu’s version, has not found its way to musicians and the public. One might say that Ion Baciu, the disciple, once again followed his maestro, Constantin Silvestri… 14 Will there have to also pass 53 years so that Baciu’s recording enters the patrimony of Romanian culture, as it deserves? It is curious that in the year of the Enescu centennial, 1981, as Ion Baciu’s exceptional value as a performer of Enescu’s works, all the more so of the opera Oedipe, was very well known to the musical fora and the political authorities of the time, a value signalled, as I have mentioned, with chronicle quotes, as early as 1975, the performance was not included by the organisers of the “George Enescu” International Festival in the Baciu version, the titular of the representation in that moment being Mihai Brediceanu. One of the written testimonies of the way in which the new version was thought out, of the performing value level which Oedipe had then reached in the performance of the Iași ensembles led by Ion Baciu, is Liliana Gherman’s chronicle:

14 The printing of the 1958 Oedipe opera, supervised by Silvestri, was only published on a CD in the year 2001! 80 Studies

“The execution, in the given [concert] form prepared minutely under conductor Ion Baciu’s leadership, required on the one hand a contraction of the real dimensions of Enescu’s grand opus, and on the other a dilation of the vocal instrumental apparatus. Both actions remain in a way debatable, by reference to the conceptional integrity: the only fragmentary presentation of acts III and IV, after the integral one of the first two, modified the dramaturgy of the work; hyperbolically amplified, the orchestra and the choir force, in general, the soloists into a subordinated position, improper to a lyrical- dramatic performance. And yet… it was a definite success! First of all because the singing was very good, in numerous moments even impressively beautiful and suggestive, and secondly because the symphonic-oratorial formula adopted was the most propitious one to a profitable reception on the part of a non-homogenous public from the point of view of musical training.” (Gherman, 2003, II, p. 91). The great prestige that Ion Baciu enjoyed in the Romanian musical world also in regard to the performance of Enescu’s works, the first “Oedipe exam” passed with flying colours in 1975, were undeniable arguments for the programming of his version, finis coronat opus, in the closure of the 9th edition, from September 1981, of the “George Enescu” International Festival. After the symphonic-oratorial concert and the recording from Iași for the television edit, the representation in Bucharest impressed professionals, the audience, finding reflection in the chronicles of the most important musical critics. I am choosing only Luminița Vartolomei’s notes, published immediately in the magazine Muzica: “[…] the performance-concert version of the Oedipe opera proposed by conductor Ion Baciu (to which is also owed the training of the musician team, but also the collaboration with the famous ensemble Eurythmeum from Stuttgart, with a view to completing the stage picture of Enescu’s score) represents one of the most important contributions to date to the sonic and visual materialisation of Enescu’s masterpiece, to its imposition in the conscience of the audience in this country (and not only, given the much wider possibility of circulation of this formula, compared to the enactments made for lyrical theatre). / On both its dimensions – on the musical and the stage plane – the performance-concert marked substantial updates, beginning with the more intense exploitation of the richness of orchestral details and ending with finding the ideal solution of embodying, in tragedy, the crowd with which the heroes are confronted one by one, are judged by or experience together the joy of victory and the pain of misfortune. A vocal-instrumental collective constituted by the orchestra of the ʻMoldova’ Philharmonic, the ʻGavriil Musicescu’ choir of the same concert institution (trained by Ion Pavalache) and the choir of the Romanian Opera from Iași (led by Anton Bișoc) knew how to follow and realise with maximum professionalism and admirable abnegation conductor Ion Baciu’s intentions. The latter’s performing vision, personal and innovative to a considerable measure, springs

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neither from the wish to rebel against consecrated models, nor from that of originality at any cost, but from a profound knowledge of Enescu’s score, through an own effort of penetrating and understanding the text, which determined not only the respect for its letter, but also the creative attitude towards its meanings.” (Vartolomei, 2003, pp. 170-171) After pointing out the soloists’ and the characters’ names, Luminița Vartolomei gave a last description of the performance: “[…] one of conductor Ion Baciu’s altogether unneglectable merits is that of having divined that the most fitting hypostasis for a contemporary conception about the way in which stage movement appeared in ancient Greek tragedy could be realised not by choreography, but by eurythmy. Austere and suggestive, of great artistic effect, the to-and-fro of multicoloured veils in which the movements and the attitudes of the dancers coordinated by Else Klink permanently change thus composes an ideal framework for the heroes’ evolution, even if its line was not – as it would have been natural – rethought as well, but is taken over almost identically from the staging created almost a quarter of a century before by director Jean Rânzescu for the Romanian premiere of Oedipe on the stage of the Bucharest opera.” (Vartolomei, 2003, pp. 170-171) Brilliant moments in Ion Baciu’s career were the versions of other Enescu opera: the Vox Maris symphonic poem, The Concert Overture, The Chamber Symphony, The Octet for string instruments¸ The Dixtuor for wind instruments, Symphonies No. 2 in A major and No. 3 in C major – performed in concert, followed by encomiastic chronicles (including composer Pascal Bentoiu’s comments), almost all recorded with the orchestra of the Philharmonic from Iași, with some of the ensemble members, with quartets Voces and Euterpe, only one, Symphony No. 3, being printed with the orchestra and the choir of the Philharmonic from Cluj-Napoca. As far as recordings are concerned, one achievement should be underlined: some prints from concerts in the “George Enescu” Festival were published by Electrecord on the following day on document-records, without any musical editing, subsequently distributed under license in the West (especially in England and Germany)!

2.5. A dramatic ending The last of conductor Ion Baciu’s top achievements together with the orchestra of the Iași Philharmonic can be considered heroic, because in the decade 1981-1990 the situation of the cultural institutions in Romania worsened: the drastic decrease of funds, self-financing, the cold imposing humiliating working conditions. The philharmonic manager Ion Baciu had to require money from managers of industrial companies, who, preoccupied with their own problems of the same nature, could help him for a while, the result being the worsening of the musician’s relations with the local communist

82 Studies authorities. The wage problems, of which Ion Baciu was not guilty but could not solve anymore either, despite all his efforts, also woke the explainable discontent of some of the orchestra performers, feeding the tense climate, the progressively degrading the quality of the symphonic programmes. The irritation of the manager and prime-conductor Baciu, annoyed by the disastrous situation, an irritation impossible to mask, invited the indirect reaction of the authorities. The almost weekly presence on the stage of the Iași Philharmonic could not be rarefied, but he was almost never invited again to hold concerts in Bucharest, which explains the absence of chronicles from the central press. His name does not appear in the chronicles publishes in the year 1984 in the magazine Muzica, as late as in October 1985 the prestigious critic Ada Brumaru having the occasion to comment, how else than praisingly?, a rare presence of Ion Baciu as a guest conductor. Only in Iași, Liliana Gherman continued to write the “diary” of the concerts weekly. The last top artistic achievement was constituted by the participation of the collective of the “Moldova” Philharmonic in the 1985 edition of the “George Enescu” Festival, when Symphony No. 2 in A major op. 17 was performed. The inevitable happened for Ion Baciu in the year 1987, when he had to leave Iași because he could not achieve anything anymore in the city where the exceptional performances of the orchestra he had moulded began. Seven years later, in 1994, the musician confessed to me during a televised colloquy: “I did not leave Iași for nothing – who squanders away a lifetime’s work? […] We were being decimated day after day! I had to sack people, I had to place them in different positions, it was something I could not stand… I was fortunate enough to generally enjoy a lot of love from everyone. Wherever I went, doors were thrown open to me. And under these conditions, I could not handle it anymore!” (Vasiliu, 2005, p. 28) I wrote that Ion Baciu left Iași, he did not forsake it. Having returned to the Philharmonic in the Ploiești of his first creative beginning, he often came back onto the first Moldavian stage, but without replicating the sublime moments from the not so distant past. The financial penury, the difficult working conditions were kept until the end of the year 1989, when the Ceaușescu regime fell, but the tracasserie, the afflictions suffered for a long time, the sometimes superhuman efforts of reaching artistic achievements, to save what could be saved in the Iași Philharmonic, ground his health, the rhythm of his stage appearances decreased, hospitalisation in Sweden followed. During the last concert held with his orchestra on 3 June 1994, the conducting gestures essentialised to the maximum betrayed the diminution of his physical energy. But his “children” in the orchestra, as he nursed them the last time in front of the cameras, “related” again the fairy-tale of Daphnis et Chloé almost by themselves, as they had “related” it so many times for 25 years on end under

83 Artes. Journal of Musicology the sometimes shivery, sometimes energetic gestures of the maestro! I cannot forget the crowd of musicians, music-lovers, colleagues and acquaintances who filled the conductor’s room at the Philharmonic and the hall on which so many waited to meet him! Very many met him again, upon separation, in November 1995, in order to accompany him along the road which ended in the cemetery “Eternitatea” of Iași! Conductor Ion Baciu’s exeptional qualities, the originality, the profoundness and the vitality of his works with a powerful effect upon listeners, the charm of his human personality fed the impressions, the always respectful, many times emotional memories, filled with regret, of the musicians he collaborated with. Beginning with performers in the orchestra he trained, to composers, soloists, chroniclers and directors of radio-tv broadcasts, who confessed to me in the presence of the microphone and of the camera. I am now mentioning only mezzosoprano Viorica Cortez, soprano Eugenia Moldoveanu, baritone David Ohanesian, bass Gheorghe Roșu, conductor Gheorghe Victor Dumănescu, publicist Iosif Sava, professor and musicologist Grigore Constantinescu, professor, publicist and musicologist Liliana Gherman and professor Ioan Morna, decades on end the leader of the 2nd violin section in the orchestra of the Iași Philharmonic. I have insisted up to here on defining moments from the life, especially from the activity of conductor Ion Baciu because his achievements, important for the history of Romanian music, must be known by the young generation, as well. It is no less true that our fast-moving life, the prevalence of the new and, why should we not admit it, the Romanians’ custom of forgetting their values, of ignoring their past, have removed Ion Baciu’s name from the circuit our musical life, as the young have feeble chances of knowing this music Creator. The chances are feeble because, outside of the mentioned CD, which records sequences from the concerts of the orchestra of the Iași Conservatoire held in the years 1969-1970 in Bucharest, a CD which was not destined to be commercialised, the other master-recordings found in the library of the Romanian Radio Company, published decades ago on vinyl records at Electrecord are not broadcast because the young generation of musical radio professionals does not know them, the recordings of very good quality from the musical point of view and from the point of view of sonic capture are not transferred onto digital technology, they do not circulate on modern magnetic supports.

3. Testimonies about the conducting conception. Stylistic features Ion Baciu offered to me the explanation of the orchestral sonority fashioned with the orchestra of the Iași Philharmonic at the beginning of the colloquy we had in the year 1994.

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“The important thing was the following: I was sent to Vienna, to the Arts Academy, on time. But it was not the Academy, which gave me something additionaly, but the musical life in Vienna, especially the orchestra of the Philharmonic. After a year or two I was sent to America and listened to the orchestras there. This is how in my mind a symbiosis was formed between the softness and the beauty of the string instruments (the violins, the cellos a. s. o.), as I heard the Austrians play them, and what downright impressed me with the Americans, the sonority of the wind players. This sonority probably comes from somewhere, from jazz… 15 Absolutely fantastic precision, no reduction as far as technique was concerned, all of them virtuosos!... And then, upon returning home, I began to work with our orchestra according to the models I spoke to you about. I remember, I was in the concert hall, in Boston, and when I heard a chord – in Daphnis et Chloé – I stood up, during the concert, and then I sat down again! A single chord! I couldn’t imagine that so much brilliance was possible! So, only if you see it somewhere, if you know it is possible to reach such a sonority, will you do it as well!” (Vasiliu, 2005, p. 28) Until now I have gathered two explanations of the rapid success obtained by Ion Baciu with an orchestra made up mostly out of students: the synthesis of two types of sonority (American and Austrian), the young people’s determination, from the points of view of self-assertion and of material stimulation, of working intensely with their professor and conductor. Ion Baciu revealed as early as 1971 the coordinates of his actual working style: “A general tendency of the Conservatoires injects the mentality of the performer student with the predilection for the soloist activity. It is well- known, however, that out of most graduates, natural selection reserves such a career only for a few. And it is natural that that should happen, since the Conservatoire is only a personnel seminary for the most diverse musical activities. What élan, however, what professional abnegation, what love for the profile of his work in the orchestra will a performer bring, who has been educated in school only towards a soloist activity? […] I believe, therefore, that it is high time musical education asked themselves this matter more intently, guided and discovered for the student the beauty of the work in a collective, determined him to love the activity in an orchestra, because this is much more difficult than soloist work. One requires maximum meticulousness of individual study, severe artistic discipline towards oneself and towards others, team spirit and, no less, the capacity to renounce a certain individual personality in order to be able to serve the creation of a collective personality – the orchestra.” (Albescu, 1971 a, p. 25)

15 Which is true, but one must also consider the American instrumental musical school, which also has as a foundation the high-performance element as technique and sonority, just as important being the superior quality of the instruments. 85 Artes. Journal of Musicology

Related to the work in a collective, explaining from a strictly musical point of view, Ion Baciu was underlining years later that one of his first worries at the beginning of the training of the orchestra of the Iași Conservatoire, the future symphonic ensemble of the Philharmonic, was to educate the young to listen to each other during the playing in the ensemble. “[…] the conductor should not only keep time…, as he does so he outlines, to say so, his wishes and asks the orchestra to play in a certain way. Keeping time can be elegant, athletic or swordsman-like or gymnast-like, but keeping time must contain in it the music you have in that moment! However, if the orchestra becomes accustomed to the sound (and very fixed) keeping of time, then the performers stop listening to each other, they look at you and play according to your hand. But I said one must play by the ear, no by the hand… 16” (Vasiliu, 2005, p. 27). Also related to working with the orchestra is, of course, the air drawing of the music. Now is configured the fourth rule that Baciu observed. “[…] cultivating gesturing in itself I think is a position of artistic periphery. Of course, one must master with excellence the technique of conducting movements […] it should not result from this that I reject the idea of a certain dose of momentousness. No! Moreover: I consider that the conducting profession also requires some acting attributes (of course, within limits clearly determined by common sense, by good taste). The drawing of the movement is dictated, however, by the music you interpret, and it is essential that the gesture depart from what happens at that point in the orchestra, and not from calculus, from previous preparations. Of course, for a conductor the foundation is constituted, nevertheless, by his capacity to express himself through any movement, attitude, look, his capacity of communicating to the orchestra his will, his expressive intention. Here also intervenes the necessity of temperament, too (there is, however, a difference between nervousness and musical temperament).” (Albescu, 1971, pp. 24-25) Of course, that his complete professionalism determined Ion Baciu to acquire a vast repertoire in short while, in which the symphonic and concert works from the classical and romantic eras with secure public success entered firstly. It was a sine qua non condition in the period of his beginning as a conductor in Ploiești (1953-1962), when the communist state policy permanently required the accessibility of art, when the reduced dimension and the limited quality of the orchestra did not allow the inclusion of difficult scores in programmes. The second type of works which he had to learn fast and as well as possible were the Romanian opera composed over time. Not all of a high value level, but all mandatory for the concerts of the symphonic

16 “By the ear”, obviously, in the sense that performers need to listen to each other in the orchestra. 86 Studies orchestras in the country. It was a law that Ion Baciu observed, however, quite easily, because he had the capacity of learning rapidly, his musicality, balance, common sense helping him to “exploit” even the bland staves for whatever could be reached musically. One should not debate anymore the accredited values of contemporary Romanian creation, the patrimony ones, which he capitalised on completely. Examples can be found in Moldavian landscapes by Mihail Jora, Symphony No. 1 and Rhapsody No. 2 by Paul Constantinescu, Motives from Maramureș by Corneliu Dan Georgescu, Harmonies I, the Suite Mihai Viteazul by Tiberiu Olah, the opera Doctor Love by Pascal Bentoiu. But, outside the Romanian and international repertoire, which included masterpieces of public success joined by the mandatory, beginning scores of symphonic programmes, Ion Baciu was able to manifest his stylistic predilections because he was the permanent conductor of an orchestra, in Iași, moreover, he held the position of manager of a philharmonic, having the possibility of ordering the repertoire of a season, thinking out the concert strategy a few years in advance. Which allowed him to reach, through reprises of some works, peaks of his musical conception, high qualitative standards for the orchestra of the Philharmonic. I have in mind the two royal ways towards the superlative (from all points of view): impressionism and Enescu’s works. Both conceptual-sonic worlds allowed him to develop his taste for colour, for nuances – even more than with Wagner for majestic, brilliant, solemn sonorities. By constrast, the attraction for the sonorities and timbres which express inner vibes, wistfulness, that longing without space so well expressed by Enescu. If evanescent landscapes and the rhythmic unchaining from the the 2nd ballet Suite Daphnis et Chloé brought the sonic-musical pricture to incandescence and paroxysm, transforming everything in a game of the contraries of the inner performance versus the extrovert performance, if the poem Death and Transfiguration was for Ion Baciu an arduously, overwhelmingly musically “uttered” meditation on the final point in life, if Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 was the parade scene from which an almost overlooked door let in the chilling draft of suffering – Enescu seems, in Ion Baciu’s understanding, to have featured them all. Additionaly, the landscape of the doina-wavy space, nowhere else to be found. Truly revealing for the musical matter weaved by Enescu were the lights projected by Baciu onto the Suite No. 1 in C major, op. 9, on the poem Vox Maris, onto the Symphonies No. 2 and 3, onto the Octet.

3.1. Constantin Silvestri – Ion Baciu, the teacher and the disciple It is customary to establish the influence of the professor, of the maestro, in the beginning of an evocation. I have chosen to shed light now on the connections between Constantin Silvestri and Ion Baciu, because the two conductors’ passion for Enescu’s music, the overwhelming interpretations,

87 Artes. Journal of Musicology which they left to our memory and to magnetic memory open the series of affinities, likenesses, of the tragic ending which awaited them both. Each musician who has reached the age of great fulfilments and successes evokes respectfully the teachers with whom he worked closely. In the interviews given over time, Ion Baciu did not speak about his pedagogue in conducting from the Bucharest Conservatoire, Constantin Silvestri. The reason is political but the reticence belonged first of all to the journalists, who never questioned him about this topic. The avoidance of a discussion about Silvestri is explained through his status of forbidden musician in Romania until the year of his death, 196917, through many people’s fear of publicly speaking about him, of researching him, like a willing prolongation of silence, although, immediately after the disappearance of the great conductor and composer, the publication of some scores, the broadcasting of a record recording18, the evocation in two books published at publishing house Editura Muzicală19. Nor in the ample interview, almost two pages long, made by Teordora Albescu, published in issue 4 of 1971 of the magazine Muzica, was Silvestri’s name pronounced, his influence on Ion Baciu’s conducting conception was not even suggested, when he was asked to explain his predilection for Enescu’s music. Many of Constantin Silvestri’s experiences were taken over by Ion Baciu. First of all, their capacity of work, the dedication without limits for their orchestras. Both had a huge power to fascinate – Baciu with another type of performativity, by “veiling listeners in”. Both understood, expressed Enescu through all the fibres of their musical intelligence and sensibility. Both transfigured in sound and expression life as a fight, death as absolution in new embodiments of the hero Manfred, a hero that can have their face, should we consider this carefully. Silvestri and Baciu created out of the opera Oedipe events which equalled rigour and fantasy, the archaic and the modern. The differences are understandable but not fundamental for their creation as performers. The phlegmatic Silvestri was an antithesis of the charming Baciu. After having produced musical events in a Bucharest retreating in front of novelty, of experiment but charmed the public and musicians by shedding even more light on the meanings of known masterpieces, after having stood political humiliations and manoeuvring, Silvestri made for the wide world, where he found unrestricted success, an orchestra to model. Ion Baciu was, in his turn, an architect of musical events in Iași and Bucharest, he was lucky

17 Because of his refusal to return to Romania after 1958, which resulted in him being sentenced to death. 18 Symphony No. 10 by Dmitri Shostakovich in the interpretation of the Orchestra of the Radiotelevision, conductor C. Silvestri (Electrecord, ECE 0663), a recording reedited for the first time after Silvestri’s death, in the year 1972. 19 Pricope, Eugen (1971). Dirijori și orchestre [Conductors and orchestras]; Bălan, Theodor (1976). Prietenii mei, muzicieni [My musician friends]. 88 Studies enough to experience the short political liberalisation (1962-1971) but, in the same way, his value and prestige did not help him when political power brought him, too, into the winter of our discontent. As opposed to his teacher, Baciu remained, like a Don Quixote fighting ever larger wind mills, in order to pay with his life here the passionate work, the successes and torments he did not merit. Both lost the fight when they still had plenty to achieve, both still wait to be rediscovered: Silvestri – the composer, Baciu – the conductor. Musicians Constantin Silvestri and Ion Baciu’s destiny has another common trait: the conductor as a permanent presence at the desk of an orchestra. It was a status which they profited by, a status which may maintain them in an unreturnable past. Even at home, in Romania, where he had to fight the envy, the jealousy and the manoeuvring of some colleagues (the most notorious was George Georgescu), Silvestri reached achievement by tending to conduct the orchestra of the Philharmonic in Bucharest and the orchestra of the Radio Broadcasting Company. The performers wanted him, they knew that could make real music with him, that they could have great success. Once abroad, he was required to take over the leadership of an orchestra without a name from the British resort town of Bournemouth, which he brought in a few years on a par with the three symphonic ensembles in London, with other ensembles of this type in the world. The Swedish wanted to enter the top of symphonic orchestras with Silvestri’s help, too. Ion Baciu proved to be the same, an architect and a constructor. He raised, he cultivated an orchestra of students until the age of high-performing maturity – the orchestra of Conservatoire, turned into the orchestra of the Iași Phillharmonic, which he led for nineteen years 20. Everything the two musicians realised was owed to the freedom they had as Philharmonic managers and conductors of a symphonic ensemble. By answering in 1971 to Teodora Albescu’s statement What do you think is essential for the artistic profile of a conductor?, Ion Baciu was debating on his chances in two hypostases: as a guest and as a permanent member of an orchestra collective. After having led for six years the orchestra of the philharmonic in Ploiești and, until the moment of the interview, for nine years the orchestra of the Philharmonic from Iași, Baciu was pleading, of course, for the status of permanent conductor. Especially in Iași he had managed fast, previously unthought of achievements, which I have evoked in the previous pages. I describe selectively passages from his argumentation: “The artistic ideal that I believe in, the wish to serve music totally as much as possible, on a par with my possibilities, has sawn into me the preference for the activity in which I situate myself as a permanent conductor of the

20 I have not taken into account the old ensemble, with which he held concerts from 1962 until 1968. 89 Artes. Journal of Musicology

orchestra. […] Outside the realisation of a good concert, of a convincing interpretation […] the greatest contentment of the permanent conductor, that additional satisfaction which he experiences, remains the duty to ascertain the professional evolution of his orchestra. […] This does not mean that the entire season unravels only under the baton [of the permanent conductor]/ Not at all! But a single “hand” should be responsible for the supervision, the control of the collective, for insuring a work discipline. When there are several permanent conductors, the degree of interest for the ensemble itself diminishes, and instead of being preoccupied with its evolution, we are mainly preoccupied with what is ours: our concert, our programme, etc. But this is not a way for an orchestra to grow. […] For a more unitary vision of the concert programmes, I believe that the practice of the cyclical principle will prove to be much more advantageous (this has been demonstrated a couple of times already). In other words, I declare myself the adept of a season made up on the basis of a series of concerts with a single (permanent or guest) conductor.” (Albescu, 1971a, p. 25) Ion Baciu, the architect of a symphonic orchestra, the visionary of the repertoire that defined his personality and style, had enough models in order to argue the fabric of his own work, the concept displayed as early as 1971 in the magazine Muzica: Ernest Ansermet (the Suisse Romande Orchestra 1918- 1968!), Wilhelm Furtwängler (the Orchestra of the Berlin Philharmonic 1922- 1945; 1947-1954), George Georgescu (the Orchestra of the Bucharest Philharmonic 1920-1964), Theodor Rogalski (the trainer and educator of the Radio Romania Orchestra (1930-1950)), Arturo Toscanini (the NBC Orchestra 1937-1954), Evgheni Mravinski (the Orchestra of the Philharmonic from Sankt Petersburg 1938-1988!), Herbert von Karajan (the Orchestra of the Berlin Philharmonic 1955-1989), his conducting professor Constantin Silvestri (leader of the orchestras of the Bucharest Philharmonic and of Radio Romania). There are plenty of other examples. And the accuracy of the constant, permanent activity of a conductor with an orchestra was confirmed yet again in his case.

3.2. Enescu’s works in Ion Baciu’s vision Near the two important anniversaries – 120 years from George Enescu’s birth and 90 years from Ion Baciu’s birth, one should underline the conductor’s merits in deepening the meanings of Enescu’s music, in revealing other semantic-expressive folds in a new manner, which observed the letter and the spirit of the scores. Explaining for the first time publicly, for a media channel which transformed immediately into a written document found for half a century at the disposal of whoever was interested, the special attraction of George Enescu’s music, Ion Baciu was stating: “The first and the immediate justification is found in the beauty of rare expressive deepness of this oeuvre, in its meanings scrutinising the depths of human existence, in its sensibility speaking of that great purity of the 90 Studies

Romanian soul. I have thought many times that Enescu’s music can be compared with a sonic picture over centuries of our wonderful Moldavian monasteries. In short (and it is meaningless to insist on reasons of value), nothing is more natural than that honest joy, honest emotion that I experience as a performer whenever I come across Enescu’s scores. It is an artistic world [which] convinces me, with which I can communicate, and especially, which allows me to serve it from the position of that noble ideal of sincerity and performative dedication.” (Albescu, 1971a, p. 25) The confession dates from 1971, Ion Baciu had only begun for a few years the deep interpretation of Enescu’s works together with the orchestra of the Philharmonic from Iași or with other ensembles from the country – the great confrontations and the great victories regarding the symphonies, the Oedipe opera, were still to come. Because Ion Baciu’s constitutive resonance, his continuous research of the scores were finely tuned with the smoothing of the young orchestra, with its training in the study and the expression of Enescu’s texts and ethos. The evolution allowing clarification, which required time. The exceptional consequences were the first representation in concert form of the opera Oedipe (Iași, 1975), Symphony No. 3 in C, op. 21 (1977, recording on an Electrecord record), the special Radio Romania recording (Iași) and the second representation of the Oedipe opera (Bucharest, 1981, the “George Enescu” International Festival), Symphony No. 2 in A, op. 17 (1985, the “George Enescu” Festival, published on the following day on an Electrecord record). These are a few examples. I am choosing for a succinct comment two opera performed by Ion Baciu – Symphonies No. 2 and 3. The versions, with orchestras trained at different conducting schools, activating in two specific ethno-cultural areas, transpire, of course the distinct, original personality of the one who led them at the moment of the performing act. Symphony No. 2 in A, op. 17 offered to Ion Baciu repeated occasions of expressing stylistic areas, writing modes, soul climates which represented him plenarily: Neoromanticism, the technique of the orchestral development in a cascade, with pronounced rhythmic and nuance adversities, with gulfs, with static moments specific of Richard Strauss21, with sublimated Romanian reveries. The variant of the Overture to the opera “The Mastersingers of Nurnberg”, presented to the Bucharest public in the year 1970 by Ion Baciu in a spectacular version22, can also be considered one of the keys of his interpretations with regard to Enescu, because the Wagner-Strauss connection makes visible the untroubled continuity of the melodic flow, which had not yet

21 In the symphonic poems A Hero’s Life, Death and Transfiguration, in the Symphony of the Alps. 22 Ion Baciu. Orchestra „Super” a Conservatorului „George Enescu” din Iași. 1969-1979 [Ion Baciu. The ʻSuper’ Orchestra of the “George Enescu” Conservatoire from Iași. 1969-1970]. Editura “Casa Radio”, ADD 177. 2005, Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company, track 8. 91 Artes. Journal of Musicology transformed, in the years 1912-1914, when it was composed, in a tornado, as it would happen with Symphony No. 3. Like Strauss, Enescu watched from the cross of 19th century romanticism the dawn of 20th century modernism, keeping the distance ignored by the radicals Stravinsky and Bartók. This we understand thanks to Ion Baciu, who furthermore proved that the Romanian author became more involved than Strauss in the dramatic adventure marked by conflict, in the jungle of the romantic-modern synthesis procedures and styles, leading us towards the shore of inner joy. As stated before, the version presented in 1985 by the orchestra of the Iași Philharmonic, led by its maestro at the International Festival in Bucharest rightfully enjoyed in advance the trust of the leadership of the Festival and of the Electrecord Label, with the certainty of masterful success. Thus, on the following day the recording was published on a document-record, and a year later an album was printed in an increased number of copies, with the encomiastic presentation of composer Doru Popovici. I have not noted down impressions about the Symphonies No. 2 and 3 in the chronological order of their composition because I want to emphasise once more the superior understanding, the refinement reached by Ion Baciu as early as the decade 1971-1980 (more precisely, in 1977, when the recording was made) through the repeated immersions up to then in the ocean of Enescu’s symphonic works, relatively little researched until then. Especially since the opus no. 17 in C, no very far removed in time from the preceding one (it was composed in another two-year interval, 1916-1918), surpasses it from all points of view: of elaborating the musical substance, of the sonic spectrum developed through the addition of the organ and the choir, through the height of the philosophical thought reached in music. Ion Baciu clarified the imponderable melodic line, multiplied in developed motifs, a melody which cannot be caught in the polyphonic web, its high flight over the areas of Romanian modalism, the impressionistic harmonic lack of focus being, however, attracted by the German monumentality. The idea of synthesis is clear in the conductor’s conception: the synthesis of the orchestra and the choir, also thought out by Enescu as an integrated instrument, not one added to the orchestra, the synthesis of the three musical cultures – German, French, Romanian – in a form foreign to pastiche, to folklore. Very few Romanian conductors managed before 1977 to also transform Symphony No. 3 from the complicated pearl game materialised in apparently anfractuous strings into an intelligible, fascinating performance played in the spacious apron of the maturity creation left from Enescu. Apparently burdened by the complexity of the ideation and of the writing, Symphony No. 3 is, as far as the composer is concerned, the proof of the refinement and virtuosity with which music can still be composed in the tonality of C major, and as far as conductor Ion Baciu is concerned, the certainty that he was capable in the concert hall, it remains through the recording, capable of also familiarising the listener with this complex

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“symphony of symphonies”, the way analyst Pascal Bentoiu called it, delighted by Baciu’s version, which he considered “superb” (Bentoiu, 1984, p. 218). Saddening is that exactly half a century has passed since Ion Baciu expressed his discontent as to the way in which Romanians related to the man Enescu and his music in the year 1971, and the situation has remained unchanged. “[…] my predilection for Enescu’s oeuvre is also determined by a second main factor. We speak a lot about Enescu, we have dedicated an international contest and festival to him, we have fathomed his music in countless musicological studies, etc. I dare, however, to state that outside the circle of specialists (I am not only referring to musicians, but to most of the men of arts in our country), the true value significance, the true and concrete musical significance of Enescu’s pages mostly escapes the wider audience. We have sawn in mass conscience a symbolic respect towards the name but we have not managed yet to properly familiarise the wider audience with his music, we have not managed to ensure this opera the popularity of Sadoveanu or Arghezi’s writings, for instance (in order not to surpass the reference era). The Romanian rhapsodies are known at most, but not the works which truly represent Enescu’s great art. And, on a national level at least, such a situation seems unnatural too me.” (Albescu, 1971a, p. 25)

4. Conclusions 4.1. The permanent conductor – the invited conductor As comes out clearly from these notes, all unique achievements related to Ion Baciu were possible thanks to his triple position as conductor, professor and philharmonic manager. Conductor Ion Baciu had an experience of fifteen years when he put together his orchestra in Iași. Baciu, the manager of the Philharmonic, had the legal instruments available in order to assemble it. Professor Baciu had the institutional framework in which he worked intensely, a lot, efficiently with the students at the “George Enescu” Conservatoire from Iași. Stability allowed him to model the orchestra according to his own criteria, to fulfil its performative style and sonority, to crystalise the repertoire which defined his personality and that of the instrumental collective. It was a fundamental law that great conductors of the world wished and observed. Beside the recordings, which will have to be unearthed immediately, what remains exemplary in Ion Baciu’s exceptional story? Are there any chances of there appearing a new visionary conductor, an exceptional professional capable of forming a symphonic ensemble also recognisable from recordings? The answer of dualistic. There are and there will be very good conductors with a personality, capable of forming an orchestra. The problem is whether the philharmonics of the world – by mimetism, the philharmonics from Romania – want to have a conductor mastering their orchestras. It becomes ever more obvious that no. The reasons can be explained up to a point, but not fully. I 93 Artes. Journal of Musicology finally chose the opinion of Cristian Mandeal, a perfect connoisseur of the problem, because he led for shorter or longer periods the orchestras of the Philharmonics from Cluj, from Bucharest, with which he realised memorable concerts and recordings, he has the experience of the main guest conductor of the well-known Halle orchestras from Manchester and from Copenhagen, of guest of other prestigious symphonic ensembles and opera theatres from abroad. “Globalisation, on the one hand, the commercialisation which has reached us, on the other hand, are fearsome factors, which change things, in my opinion not altogether for the better. The good side is that there is nowadays a great diversity of figures, a greater commercial offer for the audience, who, of course, wishes to see as much, as new, as varied, as young as possible. On the other hand, however, we lose, I believe, something that before was characteristic of the great orchestras – respectively a certain sound, a certain specific approach of the classical repertoire, this being the product of the direct work of the conductor. Of course, the Furtwängler era has disappeared, the Mravinski era has disappeared, even the Bernstein or Karajan era has disappeared, you see that in the past five years various conductors were rolled even at the Berlin Philharmonic. I don’t know whether it’s for the good of the music or for the mental and bodily health of the orchestra, but rather for the immediate profit of the ticket sellers, of the respective musical institutions, which mostly live out of profit in almost all places in the world where, of course, the earnings determine the survival of an orchestra.” (Vasiliu, 2019)

4.2. Ion Baciu – Defining features of his conducting art Even if he had not been warned regarding his prestige and popularity as a conductor, the person who listened for the first time to works interpreted by Ion Baciu was forced to pay full attention to him until the end, gradually joined by admiration. These are effects which have been maintained thanks to the recordings. The general explanation has in view the ambivalent spectacular character. First of all, Baciu shed light on the architectonic elements of the opus, “see” the sonic construction in all external dimensions, from the support pillars to the last lines of the roof. The melodic conduct not only had a well outlined drawing, but a significance, an evolutive course which could be sinuous, insurgent, as the Romantic style individualised by Wagner, Schubert or Strauss requires it. Baciu impressed the musical substance, also when he was conducting symphonic orchestras where he was a guest, with an emotion, an entirely special experience, which did not change, did not decrease depending on the character of the music. The dramatic or Apollonian soul climate veils listeners even now in, bringing the whole sonic display in the area of performance. The exceptional quality of Ion Baciu’s versions also transpires from the inner performance of the content in the score. Debussy, Ravel, especially 94 Studies

Enescu bring the alchemist Baciu into the foreground. He would always find the chromatic ambient – the colour, the nuance (from the obvious to the infinitesimal one), which characterised the musical pictures. As the inner performance was first “directed” by the composer, Ion Baciu fundamentally observed his indications. This observation is plenarily valid in the case of Enescu’s music. Because from the multiplication, combination, pulverisation and permanent recomposing of the ideas, motifs, melodic cells the musical flow is concretised, for instance in Symphony No. 3 or in the opera Oedipe. Enescu cannot be understood and displayed in his complexity, refinement and splendour without a comprehensive, synthetic stylistic experience. His music is a great synthesis, which includes suggestions from Classicism, Romanticism, Impressionism and early modernity, which lacks radicalism. Without the understanding, without the empathy for these stylistic areas and climates, the signs of Enescu’s music cannot be totally decoded. Transylvanian Ion Baciu’s amazing special resonance to the wavy, remiss Moldavian climate, to the aspect of old walls is added, of course, to the mentioned parametres (we remember the evocation of the monasteries in Bukovina, related by the musician in the 1971 interview with Enescu’s music). If we have in mind the permanent illumination of the dramatic character in the performed music, an introverted or obvious character (examples can be found in some of Shostakovich’s symphonies performed by Ion Baciu with the orchestras of the Philharmonics from Iași and from Bucharest), we find another reason to consider every musical act he signed a performance. A performance full of ideas and affects, which even now overwhelms listeners after the sounds have ended. These seem to me the great qualities of the conducting art which bears Ion Baciu’s name.

References Albescu, T. (1971a). Ion Baciu. Muzica, 4, 24-25. București: Editura Muzicală. Albescu, T. (1971b). Prezențe ieșene în Capitală [Iași presences in the capital city]. Muzica, 4, 30. București: Editura Muzicală. Bentoiu, P. (1984). Capodopere enesciene [Masterworks of George Enescu]. București: Editura Muzicală. Bughici, D. (1975). Cvartetul Cantabile [The Cantabile quartet]. Muzica, 6, 32-33. București: Editura Muzicală. Constantinescu, G. (1975). Săptămâna muzicii românești la Iași [The Week of Romanian Music in Iași]. Muzica, 7, 33-34. București: Editura Muzicală. Delavrancea, C. (1988). Dintr-un secol de viață [From a century of life]. București: Editura Eminescu.

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Gherman, L. (2003a). Dimensiuni ale creației și interpretării. File de cronică muzicală. I (1966-1976) [Dimensions of creation and performance. Sheets of musical chronicles]. Iași: Editura Artes. Gherman, L. (2003b). Dimensiuni ale creației și interpretării. File de cronică muzicală. II (1977-1986) [Dimensions of creation and performance. Sheets of musical chronicles]. Iași: Editura Artes. Hoffman, A. (1971). Orchestra Conservatorului din Iași [The orchestra of the Iasi Conservatory]. Contemporanul, 7, 8. București. Moldovan, M. (1972). Viața muzicală. Seri muzicale ieșene [The musical life. Iași musical evenings]. Muzica, 3, 33. București: Editura Muzicală. Pandelescu, J. V. (1971). Viața muzicală [The musical life]. Muzica, 7, 26. București: Editura Muzicală. Sava, I. (1975). Ion Baciu. Muzica, 6, 22. București: Editura Muzicală. Vartolomei, L. (2003). Atitudinea creatoare [The creative attitude]. Teatrul din umbra Muzicii [The Theatre in the Shadow of Music]. București: Editura Muzicală. Vasiliu, A. (1993). Ion Baciu – O viață pentru o orchestră [A life for the orchestra] film documentar [documentary movie]. TVR Iași. Vasiliu, A. (2019). Civilizația Muzicii [The Culture of Music]. Radio Trinitas. Ciclul documentar Constantin Silvestri – o viață de erou. Episodul 10 [The documentary cycle Constantin Silvestri – A Hero’s Life. Episode 10]. 7 september. Vasiliu, A. (2005). Dialoguri neprotocolare [Casual dialogues]. Iași: Editura Cronica. Ion Baciu. Orchestra „Super” a Conservatorului „George Enescu” din Iași. 1969- 1970. Editura „Casa Radio”, ADD 177. 2005, Societatea Română de Radiodifuziune. [Ion Baciu. The “Super” Orchestra of the “George Enescu” Music Conservatoire Iași, 1969-1970, Editura “Casa Radio” CD, ADD 177, 2005, Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company].

STUDIES

B. Analytical views of modern and contemporary musical works

DOI: 10.2478/ajm-2021-0005

Studies

Voices of Edification Calls for Salvation – an Oratorio (Pilgrims to Saint Parascheva) by Viorel Munteanu

GHEORGHE DUȚICĂ, Professor, PhD “George Enescu” National University of Arts Iasi ROMANIA ∗

Abstract: After the glorious reception of Voices of Putna – a key contribution to the genre – Viorel Munteanu makes now a new “offering of sound and letter”, a “different” sort of eulogy for the Orthodox Byzantine monody, meaning to encourage us to embark on the difficult journey of salvation together with the endless train of “pilgrims to Saint Parascheva”. It is, thus, a daring compositional effort that will be spiritually experienced by both its creator and its public, from the first contact with the graceful resonance of the title to the last shimmer of sound at the end of the final scene. If one considers the Orthodox art and its spirit, Viorel Munteanu’s Oratorio for Saint Parascheva is more than a creative act; it is an act of faith, of hope and of love, “a prayer to”, and “joy in”, Jesus Christ; it is living tradition and self-giving truth, by which we partake to one of the most memorable unions of Christian experiences and symbols.

Keywords: oratorio, Viorel Munteanu, Byzantine monody of the Orthodox rite, symphonic architecture, dramaturgy, heterophony.

The perfect embodiment of human Beauty is the saint. (Diaconescu, 2009, I, p. 142)

Beginning without Beginning to Begin with ... (Mircea, 2006, p. 434)

Ex. 1 Introduction (see Appendix)

The Oratorio – An Offering of Sound and Letter…

Unending revelation, above and beyond space and time, or the world or history… Unseen, unshaken and immeasurable is the faith of the martyrs of Christ. (Diaconescu, 2009, I, p. 93)

Fig. 1 The Melogram of Saint Parascheva

∗ [email protected] 97 Artes. Journal of Musicology

The Oratorio – “An Akathist Hymn” of Cosmic Reverberations…

…piety lives and grows around the life of a holy person, picked out of the pages of the calendar, so that we may have a model, a source for our deification. (Tudor, 1942, pp. 8-9, apud Diaconescu, 2009, II, p. 62)

Fig. 2 Global Chronology (Macroform) (see Appendix)

Interpretations… Memorial of the Saints (Scene I)

I am Who I am. And because I am, I go further toward The One that I have always been. I am born now, at this moment equal to Eternity, through which I am – and I become– since ever. (Mircea, 2006, p. 434)

The deep meanings of this “beginning of the world” support the symbolic tapestry of the word that has risen to heavens, calling and glorifying incessantly, humbly hoping and giving thanks… When I talk to You, I am facing You, and, for that only I would consider it good for me, […] as the very act of praying to You is reward enough for me1.

Words speak of deeds and tongues praise miracles (I.6.)

Following the principle of iteration by double concatenation (Triptych 1+ Triptych 2 2), the architecture of the first section – a true Liturgy scaled down to the time of the oratorio – gravitates around the couple Prayer – Glory (alias Supplication –Fulfilment).

…of Prayer3 (Triptych 1)

Fig. 3a

1 Guillaume de Saint-Thierry (Mircea, 2006, p. 330). 2 See: Fig. 3a + 3b. 3 I.1. Tatăl nostru (Our Father) + I.3. Rugăciune (Prayer) + I.5. Împărate ceresc (Heavenly King). 98 Studies

Our Father (I.1.)

For the eyes of the Lord gaze upon the righteous and His ears listen to their prayers. (Peter 3:12.)

The Hesychast silence is gently ruffled by the tolling of bells, by the playing of the semantron and the movement of the censer, drops of pure sewn gradually in the monody; the Journey has begun...

Ex. 2 Our Father (I.1.), mm. 1-47 (see Appendix)

It is the time for the churchly chants. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. (I.1.) The soloists and the united choirs (the Children’s, the Mixed, the Byzantine) – a host of humble and devoted pilgrims – accept communion with the few instruments, for the brotherhood of the Word and of the incantation rising to heavens. These simple mixes of timbre have an impressive effect, as the employment of the entire vocal-symphonic apparatus points to a superb and recognizable metaphor of communion, deeply rooted in the early Church. The heavens... the Kingdom of God, the consubstantial Holy Trinity that we worship and glorify! Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (I.1.) A prayer to begin with, a founding prayer, contemplation, mystery and transcendence... Anton Pann’s famed monody has semantic virtues set in „the letter” of modal intonations still expressive after so much time. Thus, during the diatonic ascetism of sound we feel the fthoras at work as they offer experience and meanings, as for example the dualism induced by the ascending luminosity of the VIth step of the Dorian mode (B) and the nostalgic shadow of the return/descending of the melodic gradient by means of the Aeolian alternative of the same step (B flat). The reflective solemnity of the first prayer (extracted out of time, meaning not an illusory escape, but a much-desired moment for the incarnation of the Self “in the image and likeness” of the Triune Being) will not be without dramatic inflections. This is the case with cadential “nodes”, where the sound of step VII

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– C sharp4 – (subsemitonium modi in Tone 5) is met with a symmetrical reply in the sound of the step II – E flat5 – (a Phrygian reference), generating one of the most impressive dissonances (diminished third). Actually, this tensional microstructure of a quasi-idiomatic character would underscore the placing of the finalis (D) in a tower of perfect consonances – a symbolic expression of remaking the sublime harmony between man and his Creator.

Prayer (I.3.)

Icon in words, icon of the Word... Eminescu, who was given the gift of the words, sings a sacrificial hymn for the release of the logos to the infinite of the pure essences: Choosing you for our Queen, We kneel, and beg you. [...] Please listen to our grievance, Thou Sovereign of angels... (Poetry by Mihai Eminescu)

Ex. 3 Prayer6 (I.3.), mm. 1-9

We let ourselves go and enter in spirit through the wide-open door of the prayer, abandoning ourselves, together with the soloists and the mixed choir, to the psalmody of Tone 2 (bichromatic). An apparently soothing music, under the venerated gaze of the All-Graceful One, which, in reality, covers anxieties and existential obstacles hard to overcome without divine help. Raise us and rescue us From the wave that's upon us. Be our strengthening shield And our protective wall. (Poetry by Mihai Eminescu)

4 Mixed Choir, Soprano, Scene I.1., m. 43. 5 Byzantine Choir, Scene I.1., m. 45. 6 Poetry by Mihai Eminescu. 100 Studies

Ex. 4 Prayer (I.3.), mm. 12-20

Music – eternally comforting – joins the prayer, as if wishing to paint with sound the brilliant portrait of the All- Unblemished one. Veiled in the aureola of sainthood, the psalmody is sewn from diatonic and (disjunctive-) chromatic threads, the latter – originated by the oscillation of steps II (F – F sharp) and IV (D sharp – D flat) – creating subtle melodic torsions in the microcellular space of the diminished third and fourth. Through resonance, the concluding-cadential moment fuses the same sound matter in dissonant geometric-type verticals (6-2-6), harmonic tensions that will dissolve immediately in the light of the consonant purity of the final chords. Appear to us from the dark, As light most pure, and clear, O All‐Unblemished Mother And ever Virgin, Mary! (Poetry by Mihai Eminescu) Ex. 5 Prayer (I.3.), mm. 32-42 (see Appendix)

Heavenly King (I.5.)

The symbolic triptych of prayer ends (in symmetry) by returning to the epic-dramatic center of the Father - Treasury of Blessings and The Giver of Life: O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, Who art everywhere and fillest all things. (I.5.) An apotheosis of pleading through self-abadonment and spiritual improvement, this prayer represents a mirrored return of some of the core ideas of the Lord’s Prayer, Our Father. come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One. (I.5.)

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Ex. 6 Heavenly King 7 (I.5.), mm. 1-25

Sustained by the extended ison on the lower strings, the monody Heavenly King (Tone 6/bichromatic on D) given to the Byzantine choir will encounter the modulatory principle of the “wheel”. Semantically, transcending the original structure (“after ambitus”) of the mode will induce a state of illumination, which corresponds to the “diatonicizing” of the second tetrachord. But in the elevated register of the immanent ethos, this structural mutation accepted, in principle, by the modal canon, is in accordance – here and now! – with the profoundly spiritual sense of the expression: Giver of Life.

...of Glory (Triptych 2)

Fig. 3b

The Lord is God! (I.2.)

Let every breath praise the Lord!

Confession and witness of faith... Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. (I.2.)

7 Monody by Ion Popescu-Pasărea. 102 Studies

The Byzantine Choir enters the stage as forerunner to the collective characters, singing a monody with symbolical identity. Come praise together the greatness of Creation and together still to say: I shall remember Your name from generation to generation! (I.2.)

Ex. 7 The Lord is God8 (I.2.), mm. 20-28

We reach here a first stage of sound rarefication, even though, especially when set in contrast with the previous tutti moment, the monodic purity (rigorously preserved!) will not lack a certain vertical consistency. Thus, intermittently, the line of the choir will be intersected by the delicate interventions of a group made of vibraphone, bells, harp and piano, and, during the moments of cadential stasis short melodic complements, entrusted to the wind instruments, will be used. The final conclusion belongs however to a differe nt group (trumpets and trombones), which take up again, in a short harmonic fragment, the beginning of the monody.

Bless the Lord, O my soul (I.4.)

The living God revealed Himself to us so that mankind should believe in Him In Everything that comes from Him and by Him, to the end of time...

Love and joy without margins, songs of praise and gratitude to the Heavenly King... unifying semantic constants of the “triptych” dedicated to the Glory of God, bridges between new stylistic registers... We have here a true change of spatial-temporal paradigm, as the entire coral-orchestral mass is put into gear – an expression of the concentration of all the collective energies (soloists, mixed choir, Byzantine choir, orchestra) – allowing for that spiritual moment when “diachrony” and “synchrony” would meet.

8 The Paraklesis and Akathist of Venerable Saint Parascheva. 103 Artes. Journal of Musicology

Ex. 8 Bless the Lord, O my soul (I.4.), mm. 1-13

It is not about unison, but about (quasi-isochronic) isorhythm, born in the proximity of the giusto-syllab ic-type rhythmicity. In this temporal matrix a melodic line will evolve, defined by the wealth of the generating sound resources: modal variables derived from the application of the modulatory princip le of the “wheel”9, segments featuring pentachords placed in virtual “scordatura” (polymodal chromatics on a common finalis: Lydian-Mixolydian+chromatic 3+ Aeolian), even a change of the modal center, preserving the original structure (Aeolian C → Aeolian G).

Fig. 4

This sound frenzy gathers harmonic consistency within a homophonic writing echoing the verticalization of certain elements of melodic horizontality – an expression of the “meeting” of different, apparently opposable syntactic conditions. Another aspect of the vertical writing is that of the “heterophonic incidence”, meaning the free, if not arbitrary, play between plurivocal and monovocal/unison. Given the (predictable) rhythm periodicity, the sound effect is truly momentous 10.

Today the souls of those on earth (I.6.)

Unseen, unshaken and immeasurable is the faith of the martyrs of Christ. (Diaconescu, 2009, II, p. 93)

9 We can observe that the modulatory principle of the „wheel” has a significat role to play in the modal/melodic context of the oratorio. 10 Scene I.4., mm. 7-13. 104 Studies

The imminence of transcendence (Today...), The mystery of transcendence (...the heavenly gates are open...) In praise of transcendence (And Lord’s abode is shown to us) The ancient phrase of the chanter 11 – drops of wax falling of the Holy Light – wins the hearts of all the faithful with their icon-like demeanour. It is a community that has become communion through the mindful and heartfelt participation of all the soloists, the choirs and the orchestra.

Ex. 9 Today the souls of those on earth12 (I.6.), mm. 1-11

Apotheosis of Glory in Remembrance of the Saints...

A monody line (Tone 2 on G) – divided (by its tetrachords) between the chromatic and the diatonic – will wander (antiphonically) from one group to the other or it will rise along the line of the harmonic, the heterophonic, the “polyphonic”. Untroubled, the peace of expression is defined by dualism, the chromatic passages (characterized by the augmented second) becoming a lamenting echo to an ageless psalmody, whereas the diatonic elusions, closer to our days, tell of the much desired, peaceful oases. So we call our Savior saying Glory to You, O Christ our Lord, For through them you have given peace to the faithful. (I.6.)

Holy Circle. The Lord Has Said; Man’s Search (Scenes II-III)

Scene II – Holy Circle13 and Scene III The Lord Has Said14 are semantically complementary in that they reflect essentially man’s search for the One who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

11 In reference to Ştefănache Popescu’s song. 12 Monody by Ştefănache Popescu. 13 II.1. Liturgy; II.2. Holy circle; II.3. John’s self-laceration in the wilderness; II.4. The Way of the Cross; II.5. In the name of the Lord. 14 III.1. In Search of Man; III.2. The Cross of the Christ; III.3. Lord’s Answer. 105 Artes. Journal of Musicology

From the existential agony supported by the paradoxes of the otherworldly faith (Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!) (Mark 9:24), to the saving enlightenme nt of the Sacrifice on the Cross, one opens one’s heart – following Jesus’ guidance of Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane, preparing oneself, through love and good deeds, for the encounter with the Holy and Godly Mystery of the Resurrection. In the general dramaturgy of the oratorio, Scenes II and III incorporate the entire symbolistic of the sacrificial Way of the Covenant, a path walked by the saints, including our protecting Mother, the venerable Saint Parascheva (Scene IV). The poetic-musical synthesis I propose here constitutes itself in what may be called a binding semantic and refers to the texts that lay at the foundation of the eight sections (see notes 77-78). Therefore, verses that define a certain context may be met – through analogies, references and linguis tic symmetr ie s – in the virtual, fully coherent milieu of certain poetical structures (contexts) semantically highly relevant 15.

Liturgy (II.1.) The light removes its golden, clear veil, And from atop the mountains puts on the starry mantle To worship a mystery forever brought to life some more... (II.1.) (Poems by George Popa)

A new start as a rising again by means of a holy descend inspired by monody, a ray of humble light shining through colorful stained glass...

Ex. 10 Liturgy16 (II.1.), mm. 15-35

15 Scene and section will be specified between brackets. 16 Poems by George Popa. 106 Studies

Multi-coloured also is the sound matter from which the melancholic speaking of the flute, and then of the mezzo-soprano, is fabricated: a “rotating” mode, with variable tetrachords/pentachords attuned to Tone 7 diatonic (Varis mode) on B. Liturgy… We join the long isons of the lower strings in order to “go out of time” toward that beyond of prayer and of the redeeming sacrifice.

Holy Circle (II.2.)

Which new dress will fit me better past Amen? (II.2.)

We move in a circle, in a Holy Circle, on the path of the Faith that is a Way of the Cross (II.4) – a repeatable Golgotha of self-laceration between two margins – human divine (II.2.). We live… we dream… we die… Deceived by a wicked serpent… We aim for heaven… we reach it not… (III.1.) (Poems by Rev. Constantin Sturzu) Doubt overcomes us, the absurd is harassing us, we cannot see past the limit, we feel crushed between walls: there is disarray, a troubling hesitation in between this side and the Other, between Now and Then. Where is the narrow opening we could sneak through, or the bridge we could cross? Music itself is caught in interrogation, bringing about a duality that characterizes its very core.

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Ex. 11 Holy Circle (II.2.), mm. 4-24

On the one hand, there is the oscillating modal milieu, with its accumulation of chromatic-diatonic intonating structures:

Fig. 5

On the other hand (but as a result of the first phenomenon), we have tetrachordal-pentachordal conjunctions of a bi- and polymodal extension, derived from the (direct or virtual) action of the moveable steps. These will favor the building of microcellular structures characterized by the same dual condition. In fact, we see the opposing relation between the original form (O) and the inverted form (I) of four generative entities: alpha, beta, gamma, delta.

Fig. 6

The generation by (mirror) symmetry and, after that, the permutatio nal mobility of this intonating syntagmata indicate the composer’s affinity with the pre-erial technique, applied here to a milieu of an austere modalism, both in letter and spirit. While supremely brave, this act is entirely justifiable from an aesthetic-

108 Studies stylistic perspective, as such an option helps towards reaching one of the most expressive and relevant areas of the dilemmatic, interrogative rhetoric.

John’s self-laceration in the wilderness (II.3.) Man’s search (III.1.)

We are walking uphill on the sacrificial path on the Way of a Holy Search, but make little progress, as we are removed from men and heavens (II.2), feeling the hardships born out of the original fall: Why?... Why?... Why?... Is there a reason… or a remedy… for comfort? Any answer…. to appease… in disguise? (III.1.) (Poems by Rev. Constantin Sturzu)

Ex. 12 John self-laceration in the wilderness17 (II.3.), mm. 5-13

Where are You, Elohim? Troubled and half-heartedly we are wandering, We are seeking You among the specters of the night. (II.3.) (Poems by Lucian Blaga) We seek the glory of God, we are attracted by the magnetism of the Call (Gazing to the farthermost margins, We no longer know the way back), but we hesitate as humans of the earth... Elohim! Where are You, Elohim?? (II.3.) (Poems by Lucian Blaga)

As it is in the semantic center of the two scenes, the interrogative tension, the rhetoric of the dilemma and of the search are represented by a variety of structural stances. We may make a note of several of these:

17 Poems by Lucian Blaga. 109 Artes. Journal of Musicology

• Interpolation of general pauses; ascentional sequences.

Ex. 13 Man’s search 18 (III.1.), mm. 6-10

• A concentration of the intonation on a pivotal sound of the higher register (G2); a tensioning of the final cadence through the diminished third: F sharp –B flat (varying segment from Saint Parascheva’s Melogram).

Ex. 14 Man’s Search (III.1.), mm. 29-36

The Covenant of Saint Parascheva (Scene IV)

... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

The Covenant of Saint Parascheva constitutes the semantic and dramaturgic center of the oratorio. The Reception of the Word (Scene IV.1) represents the moment of “self- abandonment”, after a long and heart-breaking call of the Voice of He who rejuvenates hearts. It is renewal and illumination, rebirth and a new beginning and, above all, a sacrificial act at the start of the Journey, following in His footsteps. We need to renounce not what we have but what we are19. Only then, the natural fall (…But who will see with clayish eyes/ The unseen Bridegroom?)

18 Poems by Rev. Constantin Sturzu. 19 Paul Evdokimov (Diaconescu, 2009, II, p. 22). 110 Studies will be followed by the move to a transcendental order (I shall call Him and He will come/ In the city as well as in the wilderness). Therefore, Give me a Word. A Word to edify me!20. And the uttering word of Saint Parascheva (the prayer) was answered to by the Word Incarnate (Jesus Christ). O Lord, Jesus Christ, You are the lightest of dawns. (Carol on our Lord’s Entry into Jerusalem)

Ex. 15 The Reception of the Word21 (IV.1.), mm. 1-8

Ready for the Liturgy, the music humbly takes a step back as we, while listening to the discreet dialogue between the churchly chants (carol on Lord’s Entry

20 Rev. Constantin Galeriu (Arachelian, 1993, p. 6). 21 Poems by Rev. Constantin Sturzu. 111 Artes. Journal of Musicology into Jerusalem, ex. 15) and the chants coming to us from old manuscripts (Codex Caioni) share in the atmosphere created by the children’s choir and the soloist that plays the role of Saint Parascheva herself. The associated instrumental groups (tuned and untubed percussion instruments, harp, strings and piano) cover the rhetoric register of the background, doubling/multiplying subtly the delicate sonorities of the vocal firmament. This ambiance of diatonic purity is addressed in general piano, which strengthens the expressiveness of the polyphonic/heterophonic reflections and moreover of the diatonic clusters that give color to modal cadences. However, holiness – the rising above, the transcending of the fallen, hesitant and transient humankind – requires ascetic effort, breaking up with the world and the worldly cares. For this, holiness necessitates the experiencing of the desert or the wilderness, that calls for the deliverance from passions (No one can comfort me,/I appease the longing and here it is again!), that is the breaking down of the most menacing wall that separates humankind from the Creator. In the wilderness (Scene IV.2.), Saint Parascheva purifies herself not only because of “the simple choice grounded on the covenant, but by the fact that she is introduced in God’s communion through Jesus Christ, the holy High Priest (Hebrews 7: 26)” (Bria, 1993, p. 344).

Ex. 16 In the wilderness (IV.2.), mm. 5-8

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“The Reception of the Word” (Listen, Parascheva!/Listen to what Lord says!) – mediated here by the voice of the priest – happens in an austere musical background, of a discursive neutrality, through a non-developmental music that institutes itself a semantic aureola for the several words uttered by the Priest and, at the end, by Saint Parascheva. We have here essentially an instrumental texture of a medium density entrusted initially to the strings and later broadened (briefly) by a group made of flute, oboe, bassoon, and a few percussion instruments. This sound area has a pedal center (G) and is constituted from a modal (plurimelodic) material, disposed mostly permutatively. Beside the two voices that have the primary role of the section in question, one may also note the solo flute that initiates an intermittent commentary (ex. 16). The return from the wilderness is driven by the image of the Transfiguration and the hope for salvation (It is your last journey… as you will be dead, you will rise again!). This triumph over one’s self and nature brings about a world of love and of glory to God. This is why the last two sections of Scene IV cannot be seen but as perfectly complementary. Fuelled by the power of faith and the meanings of the redeeming truth, Evghenie Humulescu’s monody (Scene IV.3) – entrusted to the soprano and the string section – becomes the absolute expression of love and gratitude for the All- Giving and All-Graceful God: I shall love You, Lord, my strength, The Lord is my steadfastness, my refuge and my Rescuer. (IV.3.)

Ex. 17 I shall love You22 (IV.3.), mm. 6-23

22 Monody by Evghenie Humulescu. 113 Artes. Journal of Musicology

Enlighted by the heavenly rays of divine kindness, Saint Parascheva reaches in holiness “the highest plane of humanity” [Preotul Dumitr u Stăniloa ie (Dumitrescu, 1993, p. 11], which, from a Christian perspective, leads to a paradoxical “abyss of humility” [Preotul Dumitr u Stăniloa ie (Dumitrescu, 1993, p. 11]. Receive, O Lord, my body As a grain of wheat sown in the ground. Be my name forgotten, And may I die as a foreigner… (IV.4.) (Poeme de Pr. Constantin Sturzu) After the soprano’s prayer, words quietly give way to the “non-words” blended in music. Thus, the end of Scene IV (The Covenant of Saint Parascheva) creates a significant contrast, materialized in an orchestral tutti organized in separate sections. It is a climactic-conclusive moment whose “voices” merge in the dense globality of a bichromatic mode on G (Tone 6, transposed) with moveable steps (IV, V and VII). The dualism of the modal steps induces a rhetoric of the double connotation, extrapolated on the level of the vertical syntax by connecting two discrete spheres: 1. a (short) melody wearing a Byzantine fragrance, projected as a foreground in the acute register (flute, oboe, violin 1 div.), promoting the integrality of the aforementioned mode; 2. a melodic line of a repetitive type (clarinet and viola), opposable as structure and register position, but set on a hemitonic pentatonic scale within an octave-repeating scale extracted from the main mode. The two spheres annex separate rhetoric registers: the first – of the spiritua l amplitude and of holiness; the second – of humility and of wisdom.

Ex. 18 Receive, O Lord, my body23 (IV.4.), mm. 28-32 (see Appendix)

The Veneration of the Pilgrims (Scene V)

T he veneration of the pilgrims – a spiritual act in thankfulness to God, /.../ ascetical act and offering of gratitude/.../search and experience of the sacred sense of our existence. (His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church)

The pilgrimage and the veneration – the astonishing arches of the cupola meant to keep vigil over the last act of the “call for salvation”.

23 Poems by Rev. Constantin Sturzu. 114 Studies

The fifth and last scene of the oratorio is a corollary scene. While communicating a different dramaturgic perspective by means of moving the focal point from the odyssee of St. Parascheva’s sanctification to the collective perception of the multitude of pilgrims, this ample section of the oratorio – comprised of no less than twelve subsections – can certainly be considered a synthesis. By establishing a similarity relationship between the sections of Scene Five, on the one hand, and between these and the sections of Scenes I, II, III and IV, on the other hand, one may expose a network of “resonances” and strategic correspondencies, which fortify, both structurally and semantically, the entire symphonic frame of the oratorio.

Fig. 7 (see Appendix)

Following this synoptic evaluation, we may deduce that the semantic dimension of the oratorio plays a decisive role in the construction of the global chronology, acting as a true generator of musical macroform. To return to the corollary character of Scene V – which is conferred, crucially, by the synthesis grounded in analogies and thematic correspondencies – we may note that there are two planes of relationship.

Fig. 8

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The first plane is comprised of the exact perimeter of Scene V and refers to the symmetric alternation (following the principle of the rondo: couplet-refrain) of two thematic triads:

Semantic Plane I • Pilgrims alongside you: V.2. →V.7.→V.10. • The Troparion of our Venerable Mother Parascheva (with title variants) V.3.→V.6.→V.9.

The second plane is of macrostructural scope and refers to the circulatio n within the global chronology of binder themes that create “remo te ” correspondences between the different sections of the oratorio.

Semantic Plane II • Bless the Lord, O my soul (with title variants) (I.2.)→I.4.→II.5.→V.8. • The Cross of Christ (The Way of the Cross) (II.4.)→III.2.→V.8bis

Fig. 9 (see Appendix)

Along the same line, we may discern - in rhetorical key (initium-finalis) - a third semantic plane; we refer to the perfect symmetry between the first and the last sections of the oratorio, which are related due to the Our Father and Holy God prayers belonging to the same (semantic) class.

Semantic Plane III

Our Father Holy God I.1.→→→→→V.11.

Fig. 10 (see Appendix)

Thus, the unifying experience of the pilgrimage will fold analogously in the unifying experience of the final scene. An apotheosis scene, the quintessence of the entire oratorio, this edifice of amplitude will rise on the foundation of a temporal architecture of cyclic symmetry, following the model of a rondo with two refrains.

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If scenes I-IV lived in the sphere of the concept of establishment - b y the novelty of the appearance of each section – scene V is being edified by virtue of the concept of re-establishment - by the iterative character of the invocation / translation of certain antecedent sections (as the function of the recapitulatio n). As I have already pointed out, the phenomenon is active both in a narrow plane (Scene V) and in an extended plane (Scenes I-IV). A first perspective concerns the triple intermittence of the duo of refrains, consisting of the sections: V.2.→V.7.→V.10. (Pilgrims alongside you) şi V.3. →V.6.→V.9. (The Troparion of our Venerable Mother Parascheva).

Shield of faith, dew of victory.

The triad of refrains: Pilgrims with you (Semantic Plane I) begins with section V.2. (of the “establishment”) that imparts a lot of light, joy, hope and love. It is a hymn of glory from the depths of each pilgrim's self, a spiritual message bathed in the sounds of Tone 3 (a Mixolydian, centered on C, with a movable VIIth step). The common aspiration towards ascension and transcendence manifests itself in all the splendor of the modal harmonies entrusted to the mixed choir amplified by the penetrating voice of the solo tenor.

Ex. 19 Pilgrims alongside you (V.2.), mm. 1-8

The other two sections: V.7. and V.10. (of “re-establishment”) are slightly “deformed” resonances in the sense that V.7. swells up to the tristrophic (A-B- A) by the insertion of a median segment that wanders into the range of Tone 2– while V.10., although responding to the frame analogy, translates all its sound material onto F.

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Venerable Mother Parascheva, pray for us. (Sîrbu et al., 2011)

Within the same semantic plane (I), the second triad of refrains performs “in tandem”: the Troparion of our Venerable Mother Parascheva (with title variants).

Ex. 20 The Troparion of our Venerable Mother Parascheva (Sîrbu et al., 2011) (V.9.), mm. 4-32

It is in prayer that we find the holy bliss of our spirit. (Blessed Archimandrite Sophrony)

The pilgrims, the collective character of the oratorio, demand the prevalence of vocality, as the three moments (V.3., V.6 and V.9.), are divided, sometimes antiphonically between the Byzantine choir, the mixed choir and the group of soloists (also mixed). The monody increases with each exposition, the last section (the “re-establishment”) being different from the other two, both by the expansion of the temporal interval and by the spiritual elevation of the word: In you, O venerable Mother Parascheva, the faitful image of God shone forth, for you carried your cross and followed Christ (V.9.). The whole scene is the intensely personalized expression of the worship in spirit and truth, that pleases the Father. Thus, from the onset (section V.1.), we come into contact with the cosmic dimension of holiness, as the heavens, the whole universe is vibrating at the sign of salvation by sacrifice : Holy Parascheva / The Heavens speak of you. Symbolically, the first musical gesture is related to the emblematic melogram (varied and transposed here on F), with the first four sounds linked in a cruciform motif. Not at all by accident, this statement/message of superessential

118 Studies purity and quintessence, of the resurrection in the spirit, is entrusted to the children's choir, irradiated by discrete modal harmonies supported by harp, celesta, and strings.

Ex. 21 The Heavens speak of you24 (V.1.), mm. 1-8

After a short intermezzo (similarly diatonic) which, through the voices of the mixed choir, quotes the melody of a beautiful Romanian carol, the choir of children (alongside the mixed and the Byzantine choirs) will gently slide, according to the “wheel” principle, into another (micro) modal area (of the chromatic variety, this time) to extol a song of praise and thanksgiving: Glory to You, Christ our God, Glory to You! Recalling the (macro) architectural principle of the rondo, we will observe the rigorous (symmetrical) mode in which the iterative duo of the refrains frames the six couplets: V.1., V.4., V.5., V.8., V.8bis and V.11. This ingenious musical dramaturgy emphasizes the articulation of pregnant thematic entities (refrains and couplets) which, based on a relational strategy (conjunctions and disjunctions), ensure the structural coherence and the semantic relevance of the entire tableaux. In the context of the quasi-linear continuity of the sound narrative, the occurrence of a monodic cadence meets all the expectations of contrast and difference, constituting a necessary change of paradigm in favour of the cyclic (or spiral) time, generated in principle by the very temporal structure of the rondo. It is exactly what the Prayer of the Protopsaltis offers, after performing the first couple of refrains (V.4.).

Rejoice, O All-gracious Parascheva! (From the Akathist of Venerable Saint Parascheva)

24 Poetry by Rev. Sever Negrescu. 119 Artes. Journal of Musicology

Ex. 22 The Prayer of the Protopsaltis (Frimu, 2011) (V.4.) – Cadence (fragment)

It is a chant resurfaced from old scripts, a wonderful, unmatched uttering in the grace of creation ... The voice of the melody penetrates into our soul, heart and mind, like the love of God. The authentic monodic in the authentic modal matrix: a polychromatic fabric of diatonic and chromatic micro-zones, a melismatics that is amplified microintervallically, an unwavering oscillatory motion maintained by the mobility of the steps, a true polymodal microcosm “bordered” only by the ambit of the decima terza entrusted to the soloist. And above all, there is the ison – for accompaniment, chorusing - reflecting in the simplest and most profound form the dramaturgy of consonant-dissonant incidences of the bivocal vertical. In the spirit of the permanent “syntax modulation” (in this case, the transition from monody to homophony), but also of the variation of the sound densities and of the timbre volumes, the section that follows this moment of maximum inner depth (V.5.) keeps the same semantic and expressive register.

Vigil lamp in Moldavia… Venerable Saint Parascheva – “ladder to heaven”, light to keep watch and vigil

Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of man comes. (Matthew 25:13)

Vigil lamp in Moldavia... Children’s Choir only and a fragment from the from The Song of Princess Lupu. Two essential connections: with an age, with an era. A passage full of beauty and candour, like the light of truth and love, whose glow descends from the radiant face of Jesus surrounded by His saints.

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After the double refrain constituted by the conjunction of sections V.6.- V.7., we reach the Semantic Plane II, that of the macrostructural recourses, of the connections with the anteriority of scenes I-IV, in the sense of those “re- establishments” of events or sound contexts with an anticipated semantic identity. It is a “counterpoint” of the “remote” analogies and correspondences, of the link between the different sections of the oratorio; it is an argument of the symphonic projection that defines the macroform of the genre. The chronology of Scene V contains two such connections. First (V.8.) – Bless the Lord, O my soul (with title variants) – resonates with sections of the first two scenes: (I.2.) → I.4. → II.5.(→ V.8.); the second (V.8bis) – The Cross of the Christ (The Way of the Cross) – gathers together quasi-conclusively similar or identical sections of Scenes II and III: (II.4.)→III.2.(→ V.8bis). The poetics of the macrotemporal symmetries will culminate in the semantic analogy relationship between the well-known Holy God - the penultimate section of the oratorio (V.11.) - and the Lord’s prayer Our Father (I.1.) that opens the movingly beautiful sound universe of this uplifting spiritual edification.

… and a different sort of exegesis

Religious music in academic attire occupies a discrete register within the environment of contemporary composition. This statement is justified by the richness of genres and cultured forms, by the variety of composing techniques and, generally, by all the elements of language that work together toward the realization of an artistic vision born out of the revelatory crux of the evangelic message. A retrospective overview of this musical genre will make it clear that the semantic focus of the majority of compositions on Christian themes has centered on the Gospel narrative telling the story of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. From this derived chiefly two types of musical works – or, better said, of compositional options: the first, based on the Gospel narrative taken as a whole; the second, meaning to employ the same text partially or fragmentary. Among the most common themes are: the Last Supper, the Garden of Gethsemane, Our Lord’s Seven Words on the Cross, the Passion Week (that gave birth to the musical genre of passion in the West and elsewhere) etc. After the glorious reception of Voices of Putna – a key contribution to the genre – Viorel Munteanu makes now a new “offering of sound and letter”, a “different” sort of eulogy for the Orthodox Byzantine monody, meaning to

121 Artes. Journal of Musicology encourage us to embark on the difficult journey of salvation together with the endless train of “pilgrims to Saint Parascheva”. It is, thus, a daring compositional effort that will be spiritually experienced by both its creator and its public, from the first contact with the graceful resonance of the title to the last shimmer of sound at the end of the final scene. The Byzantine monody of the Orthodox rite aims at making apparent, or – if I may dare to use the term – at being an “incarnation” of, the Divine Beauty, possessing as such all its attributes. Starting from original sources, Vio r e l Munteanu shares in those “revelatory” forms of music, whose spiritual gravity tells, in the most sensible and authentic way, the story of the wondrous “paradox” of the antinomic, substantial-nonsubstantial relationship between mankind and the Creator. Viorel Munteanu approaches with love, most humbly and in awe this music dressed as it were in monastic habit, which sings the praises of the hesychast way of life and the apophatic knowledge. It is only by this that he manages to cross the boundaries of space and time which have been holding him captive, in order to reach the absolute truth of “inwardness” and the archetypal essentiality of these humble churchly chants. One may observe here an affinity with, and moreover a fidelity to, the Holy Orthodox Tradition (in general, and chiefly to the musical one) which leads, above all, to a certain sobriety of expression. Indeed, it is sobriety, not (extreme) austerity, since the composer – wisely, discreetly and elegantly, means not to renounce the identity conferred by his spiritual – that is, beyond the one properly temporal - appertaining (and adherence) to the aesthetic and stylistic values of the 20th and 21st century music. How does Viorel Munteanu solve, however, the paradox of “conciliating the irreconcilable”, that is, of the “opposition” between the rigor of tradition (founded on the uniqueness of dogma) and the freedom of creation (founded on the diversity of norms)? I believe that he found an answer precisely in the Orthodox tradition, whose spirit always stays alive and resourceful: ‘In Orthodox Christianity, the originality is received only insofar it grows naturally from what has preceded it. The evolution from what is in existence to what is new and sometimes original cannot be a breakup, an unusual or shocking resolution, but a fruitful and organic growth instead. […] The genuine innovat io n has its inception in the secure ground of tradition, thus becoming part of the Holy Tradition. As such, the endless and complex relationship between tradition, creation, renewal and diversity, which is the focus of the dogmatic, liturgical and pastoral Orthodox theology, is a dependable starting point in the effort to understand the difficult matter of innovation’ (Diaconescu, 2009, II, pp. 250- 251).

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This creative spirit, born out of the living experience of tradition, guided Viorel Munteanu toward an original arranging of the musical forms and structures, conveying a truly astonishing and spiritually improving music. One is impressed, thus, by the symphonic architecture of the five tableaux that piece together no less than thirty-three sections; the poetic texture of the epic, dramatic narrative, depicting its growths and decays, interrogations and responses, anxieties and appeasements, asceticism and transcendence; the complexity of the orchestral-vocal arrangement: the three choirs, the group of soloists, the fine-tuned orchestra and, last but not least, the hesychast accompaniment of liturgical instruments (bells, censer, semantron); the dramaturgy of volumes resulted from the continuous variation of the elements of the triad: solo-group-all; moreover, and above all, one is impressed by the transfiguring power of the “voices of edification” – voices and instruments reunited in a unique heterophonic tapestry, which represents a new level of complexity in the plurivocal (vertical) treatment of the monody of the Byzantine Orthodox rite. It is without a doubt that Viorel Muteanu’s heterophonic technique is innovative and prospective as far as the vertical syntax is concerned. Innovative, that is, for it displays no stylistic predeterminations, and prospective, because it is (ontologically) “open”, and thus predisposed to change. In the score of the oratorio, the composer employs a distinctive, origina l, even visionary manner of creating a monodic-dissipative/multiplicative polyphonic (super-)structure, wherein the entity that is revealed by means of many voices constitutes itself every now and again as a collective character. Under these circumstances, the heterophony becomes a generative syntax with double functionality: a structural one (indicating a new stage of the organogenesis of the phenomenon), and a s e mantic one (fashioning an intrins ic a lly musical, dramaturgic basis for the collective character, by means of alternating the “many” and “the one”). If one considers the Orthodox art and its spirit, Viorel Munteanu’s Oratorio for Saint Parascheva is more than a creative act; it is an act of faith, of hope and of love, “a prayer to”, and “joy in”, Jesus Christ; it is living tradition and self- giving truth, by which we partake to one of the most memorable unions of Christian experiences and symbols.

References Arachelian, V. (1993). Cuvântul care zideşte (Dialoguri) [The word that builds (Dialogues)]. București: Editura Roza Vânturilor. Bria, I., Preot Prof. Dr. (1994). Dicţionar de teologie ortodoxă [Dictionary of Orthodox theology]. București: Editura Institutului Biblic şi de Misiune al Bisericii Ortodoxe Române.

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Diaconescu, M. (2009). Prelegeri de estetica ortodoxiei, I: Teologie şi estetică [Lectures on the aesthetics of orthodoxy, I: Theology and Aesthetics]. 2nd revised ed. Iași: Editura Doxologia. Diaconescu, M. (2009). Prelegeri de estetica ortodoxiei, I: Teologie şi estetică [Lectures on the aesthetics of orthodoxy, II: The Hypostases of Art]. 2nd revised ed. Iași: Editura Doxologia. Frimu, N. (2011). Antologie [Antology]. Transcription of an interpretative variant by Adrian Sîrbu (ed.). Iași: Asociaţia Culturală Byzantion. Mircea C. (2006). Divinul [The Divine]. București: Editura Paideia. Sîrbu, A., Grigoraș, A.; Mihalcea, Șt. (eds.) (2011). Paraclisul şi Acatistul Sfintei Cuvioase Parascheva [The Troparion of our Venerable Mother Parascheva]. Transcribed by Rev. Florin Bucescu. Iași: Mitropolia Moldovei și Bucovinei -Asociaţia Culturală Byzantion. Stăniloae, D., Preot (1993). 7 dimineţi cu părintele Stăniloae (Convorbiri realizate de Sorin Dumitrescu) [7 mornings with Rev. Stăniloae (Conversations with Sorin Dumitrescu)]. București: Editura Anastasia. Tudor, S. (1942). Acatistul Preacuviosului Părintelui nostru Sf. Dimitrie cel Nou, Boarul din Basarabov [The Akathist of Our Reverend Father St. Demetrius the New…]. București: Fundaţia Regală pentru Literatură şi Artă.

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APPENDIX

Ex. 1 Introduction

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Fig. 2 Global Chronology (Macroform)

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Ex. 2 Our Father (I.1.), mm. 1-47

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Ex. 5 Prayer (I.3.), mm. 32-42

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Ex. 18 Receive, O Lord, my body (IV.4.), mm. 28-32

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Fig. 7

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Fig. 9

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Fig. 10 132 DOI: 10.2478/ajm-2021-0006 Studies

Syntaxes and metro-rhythmic categories in Viorel Munteanu's Concerto for flute and string orchestra

LEONARD DUMITRIU, Professor, PhD “George Enescu” National University of Arts Iași ROMANIA ∗

Abstract: the piece by composer Viorel Munteanu reveals the symbiosis between past musical ages and modernity, between established compositional techniques (of the string orchestra) and contemporary sound emission processes (the solo flute). The syntaxes of past trends in music, polyphony and homophony, as well as modern treatments of rhythm, such as polyrhythm, coexist felicitously and result in a type of musical thought that, although anchored in the past, looks forward to the future. Rhythm can be considered from various metric perspectives, especially in the faster parts of the concerto. Rhythmic layers are present both vertically (polyrhythms) and horizontally (polyphons of rhythms); the cross of the two variants is of particular interest. The aksak rhythm, characteristic of the Balkan area, may come as a surprise as it briefly occurs in Part III; this unexpected element brings an inspired change of horizon, followed by a return to the previous giusto expression. The form of the last part, Rondo, can also be discussed from a modern perspective, rooted in the past; it could actually be placed within in the Rondo-Sonata pattern; however, its sound contour does not belong to the tonal sphere, but rather to a form of extended modalism. The soloist instrument merges with the string orchestra and emerges from it, in a discourse that clearly bears the mark of the composer’s creative personality. The most successful element of the work is its expressiveness, the way in which the compositional and technical means are subordinated to the aesthetic message that Viorel Munteanu intends to transmit to the public.

Keywords: syntax, polyphony, homophony, rhythm, polyrhythm.

1. Introduction An important personality among contemporary Romanian composers, Viorel Munteanu is the author of an impressive work, which includes various genres, from pieces dedicated to soloist instrume nts to symphonic opuses of great magnitude. Among his concerto creations, the Concerto for flute and string orchestra is remarkable; it bears the subtitle Shadows and Geneses; the author dedicated it to “Professor and flutist Dorel Baicu Simion” (Munteanu, 2009, dedication page). The four movements of the work have symbolic names, reminiscent of past ages in music: Baroque (Ist moveme nt, Preludio and IIIrd movement, Ballata) and Classicism (IInd movement, Sonata and IVth movement, Rondo). “The music of this concert gives me the opportunity to

∗ [email protected] 133 Artes. Journal of Musicology confess my fascinating connection with Ethos, with modes and harmonies, with musical syntaxes, with the wonderful sound forms as they returned to my soul and mind, and continuously rephrased as I updated them. As my Shadows and Geneses are almost constant sources of inspiration, they are themes forever born and reborn from my own inner evolution.” (Munteanu, 2009, p. III)

2. Objective and subjective opinions The initial form is only apparently simple, as Viorel Munteanu is a composer who favours syntheses, long-polished musical ideas, layered depths. To prove that, the dedication page where there are also the titles of the parts, includes the melogra m, in other words the sound matrix, the initia l creative impulse, the initiatory sign, the urge of the creative labour.

Fig. 1 Melogram (Munteanu, 2009, dedication page)

The concert reveals a unity-in-diversity approach, a modern musical discourse, which highlights the flute's agility and musica l qualities, as well as sound capabilities correlated with the discoveries of the twentieth century; the discourse is built on the pillars of compositional techniques of the past, whose generative power is still very active. In the odd slow movements Preludio and Ballata, Viorel Munteanu uses an orchestral ensemble characteristic of the Baroque. A concertino group stands out from the string section: a first violin, a second violin, a viola and a cello as soloist instruments detach themselves and become more prominent – through prolonged sounds, sometimes through individual passages of high technical difficulty, and subsequently merge with the others. The synthesis between ages in music and compositional syntaxes he proposes several means of expression. In the slow parts whose name and orchestral organization have been discussed above, the musical syntax is mostly

134 Studies reminiscent of the monody than of the polyphony type, while the fast parts, reminiscent of classicism, observing its forms, seem to have a musical discourse dominated by imita tio n and canon. All this music material is permeated by leitmotifs and even a variational spirit, as the melogram is a leitmo tif subsequently processed in many ways, which Viorel Munteanu skilfully uses. No reference has been made to rhythm and meter so far; the reason is that, in the analysis of the score, these two musical categories are revealed after all the others have been, although they are in no way secondary. Once more, the slow parts of the concerto place these parameters within certain limits, especially the meter; meter is simple and consists of binary and ternary measures, also infrequently heterogeneous measures, as well as sequences of such measures. The rhythm of the respective parts is much more vivid, with many exceptiona l rhythmic formulas, resulting from combinations of the tie with the rhythmic dot and various manners of attack, accents and tenutos to be found in both the score of the soloist flute and of the string orchestra. The IIIrd moveme nt has a leitmotif, a rhythmic imprint that I dare call a “rhythmogram”:

Fig. 2 Rhythmogram of IIIrd movement

Even if the primarily focus is on the melodic dimens io n, the simple and multiple, short and long appoggiaturas acquire rhythmic meanings in Viorel Munteanu’s piece, thus adding new gist to the general expressiveness. The following example is proof of this idea:

Fig. 3 Excerpt from the IIIrd movement, solo flute and the viola section 135 Artes. Journal of Musicology

The Triplet is the exceptional division that the composer focuses on the most; he includes within it rhythmic dots and breaks that occur at various points and fluctuate; he also adds appoggiaturas in different graphic forms. In terms of melody, various types of slurs are added, so that the general impression is that of permanently vacillating melodies and rhythms, even changing tempos; the free feature of interpretation (rubato) contributes to the latter. Although it has a definite giusto character, IInd movement, Sonata brings the first important changes to the rhythmic and metric parameters. After presenting them as they appear in the score, I will suggest two other variants of metric writing. I believe that the first option only simplifies the reading of the score by the conductor and orchestra, while the second modifies the interpretive approach and, to some extent, influences the rhythmic component and its ethos. In the development of the sonata form, Viorel Munteanu introduces a section in which the rhythm undergoes serious transformations compared to the exact way in which it unfolded in the exposition:

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Fig. 4 Excerpt from IInd movement, mm. 54-85

The impression that this fragment leaves is that of the aksak rhythm, the limp being obvious, in an oscillating sequence that generally uses the 2+2 and 2+3 patterns. Why does the composer choose to use this metric, specifically the transitio n from a crotchet to the semiqua ver, when it is very clear that the pulsation is given by the value of quaver? I cannot venture an answer, I can only note that there is no indication of the correspondence of the metric unit in the score. In order for the tempo to preserve the composer’s intentions, this situat io n requires the performers (flautist, conductor and orchestra) to look for a metric unit that they consider unifying (a common denominator) for the entire sequence, and this can be none other than the quaver. Therefore, I consider that the following metric profile greatly simplifies the initial understanding and interpretation of the fragment, especially since it does not alter the rhythm in any way.

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Fig. 5 Excerpt from IInd movement, mm. 54-85, with the quaver as common denominator

It is obvious then how, as a unit, the quaver visually facilitates the reading of the passage and contributes to a better reception of the meter system, and even helps to clarify the rhythm itself. But perhaps this is the composer’s actual intention, that this rhythm should not be “revealed” at a first reading (research), but rather be spun in “protective” metric layers; the likely motivation is the choice as a(n) (almost) constant numerator of the metric fractions (2 and 2), not that of the denominator (4 and 16). In the sometimes irregular sequence of 2/4 and 2/16 (4/8 and 1/8 in the version I envisaged) a measure of 1/4 (2/8 in my version) occurs once, so that towards the end of the passage Viorel Munteanu himself writes two 5/8 measures. I admit that the latter measures have raised my biggest questions and have led me to look deeper into the metric and then into the rhythm system, because the concert is entitled Shadows and Geneses... This is the way I think the previous passage can be re-written, so that the metric component reveals from the start a clear, exuberant rhythmic contour, limp in g first on one leg (2+3), then on the other (3+2).

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Fig. 6 Excerpt from IInd movement, mm. 54-85, the metre and rhythm are slightly modified

This intervention on rhythm may suggest a slightly different aesthetic message, an altered ethos, but this is an entirely different point, not to be discussed here. At the end of the IInd movement, the composer introduces a fragment reminiscent of the aksak rhythm, an allusion to a sound encountered earlier. As early as the title, Viorel Munteanu declares that the form of the IVth movement of his Concerto for flute and string orchestra is that of rondo, but I believe that the statement may be subject to debate. At first glance, the

140 Studies architecture of the piece is as follows: A (bars 1-22), B (bars 23-32), a (bars 33- 48), C (bars 9-80), B (bars 81-90), a (bars 91-107), D (slower tempo, bars 108- 166; extended section, with thematic reminiscences from C), A (return to the original tempo, bars 167-180), B (bars 181-190), A (bars191-205), C (bars 206- 229), A (bars 230-final). On an in-depth study, the structure can be thought of in at least two other formats. Thus, we can imagine three large sections, corresponding to an extended lied form A (A B A C B A) B (the D above) A' (A B A C A). We can think of the same three large sections under the umbrella of the sonata form, with expositio n (A B A C B a), Development (d above) and Reprise (A B A C A). Even if it is not conceived as a piece conceived in a tonal manner, I think that the most appropriate formal classification of this part is as a Rondo-Sonata, because section C, on the Recapitulation, is almost the same. In the Exposition, section C has 32 bars, and actually consists of a theme of 16 bars for the flute, which is repeated identically by the cellos in the next 16 bars. In the Recapitulation, the flute’s 16-bar line is played by the first violins, with exactly the same rhythm path and the melody fully transposed to the descending major sixth; all the expression marks are observed. Next, the cellos take over the theme again, which they no longer perform entirely, so that their fragment becomes a kind of bridge to the last repetition of A. If we turn to classicis t thinking and consider the musical mutation, then the name Rondo-Sonata is fully justified. Below the reader can find the comparison between theme C in the Exposition and theme C in the Recapitulation, where an almost comple te similarity between them can be noted:

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Fig. 7 Theme C in the Exposition, in the flute part, versus C in the Reprise, in the violin I part (presented in overlap, to identify the transposition)

Of the whole concert, the final Rondo is the section where the rhythm – meter union is particularly varied; it unfolds and folds up like a fan; polyphony and its techniques are skilfully joined to this “fan”, so that the impression is that the Rondo(-Sonata) form is only a pretext, a factor subordinated to the composer’s imagination and combinatorial fantasy with regard to the above- mentioned elements. I think that the geneses of the title are in abundance here, and I will try to bring arguments to this claim. First, the past-present symbiosis is constant, especially since the classical form of Rondo(-Sonata), expressed through a discourse characterized by the polyphony of instrumental voices, is reminiscent of glorious past ages. The rhythm–meter pair is what connects the piece into contemporary postmodernity; the composer’s originality in this respect is revealed especially by the multiple polyrhythms and the manner in which they are framed within the meter systems. In the IVth movement of the Concerto for flute and string orchestra Shadows and Geneses, Viorel Munteanu simplifies the metric contour, reducing it to an inconstant alternation of 2/4 and 3/4 measures. In the 249 beats the binary values and their normal divisions dominate authoritatively, as the Triplet is a rara avis, actually the only element that occurs rather late, only at bar 121 in section (D) that is no longer repeated until the end. Reading the above phrases can lead to the impression of a simple, good, transparent music, whose sole purpose is to follow an ascending path, with a climax towards the end, which will bring about the audience’s moment of satisfaction. Nothing could be further from the truth! The simultaneous use of different rhythms, the luxuriant changes in the manner of the attack, the abundant constant and variable dynamics, the auditory unpredictable slurs are in sharp contrast with the crotchets, quavers and semiquavers in the score. In the following section I will offer an in-depth analysis of two of the essential elements that make up the structure of the end part, as it rests rather on polyphony and polyrhythm than on form. At the very beginning, a counterpoint exposition is placed as a ritornello; this is rather in the form of a Subject-Response than that of a generous theme A, as would have been expected. The meticulous manner in which the composer presents the notation of all his intentions is remarkable.

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Fig. 8 Orchestral, thematic and polyphonic introduction (IVth movement, mm. 1-9)

In the bars above, imitation plays a key role, completed by a discreet and inspired crusis – anacrusis playful combination and a conceptual crossover, all achieved with an impressive economy of means. The way the values are grouped denotes the composer’s polyrhythmic vision, his impress ive combinator ia l imagination. The polyphonic matrix of the whole part can be clearly observed in the first 7 bars, in the second violin and the viola.

Fig. 9 Imitations, crosses, the crusis-anacrusis playful combination (IVth movement, mm. 1-7)

In the beginning of the final part of the concert a deep polyphonic thinking is evident, in which the musical matter, once created, is processed and unfolds in strands. The musical concept is dual, the rather dissonant melody of the beginning can be interpreted both as a subject in an imitative exposition as well as the A(I) theme of the Rondo(-Sonata). Once the soloist flute starts performing, all becomes clear as we see how the beginning takes on a poignant thematic role, in the sense of a monody associated with melodic-rhythmic chord paths. The B of the Rondo (the 2nd theme of the Sonata) begins at bar 23; from this point on the flute’s path is especially accompanied by the 1st violin; the two instruments begin a dialogue in which imitatio n also introduces canon elements; this technique is present in the following sections in its strict way. The origina l

143 Artes. Journal of Musicology motif – the incipit – is once more part of the musical material, but the lines are now rather gradual, while the jumps are less widely present.

Fig. 10 The B element of the Rondo, mm. 23-32, flute and violin I

I wonder if in bar 25, in 1st violin, the fourth quaver is somehow not in the natural and only some typo may have resulted in the failed addition of the alteration …The previous example clearly reveals how the compositional labour relies on the two-voice imitative polyphony, accompanied only by the cello, whose performance is more discreet, also polyphonic and imitative; it is the cello that provides the musical foundation through the register in which it evolves. The return of the A turns the imitation into a strictly observed canon form, but only in terms of sounds, because the rhythm undergoes changes; the slur s and articulations differ and this slightly decreases the auditory sensation of the canon. The flute is mainly in a dialogue with the first violins, but at the end of the fragment, in a final sentence, it enters the canon and the second violins as well. The lower strings are placed in a rather neutral area, which aims to ensure the sound foundation, like the cello did earlier.

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Fig. 11 The first return of the A, mm. 36-46

The researcher of the score can see how Viorel Munteanu continues to group the note values, especially the quavers, in ways that do not always have anything to do with the measure. All these graphic connections come to life at a lively, very diverse, pace whose momentum is enhanced by the manners of attack, which are few as such but whose combinations are among the most varied. More than the polyphony of sounds, the polyphony of rhythms stands out; if we focus on the vertical axis, this polyphony of rhythms can be heard as

145 Artes. Journal of Musicology a polyrhythm. It is proof of special ingenuity, which starts from the maximal use of the possibilities of a musical material with chromatic melodic properties, (Shadows), rich in germinating energies (Geneses). Next is Section C, whose thematic aspects have been discussed above and which has been presented in Fig. 07 the upper stave, the melody of 16 bars of the flute respectively; this is subsequently repeated identically by the cellos. The lines that accompany the theme, presented first by the flute, then by the cellos, are created so that polyphony (imitations) and homophony (chord structures) succeed each other several times in fragments consisting of a few bars.

Fig. 12 Fragment of theme C (mm. 57-63), the accompaniment only, presenting one of the homophony-polyphony-homophony alternations

Up to this point, we have already highlighted the ingenuity, the creative imagination that Viorel Munteanu proves in the IVth movement of his Concerto for flute and string orchestra. The composer does not bring any novelty up to the last bars, but only combines what he has already imagined. From this point of

146 Studies view, he treats the flute and orchestral sections as horizontal lines, which he transfers vertically so that their combination differs from one section of the fo rm to the other. As we have seen, the C in the Recapitulation differs from the C in the Exposition through the transposition to the descending major sixth of the melody, but also through the permutation of the horizontal lines from one instrument to the other. This implies the processing of the musical material which takes us back in time, towards the Baroque and Classicism, and which the composer uses without reservation throughout the piece.

3. Conclusions Musicologist Paula Bălan writes about the entire creation of the Iasi-born composer: “Viorel Munteanu is undoubtedly the counterpoint musicia n dedicated to the path of ingenious multi-melodic variations that lead his inspired motifs of folkloric origins, or Byzantine tone, to superb developments whose inner tension goes beyond the frame of the genre he approached” (Balan, apud Munteanu, 2009, p. VI). The “Concert for flute and string orchestra Shadows and Geneses” by Viorel Munteanu is a synthesis of various techniques, the intersection of syntaxes, the evidence of modern take of music’s past; it is not only a valuable piece, but also a proof that modernity and post-modernity in musical creation (Geneses) can only evolve by ingeniously resorting to a more or less distant past (Shadows). I believe that this balanced view of the musical phenomenon in particular, of the artistic and aesthetic phenomenon in general, constitutes the optimal view of the complex mechanism of contemporary art and society.

References Bălan, Paula. Momentul primei audiţii absolute [The moment of the first absolute audition], apud Munteanu, V. (2009). Umbre şi Geneze: Concert pentru flaut şi orchestră de coarde [Shadows and Geneses. Concert for flute and string orchestra]. Iaşi: Editura Artes.

Munteanu, V. (2009). Umbre şi Geneze: Concert pentru flaut şi orchestră de coarde [Shadows and Geneses. Concert for flute and string orchestra]. Iaşi: Editura Artes.

147 DOI: 10.2478/ajm-2021-0007

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Polystylism in the context of Postmodern Music. Alfred Schnittke’s Concerti Grossi

MIHAELA-GEORGIANA BALAN, Assistant Professor, PhD “George Enescu” National University of Arts Iaşi ROMANIA ∗

Abstract: One of the multiple orientations of the musical postmodernism is polystylism – a concept used and theorized by the Russian composer and musicologist Alfred Schnittke. He identified its specific techniques in previous academic tradition and organized its principles by writing many essays, papers and by applying these compositional methods in his own work. The approach of polystylism offers the opportunity to observe artistic phenomena in a synthetic perspective and to understand the compositional methods by which tradition is still revalued in some directions of the postmodern period. This paper deals with the problems encountered in the research on this subject, the lack of this term in the dictionaries, the political and cultural context when polystylism was introduced, the tendency to consider unorganized and unoriginal those works based on quotes, previous writing techniques and musical languages, traditional genres or structures and therefore, the perception of some musicians to underestimate Schnittke’s talent and mastery as a composer.

Keywords: postmodernism, polystylism, quotation, allusion, adaptation.

1. Introduction Polystylism, known in modern musicology as one of the most representative directions of the musical postmodernism, is frequently associated with the name of composer Alfred Schnittke, who theorized this concept in 1971 and imposed it in the musical field as a genuine compositional principle. Using it systematically in his own creations, Schnittke was a follower of the retrospective artistic orientation, choosing to use techniques of recovery and revaluation of the musical tradition, along with other sources such as folklore, jazz and entertainment genres, from his own perspective at the end of the 20th century. The approach of polystylism in a scientific research is surprisingly difficult, due to the limited resources related to this concept. A simple search of the term in the specialized dictionaries raises question marks from the first phase of concern for this topic, as the notion is not present either in the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, or in the Romanian dictionaries of musical terms, or in the Explanatory Dictionary of the Romanian Language. However, the contact with some teachers and students who were related to the East-European school environment and the search of the term in the Russian-

∗ [email protected] 148 Studies language music resources indicate a broader concern about polystylism in the former Soviet Union. The discovery of this discrepancy in the interest given to this subject determines us to approach the problem as a scientific research in which we could analyze the premises of the phenomenon, the theoretical marks, the compositional applications and the didactic aspects when approaching polystylism. When searching the musical materials of interest in this matter, we noticed some papers, books from the North American, Western and Central- European areas that reach the problem of polystylism, directly or tangentially, by analysing the most important directions of the postmodernist musical aesthetics since the 1970s: Ivan Moody – The Music of Alfred Schnittke (1989); Irinel Anghel – Orientations, Directions, Tendencies of Romanian Music in the Second Half of the Twentieth Century (1997); Gavin Thomas Dixon – Polystylism as Dialogue: a Bakhtinian Interpretation of Schnittke’s Symphonies No. 3, 4 and his Concerto Grosso No. 4/ Symphony No. 5, PhD Thesis (2007); Jean-Benoît Tremblay – Polystylism and Narrative Potential in the Music of Alfred Schnittke, PhD Thesis (2007); Oana Andreica – Alfred Schnittke’s Polystylistic Journey: the Third String Quartet (2012); Oleg Garaz – Postmodern Music: Reinventing Musical Art after the End of Modernity (2012); Graham Freeman – Alfred Schnittke and the Language of Trauma (2013); Courtney Sangis – Alfred Schnittke on Polystylism. Some of Schnittke’s thoughts on Polystylism in music extracted and analyzed (2016).

2. Theoretical marks for the contextualization of polystylism as an aesthetic orientation in postmodern music

Any discussion regarding polystylism should begin with the historical and artistic framing of the concept in the larger spectre of postmodernism – a stage in which the current world is considered to have entered, according to the historical systematizations made by theorists from all fields, literary or art critics. Thus, postmodernism begins with an approximation of the seventh decade of the last century and reaches up to the present, having features that lead the debate further, towards a music of the future. The transition from modernism to postmodernism was approached in the theories of great thinkers of the twentieth century, such as Theodor Adorno, Jean-François Lyotard, Jürgen Habermas, who outlined the philosophical and sociological coordinates of the phenomenon of transition through observations targeting evolution and the transformations of society in the last century, the individual and collective psychology of the cultures, the inter-influence of radical and neutral-moderate movements. Therefore, a change of general perception and mentality was noticed, by shifting the attention from the introduction and acceptance of the new to the observation and acceptance of pluralism of ideas, of cultural diversity, as

149 Artes. Journal of Musicology an expression of the strongly desired universal democracy. The political emancipation acquired by more and more countries will allow the fulfilment of humanity’s highest aspiration – freedom of expression. Some features that could synthesize the essence of postmodernity (both aesthetically-culturally and existentially-empirically) are diversity, versatility, heterogeneity, eclecticism. Postmodernism is still a source of questions and dilemmas for many researchers, as the transition from the modern to the postmodern era took place without the actual awareness of the transition from one stage to another, and also because this period has not ended yet. Therefore, it is difficult to draw conclusions at this moment of the history in order to have a complete and systematic image of current phenomena. An essential idea about how history is generally approached belongs to the literary critic, political theorist and American philosopher Fredric Jameson, who expresses doubt about the systematization of human thinking over time by focusing on unitary criteria, which deal with common issues, generalizing features of a period, without giving too much importance to secondary features or other characteristics, determining (as he calls them in his paper) the “theory of stages” or “teleological historiography”. However, Fredric Jameson emphasizes that these philosophical, cultural, artistic movements, theorized by the norms of linear history, “tend to obliterate difference and to project an idea of the historical period as massive homogeneity (bounded on either side by inexplicable ʻchronological’ metamorphoses and punctuation marks). This is, however, precisely why it seems to me essential to grasp ʻpostmodernism’ not as a style, but rather as a cultural dominant: a design that allows for the presence and coexistence of a range of very different, yet subordinate features” (Jameson, 1984, pp. 55-56). Talking about postmodern music at a general level, we start from the idea that it does not impose stylistic norms, does not propose as an aesthetic purpose the production of an avant-garde-like impact, nor the intention of recovering certain movements from the musical past, having rather a free, permissive and selective approach of the most suitable artistic means, in order to express the message pursued by the composer. In other words, the creator of postmodern music is able to use any genre, form, construction, sound language, writing technique, without being constrained by the urgent need for unity, continuity, structural logic and reconciliation of contrasts. On the contrary, postmodern music might include contradictions, fragmentations, dislocations, unexpected juxtapositions, whose consistent appearance within the artistic discourse outlines a genuine aesthetic norm. One may discuss about an aesthetics of the rupture, whereby the author of the discourse creates intentional discrepancies, not by radical denial, but by integration of the past into the present, in different contexts and with different effects (surprise, praise, commemoration, irony, parody, etc.). These features are formulated on the basis of the theoretical

150 Studies synthesis made by the American musicologist Jonathan D. Kramer (Kramer, 1996, pp. 21-22). When searching for a possible definition of the postmodern music, we stopped at the observations made by Valentina Sandu-Dediu, the author of the homonymous article in the (Romanian) Dictionary of Musical Terms, where many essential aspects are exposed and questioned. One of the main issues is the ambiguity of the terminological significance, determined by the contradictory status of contemporaneity, induced by the multiple divergent orientations, by “the typological multiplicity of thinking of the last decades” and also by “different creators who could be stylistically unified through postmodern coordinates, without being able to consider them postmodern composers in their entirety” (Sandu-Dediu, coord. by Gh. Firca, 2008, p. 443). Another perspective on this complex phenomenon is formulated by the musicologist Oleg Garaz, author of an extensive and elaborate article in the Romanian publication Muzica: “Musical postmodernism reformulates the image of suggestive efficiency, [...] offering a new conception of accessibility by formulating a third type of addressability (author’s emphasis) with almost exclusive stake on referentiality. The significance of these criteria – addressability and referentiality (in their postmodern meaning), could be ʻread’ through the grid of a postmodern phenomenon such as suppressing the boundaries between scholarly and popular cultures, but with a pronounced tendency to return to the vernacular” (Garaz, 2012, p. 12). In many conferences of the last decade, as well as in the specialized media (music studies, music criticism magazines, radio programs), we have noticed the frequent use of terms and phrases such as “stylistic pool”, “hyper- style”, “meta-style”, which reflect the artistic reality of our day, characterized by fragmentation, mosaic, crossbreeding, pop-art. In the field of music, some techniques were used long before postmodernism, because quotation, paraphrase and collage are known from the beginning of the 19th century. However, the diversity of inspiration sources, of musical language features, of sound means (either natural or technological) and aesthetic directions has reached a historical peak, with the highest density of traditional and avant- garde orientations. Compound terms, such as: poly-rhythm, poly-metrics, poly- tonality, poly-modalism, poly-semantics, became increasingly necessary. Thus, the appearance of polystylism was somehow natural in the context of the 20th century, referring to the combination or insertion of several styles, writing techniques and sonorous languages in a single work. Although such processes can be recognized in the works of composers from previous eras, polystylism has been systematically approached on theoretical and compositional levels since 1971, through the manifesto-essay signed by Alfred Schnittke, entitled “Polystylistic Tendencies in Modern Music”.

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Initially entitled the “new eclecticism”, the artistic movement that Schnittke identified in theory could be recognized in musical works through two important techniques, that were exposed in his essay: quotation and allusion. Both categories already existed in musical practice since the period of musical Romanticism, but there are also other means whose status is not clear from the perspective of the Russian composer. a. When referring to the use of genres, forms and writing techniques, quotation is considered by Schnittke as a way of using a certain style from a previous artistic movement, besides taking a melodic theme, a harmonic sequence, etc. In this case, we should mention the use of musical techniques and language elements that were specific to pre-classical music in the works of later composers, even during Classicism. Another way to relate to a previous model is adaptation, which Schnittke includes in the theoretical sphere of the quotation, due to the intentional reference to a particular composer or style. Also, a particular result of quoting several musical sources is the collage, a technique inspired from visual arts that generates works with mixed content, with variable structure and specific musical language, adapted to the area of inspiration. b. On the other hand, the allusion from Schnittke’s paper, understood as the use of musical language features or writing methods reminiscent from another composer’s style, it may be related to composition techniques theorized in Western (and also Romanian) musicology, analysing the degree of nearness or vicinity to the original model: creation in a certain style, mannerism, stylization, parody, pastiche. Therefore, the style can be approached with an objective, neutral attitude, without implying a certain reaction from the composer’s perspective or, on the contrary, it can have a semantic content or attitude (nostalgia, homage, humour, irony), which can be deducted behind the style displayed by the composer. The most important aspects that we keep in mind about the use of polystylism in postmodern aesthetics are the integration of inspirational elements with different origins, the neutral attitude towards the continuation or denial of modernism. Polystylism allows orientations in both directions and often has a ludic approach of elements from other traditions, genres and musical practices. The artistic result of postmodern music ranges from the typical abstract sonorities of avant-garde to the mix of techniques and fragments of familiar, known music, without hierarchical differences between modern styles of the twentieth century and those restored from previous centuries, without differentiation between academic and folkloric music, between the artistic creation considered elitist, of high level, and the culture of the ordinary population.

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3. General and particular aspects of polystylism in Alfred Schnittke’s compositional and theoretical perspective

Although considered a composer pertaining to the generation of artists who were restricted, influenced and ideologically controlled by post-World War II Soviet policy, Alfred Schnittke made his own destiny through 20th century Russian history, his own creative universe, artistic style and musical career. Frequently associated with Dmitri Shostakovich, Gustav Mahler, Alban Berg and even Charles Ives or Luciano Berio, Schnittke has not become an epigone of them, even though certain connections could be made with their compositional manner and their aesthetical view based on irony, parody and eclecticism. In the first half of the last century, there had already been composed many scores as war testimonies, works that confronted the harsh living conditions of the artists by subtle artistic means and encrypted musical language. Schnittke was also affected by this context, but he should not be considered a politically dominated composer, because he did not perceive himself from the tragic perspective of powerlessness. On the contrary, he sought solutions in order to revaluate his creative talent and ideas. Schnittke proceeded from the aesthetic premises of duality, ambiguity, irony, grotesque, in a similar manner to his Russian and Western European predecessors, but he intended a broader stylistic sphere, looking further on spatial and temporal levels. The aesthetics behind his creation is based on a confrontation of contrasts (which reminds us of Romanticism) between distant stylistic areas and very different compositional techniques. As we have noticed in the general philosophy of postmodernism, Schnittke transcends the boundaries of binominal antinomies (national-universal, particular-general, real-unreal, subjective-objective, individual-society), aiming at a plurality of experiences, meanings, interpretations. His polystylism is not just a medley of styles, but a coherent integration, a recontextualization of quotations, manners, artistic techniques within a diverse, heterogeneous and even chaotic sound world. His goal was to create a different order in the musical universe of the second half of the last century, by trying to comprise the essence of music in all its stages, in a fascinating stylistic journey. In other words, he had the endeavour to carry on the artistic ideal expressed by the Beethovenian and Mahlerian symphonies of embracing the world. Schnittke “represents not only a moment in the history of Russia, but also a moment in the history of music” (Ross, 1992, web source). Polystylism is a very suggestive hypostasis for the metaphorical image of the postmodernism as a polymorphic conglomerate structure, by revaluating the styles and means available up to that moment as a genuine principle of creative “democracy” – the aspiration of artists from Eastern Europe. When analysing Schnittke’s work, we cannot discuss about freedom itself, although polystylism creates the superficial appearance of this artistic independence. For

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Schnittke, it was the key to his own release, which subsequently opened the perspective of his own musical identity at European and universal level. Alexander Ivashkin, one of the most prominent biographers and analysts of Schnittke’s life and work, is also a well-known musicologist of the Russian musical culture, writing about it that “to a Russian composer, music is not a text, not a construction; it is a special kind of reality. Music emerges in organic juxtapositions of important elements, rather than in a mechanical, strictly logical development of the main theme or idea. Simple elements play a very important role in the symphonies of Schnittke, Gubaidulina, Kancheli, Silvestrov, Tishenko. Those elements, in different contexts, practically organize the musical form, becoming points of orientation in the flow of different and contrasting events. The spaces (and the time) in Soviet music of the 1970s and 1980s are living, real spaces, not just abstractions” (Ivashkin, 1992, p. 555). Although often interpreted as a manifestation of nostalgia for the past, his music was not composed with this intention, as the composer himself stated in some of the interviews that he has offered in the latter part of his life. The overcoming of deeply internalized traumas proves his creative force, leading to his particular attitude of irony, pastiche and alienation, which should not be interpreted as contemplation of sorrow or madness in the pathological sense, because they are rather processes of transcending the concrete reality through artistic language. The techniques of quotation and allusion are not evidence of a melancholic return on the paths of history, having rather the intention to express homage and respect for the previous composers, to create sonorous syntheses of the musical styles, to reflect the reality of an inconstant world and full of contradictions, but also a way of gaining a different creative freedom within the Soviet communist system, avoiding the forbidden techniques. Therefore, polystylism is not a manifestation of retrospective nostalgia, but a sublimation of his suffering into the recovery and revitalization of memory in its collective, historical sense. Therefore, in order to define and comprehend polystylism, it is necessary to establish the contexts to which it is applied and referred: • Polystylism can be traced as an artistic phenomenon back to the XVI- XVII centuries, by listening and analyzing works of composers who incorporate several stylistic stages1, by assimilating the previous tradition and the integration of existing styles in their time of life in their works. This is a natural process in each artistic period, highlighting the specific

1 For example, C. Monteverdi, who used both prima prattica and seconda prattica, J. S. Bach who composed by using counterpoint in both stile antico and stile moderno; later, W. A. Mozart and L. van Beethoven continued to make use of these traditional writing techniques, inherited from Baroque; in the nineteenth century, composers inserted musical quotes and melograms in their works and wrote variational cycles or paraphrases based on a musical material taken from other sources. 154 Studies

style/styles for each epoch, as well as the individual features at the compositional level. • From a historical point of view, polystylism appears as a sui generis artistic direction in the second half of the 20th century, having the general aesthetic characteristics of postmodernism, which are applied to the musical style. Thereby, the plurality of styles represents a reflection of the postmodern era, a synchronous manifestation of the multiple aesthetic hypostases that musical art has acquired over time, having the potential to create syntheses and antitheses, stylistic analogies and pastiches. • In the context of Alfred Schnittke’s compositions and musicologic activity, polystylism is an aesthetic option that he has voluntarily and consciously chosen, after having had experienced the new, the modern, the avant-garde. He proved the ability to balance previous radical movements by using existing techniques and means, which he identified as an autonomous stylistic orientation and theorized under the extensive umbrella of this term. • A less objective approach to polystylism concerns the position of the man and creator A. Schnittke in the context of his time, a period that was still affected by the consequences of the two world wars, causing a profound transformation of the artists' psychology. From this perspective, Schnittke’s music suggests the intention of a unifying reconciliation between objective and subjective, past and present, collective cultural movements and individ ua lly felt effects. The systematization of these aspects creates an overview of the motivation behind the stylistic choices made by Schnittke, helping us to understand his music better, both in the context of the time in which he lived and the times he quoted, stylized and recreated.

4. The analysis of musical language elements that are relevant for the evolution of polystylism in the concerto grosso genre from A. Schnittke’s works

Alfred Schnittke’s figure in the context of musical directions from the 20th century has influenced the evolution of certain traditional genres and musical techniques by approaching and transforming the concerto grosso genre according to his own aesthetic view, as well as by creating a fusion between apparently irreconcilable styles, without going too far into the extremes of hyper-complexity or opposite directions, such as minimalism, pointillism, new simplicity. The result of his work is a spectacular journey in time, in which themes, motifs, melograms or sonorities of previous styles are engaged and reinterpreted from the perspective of techniques and textures conceived by the composer as if that music were first created in the postmodern age. In an auto- ironical presentation, Schnittke describes his concerts as “utopian”, due to the

155 Artes. Journal of Musicology stylistic mismatch between entertainment music (which was considered banal, ordinary) and “serious” music (academic musical traditions). In order to observe and discuss the essential aspects of the evolution of the concerto grosso genre in Schnittke’s compositional thinking, we made a synthesis of the features in his six Concerti Grossi and also in the Triple Concerto – the last work of the kind in his creation, named differently due to the changes that have occurred over time in the compositional process of the genre. The years of work indicate a late approach of this genre: the first Concerto Grosso was composed at the age of 43 (1977) and the Triple Concerto at 60 (1994). Therefore, one can perceive these works as a result of his mature perspective, with a constant deepening and return to this genre until the end of his life (in 1998). When analysing the instrumental and orchestral structure of the six Concerti Grossi and the Triple Concerto, we observe a great diversity of timbre “palette” chosen by the composer for each creation, ranging from associations close to Baroque music (woodwind instruments, harpsichord, string orchestra) and up to the insertion of typical instruments for the 20th century, either in the soli group or in the tutti ensemble (prepared piano in the first concerto; electric guitar, drum kit, brake drum in the second concerto; celesta in the third concerto). Such juxtapositions create strong contrasts, in which the instruments become representative “voices” of certain styles, leading either to the collision between several artistic worlds, or to the attempt to reconcile these oppositions and adjoin them into a globalized, integrative conception. In terms of the structure of the genre, Schnittke started from a composition in several movements, with variable number (first concerto – six movements, second concerto – four movements, third concerto – five movements), a feature that can be compared with the different structure of the concerti grossi during the Baroque age. The last three concerti grossi from Schnittke’s creation, as well as the Triple Concerto, have in common a more concise manner of thinking, prevailing the structure in four movements (the only work with three sections is Concerto Grosso no. 6), but without keeping a consistent sequence of tempo. If the genre is characterized by the tendency to restrict the number of movements and the diversity of the musical material used by the composer, in terms of formal thinking, it evolves from a rigorous organization of sections based on motives, themes, distinct language elements that can be dissociated and individualized, towards a free development, with indefinite forms, which builds up throughout the unfolding of the sonorous discourse. After his first stroke in 1985, Schnittke had a stagnation period, after which his compositions became less rigorous, with hybridized genres and forms, as it happens in Concerto Grosso no. 4, which is entitled by Schnittke himself Symphony no. 5, indicating a bivalent work, with four movements,

156 Studies similar to the compositional manner in the symphonic music by Gustav Mahler. The last concerti grossi are characterized by the renunciation of quotations, the adoption of a more personal style, the insertion of deeper meditative sections, insisting on a certain timbre or category of instruments, with a less emphasized rhythm, sometimes generating the impression of a temporary suspension. The syntaxes approached by Schnittke are very diverse, ranging from simple melodic exposures, such as genuine melodies, to very dense, overloaded areas with massive sonorous effects. However, an essential feature remains the polyphonic technique, which can be found in his concerti grossi both in imitative and non-imitative hypostases, through the linearity of the levels, the pre-classical figuration, the polyphony of attacks, the superposition of themes and fragments in different styles, textural effects. The fast alternation of agglomerate moments with rarefied sections generates discontinuance, rupture within the musical discourse, but, when seeking the general dramaturgy, a particular unity is generated through the stylistic consistency specific to certain fragments and the compositional techniques inside the work. After the second stroke of 1992, tradition becomes a distant echo for Schnittke, a sublimated background on which original ideas, contrasting musical lines and textures, free evolutions, with diffuse structural and temporal marks are projected. These elements offer a different perception of the whole inside the last concerti grossi than the first three works of the same genre. In the following tables, these features can be observed in a systematic way, due to the organization based on some general criteria that highlight the particularities of genre, structure, style for the previously mentioned works.

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Solo instruments/ Ye ar of Ge nre structure in Work/Title orche stral General stylistic observations composition movements ensemble Concerto Grosso 1977 2 violins, prepared I. Preludio. Andante - Baroque canonic manner in the evolution of the No. 1 piano, harpsichord II. Toccata. Allegro musical discourse, with Vivaldi violin-like sections, and 21 strings III. Recitativo. Lento insertion of the B-A-C-H melogram. IV. Cadenza - Mozart and Beethoven features, by using motives [without tempo with developping potential. indication] - atonalism, serialism, avant-garde elements alternating V. Rondo. Agitato with previous stylistic sections. VI. Postludio. - Brahms Hungarian Dances motives, Tchaikovsky Andante – Allegro – sonorities from his Violin Concerto, insertion of a Andante Tango theme. - disruptive chords, fragmented discourse, unity given by recurrence of themes and styles, final synthesis as deconstruction of the previous movements. - heterogeneous overall perception, thorough attention to details, rigurous organisation. Concerto Grosso 1988 flute, oboe, Same structure - different instrumental arrangement and orchestration No. 1 version harpsichord, of the same work prepared piano and string orchestra Concerto Grosso 1981–1982 violin, cello and I. Andantino. Allegro - distorted Silent Night theme, allusions to Bach No. 2 triple symphony II. Pesante Brandenburgic Concertos, pop music interferences, orchestra III. Allegro march rhythms. (including electric IV. Andantino - strong contrast between soli and tutti, between solistic guitar, drum kit, discourse and symphonic context, as a metaphor of brake drum) deeper antinomies: introspective-extrovert, individual- collective, deep-shallow. - Baroque overall perception.

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Concerto Grosso 1985 2 violins, harpsichord, I. Allegro - Monograms of Heinrich Schütz (b.1585); Johann No. 3 celesta, piano and 14 II. Risoluto Sebastian Bach, George Friedrich Händel, and strings III. Pesante Domenico Scarlatti (b.1685); Alban Berg (b.1885). IV. [No tempo  homage intention for the celebrated composers. indication] (later - contrast between tonality (named “museum”) and marked as atonality (“uncertain present”) Adagio) - chaconne principle, integration/ disintegration of V. Moderato tonal chords and 12 notes series. - neo-baroque general perspective

Concerto Grosso 1988 violin, oboe, I. Allegro This work marks a change in Schnittke’s No. 4/ harpsichord and II. Allegretto compositional perspective, after his health was Symphony No. 5 orchestra III. Lento – seriously affected by the first stroke from 1985. Allegro - hybrid genre – synthetis between concerto grosso and IV. Lento symphony, their orchestral features and manner of musical material treatment. - principle of contrast between orchestral parts, techniques used in each movement (exposure- evolution, continuity-fragmentation, reproduction of style-particular thematic origin, allusion-quotation) - dialogue between soli and tutti in the first mvt., combining the baroque specific syntax and romantic construction of musical phrases. - usage of foreign material (one of Mahler’s unfinished youth works, a piano quartet) in the second mvt, combining allusion with quotation. - strong contrast between the climactic sonority in the third mvt and the funeral march in the fourth mvt.

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Concerto Grosso 1990–1991 violin, (offstage) piano I. Allegretto - unlike the previous Concerti Grossi, this work is No. 5 and orchestra II. Without tempo different, without quotations or references to other indication styles, offering a more personal approach. III. Allegro - particular perception of the basso continuo, given by IV. Lento the offstage position of the piano and the mixture of timbres between harpsichord, harp, celesta and piano. - particular configuration at the general structure level  it could be considered a cyclic work, due to a rhythmic motive introduced in the first mvt. and developed in each of the subsequent mvts. - introverted expression, suggesting meditation, solitude, suspension of time in the first and last mvts. - use of the variation principle in the 2nd and 3rd mvts, giving a stronger pulse to the rhythmic configuration. Concerto Grosso 1993-1994 piano, violin and string I. Andante – - After his second stroke from 1992, Schnittke changed No. 6 orchestra Allegro even more his musical thinking, in terms of indefinit II. Adagio forms and structures, leading to a constantly changing III. Allegro vivace discourse. - a concise work, lasting around 15 min. - slight features from older musical ages than previous Concerti Grossi  tradition is rather a distant echoe of ancient times. - fugal intention in the first mvt, due to immitation and polyphony (used only occasionally) - 2nd mvt. conceived as a static, stagnating moment of meditation (for piano and violin exclusively) - strong contrast between suspension of motion and the outburst of the orchestra in the last mvt. - general overview – prevalence of modern elements.

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Ye ar of Solo Ge nre Work/ compo- instr./ structure in General stylistic observations Title sition orch. ens. movements Triple 1994 violin, I. Moderato - it can hardly be considered a triple Concerto/ viola, (Cello) concerto, because each movement is Concerto cello and II. Larghetto dedicated to a single solo. for three string (Viola) instrument, while the final mvt. is orchestra III. Largo designed as a sudden agglomeration (Violin) and explosion of energy. IV. Allegro - strong emphasis on timbral peculiarities, looking for subtle association between each soloist and its correspondent section of the string orchestra. - each mvt. reveals an inner search for order and finality, following the timbre hierarchy (cello-viola-violin) - the musical discourse has a constantly shifting evolution and unstable structure. - brief conclusion in the last mvt, ferocius ending, superposition of many musical layers and temporal structures until the entire accumulation of density collapses in its own cluster of textures.

5. Conclusions During the last two decades, Alfred Schnittke has been approached and analysed in doctoral researches, scientific papers (in different fields: philosophy, semiotics and even medicine) and also in many articles of musical journalism, emphasizing different aspects of his activity and creation. However, when searching scientific papers on this subject, we noticed a limited approach to his work and aesthetics, regarding polystylism and its connecttion with Schnittke’s contribution. There is a tendency to disregard this concept, on the one hand because of its reception as artificial eclecticism, generating various collages without originality, and on the other hand due to the association of polystylism with the politica l regime imposed by the Soviet Union. In conclusion, polystylism reveals itself as a reflexion of postmodernism in the musical field, on stylistical and aesthetical levels. In Schnittke’s work, polystylism is not a museum of artifacts and historical exhibits, but a principle that generates vivid music, full of meaning and tonicity. Referring to the context in which Schnittke lived and activated, researcher Graham Freeman believes that his “polystylism is an aesthetic direction derived not from the postmodern

161 Artes. Journal of Musicology proclivity towards pastiche and quotation, but is instead a narrative derived from the trauma, violence and opression of life in Soviet society. [...] In other words, polystylism is a musical manifestation of an aspect of the human condition that can be sublimated in many other artistic, cultural and linguistic products in the 20th century, ones with which Schnittke’s musical aesthetic resonates closely” (Freeman, 2013, p. 50). Polystylism, heteroclitical conception, polymorphic thinking and broad compositional horizon are the defining traits for perceiving Alfred Schnittke as a cosmopolitan creator, both geographically and historically – a composer of the world.

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Ivashkin, A. (1992). The Paradox of Russian Non-Liberty. The Musical Quarterly, 76, 4, 543-556. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/742476 Ivashkin, A., & Moody, I. (2001). Schnittke [Shnitke], Alfred. Grove Music Online. Retrieved 4 Sep. 2020, from: https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630. 001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000051128 Ivashkin, A. – ed. (2002). A Schnittke Reader. Alfred Schnittke. Essays translated in English by John Goodliffe. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Available on the web-site:https://books.google.ro/books?id=whaC9q- 5xGsC&printsec=frontcover&hl=ro&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage &q&f=false Jameson, F. (1984). Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. New Left Review, I/146 (July-August), 53-92. Retrieved from: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/40d6/b702fa28fdd1802abfb1210e10f1fa36de42.pdf Kramer, J. (1996). Postmodern Concepts of Musical Time. Indiana Theory Review, vol. 17, No. 2. Bloomington, USA: Indiana University Press, 21-61. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/24044674 Miller, M. (1990). Schnittke – A Celebration. Tempo, 173, Soviet Issue, 66-68. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/946409 Moody, I. (1989). The Music of Alfred Schnittke. Tempo, 168, 4-11. Cambridge, UK: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from: www.jstor.org/stable/944851 Pasler, J. (2001). Postmodernism. Grove Music Online. Retrieved 4 Sep. 2020, from: https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630. 001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000040721 Rice, H. C. (1989). Further Thoughts on Schnittke. Tempo, 168, 12-14. Cambridge, UK: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/944852 Ross. A. (1992). Connoisseur of Chaos. The New Republic, 28 Sept. Issue. Retrieved from: https://alfredschnittke.wordpress.com/2010/05/18/connoisseur-of-chaos/ Ross, A. (1994). A Shy, Frail Creator of the Wildest Music, in New York Times, 10 Febr. Issue. Retrieved from: https://alfredschnittke.wordpress.com/2010/01/26/a-shy- frail-creator-of-the-wildest-music/ Ross, A. (1998). The Tragic Prankster. Obituary. In New Yorker, 7 Sept. Issue. Retrieved from: https://alfredschnittke.wordpress.com/2006/10/15/obituary-by-alex- ross/ Sandu-Dediu, V. (2004). Muzica nouă între modern şi postmodern [The New Music between Modern and Postmodern]. București: Editura Muzicală.

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Sangis, C. (2016). Alfred Schnittke on Polystylism. Some of Schnittke’s thoughts on Polystylism in music extracted and analyzed. Bakersfield: California State University. Retrieved from: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/alfred-schnittke-polystylis m Schmelz, P. J. (2007). What Was ‘shostakovich’, and What Came Next?. Journal of Musicology, 24, 3, 297-338. Oakland, USA: University of California Press. Retrieved from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/jm.2007.24.3.297 Scott, D. B. (2004). Postmodernism and Music. In The Routledge Companion to Postmodernism (pp. 122-32). Abingdon, UK: Routledge. Accesat pe: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=L2UvKZsAAAAJ&hl=en#d=gs_md_citad &u=%2Fcitations%3Fview_op%3Dview_citation%26hl%3Den%26user%3DL2UvKZ sAAAAJ%26citation_for_view%3DL2UvKZsAAAAJ%3AKlAtU1dfN6UC%26tzom %3D-180 Searle, A. (2001). Voices in the dark. The Guardian, 12 January Issue. Retrieved from: https://alfredschnittke.wordpress.com/2010/04/30/voices-in-the-dark/ Tremblay, J. B. (2007). Polystylism and Narrative Potential in the Music of Alfred Schnittke (PhD Thesis. Vancouver, Canada: University of British Columbia). Retrieved from: https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/831/items/1.0100526 Webb, J. (1992). Schnittke in Context. Tempo, 182, Russian Issue, 19-22. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/946100

164 DOI: 10.2478/ajm-2021-0008

Studies

Discovering music cryptograms in the works of Viorel Munteanu through computer aided methods

MIHAELA RUSU, PhD Student CIPRIAN COSTIN “George Enescu” National University of Arts Iași ROMANIA ∗

Abstract: This analytical approach aims to demonstrate the connection between music and technology in the creation of composer Viorel Munteanu. The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyse the music cryptograms in Symphony No. 1 “Glossa” using digital analysis tools. Viorel Munteanu is a modern composer characterised by avangardist tendencies, but with a desire to revive the past. In his creations, the composer uses folkloric themes and byzantine chant, while evoking important personalities of Romanian culture. In Symphony No. 1 “Glossa”, Munteanu uses the music cryptogram of poet Mihai Eminescu and composer George Enescu, these structures being used as thematic material and cyclic motifs. For graphical illustration of the music cryptograms we used the digital library LibRosa and for the identification process we use a musical software which identifies these structures in a MIDI score. Also, we would be analysing the cryptograms’ functions, rhetorics and aspects influencing the form and genre of the symphony.

Keywords: Music cryptograms, digital analysis, Symphony no. 1 “Glossa”, Viorel Munteanu.

1. Introduction One of the greatest contemporary challenges is to integrate technology in our daily activities. The following analytical approach aims to demonstrate the connection between music and technology in one of Viorel Munteanu’s works. The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyse the music cryptograms in Symphony No. 1 “Glossa” using digita l analys is tools. Research centers from western Europe developed digital tools through which music analysis became more accessible and accurate. These tools process data extracted from audio or MIDI format, segmenting the received signals which are operated in an informatic language. Music software create graphic statistics (Chroma, LibRosa), chord recognition (Clam, Charles, Harmonia), the analysis of rhythmic systems (Music21, iAnalyse), analysis of musical syntax (Fugue) or define stylistic aspects. 2. Methods of analysis

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The characteristics of these musical apps allowed us to discover their advantages and challenges. Viorel Munteanu is a modern composer characterised by avangardist tendencies, with a desire to revive the past. In his creations, the composer uses folkloric themes and byzantine chant, while evoking important personalities of Romanian culture. In his creations, the composer used the cryptogram of Mihai Eminescu and George Enescu (Symphony no. I “Gloss”) Lucian Blaga (Return to Blaga – seven poems for soprano, flute, oboe, bassoon and piano) the cryptogram of Saint Parascheva (Oratory Calls to Salvation. Pilgrims to Saint Parascheva), Dorel Baicu (Concerto for Flute and Piano Shadows and Genesis), Adrian Berescu (Lamento for solo violin) and the famous cyclic structure BACH (Concerto per archi). The composer defined the laborious process of discovering the music cryptogram of his first symphonic creation: “Trying to pay homage to Mihai Eminescu, the whole creation is based on a modal structure which has been named the Eminescu cryptogram: E–E flat–C–B–A. “Using this cryptogram, in 1977 the madrigal From the valley of Rovine was created. After doing extensive research, I discovered that the melody which contained the Enescu cryptogram (E–E flat–C) represented an emblem of the archaic culture of Bucovina. The melody was found in ballads from Wallachia and Oltenia, an archetype that emphasized the ethos of the Eminescu’s Glossa.” (Apostu, 2019, p. 27) In Symphony No. 1 “Glossa”, Munteanu used the music cryptograms of poet Mihai Eminescu and composer George Enescu. These structures were used as thematic material and cyclic motifs. The first symphonic work is one of the most important creations of Viorel Munteanu in which he integrates his passion for poetry, culture and art. It has the structure of the sonata genre, having three contrasting parts. The composer was willing to merge the symphony genre with the structure of the glossa. The composer developed the melodic motif through a variation process. The metamorphosis of the sonic material was realized through the addition of modal structures “with sacred or profane origins” (Apostu, 2019, p. 27). Also, the composer Ștefan Angi noticed „(...) an intelligent exploitation of thematic cells transformed through rhythmic and melodic division or by augmentation broadening the range and sound palette.” (Angi, 2019, p. 106) The musicologist Gheorghe Duțică in the study The glossa-archetype and the rhetoric of a bivalent melogram. Symphony no. 1 “Glossa” by Viorel Munteanu realized a synthesis of this work. Describing the main elements which had formed the musical discourse, he observed the evolution of the cryptogram in different parts of the symphony.

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Monody, counterpoint, modern polyphony, heterophony and musical textures are the main musical syntaxes used in the symphonical discourse. The choir and the soloist, who have a complex and an expressive role, have an important function, being the lyrical voices of the symphony.

2.1. Graphical representation - LibRosa Graphical representation of the scores is realized through data synthesis in a visual format (graphs or charts) for analysis or interpretation and to discover functions or relevant structures. LibRosa is the digital library we used for our research. We made graphical illustrations of Symphony no. 1 “Glossa” by Viorel Munteanu, that analysed the structural analysis of this creation. This library generated musical chromograms that included pitch class and time information of the analysed parts. The challenge of the digital analysis in music consists of identifying different types of structural features, which include repetitions, contrasts, variations and homogeneity of voices. Recurrent patterns can be identified using histograms and they can be rhythmical, harmonic or melodic. Also, the contrasts between the sections can be highlighted by the differences in the graphic structure. Through graphic representation of the symphony’s first part we highlighted the structure, the architecture inspired from a sonata without a development part. We can observe from the chromogram the central place of the second theme – which has the development role in the context of the sonata – and the diminution of the recapitulation part.

Fig. 1 Viorel Munteanu, Symphony no. 1 “Glossa”, Ist movement, Music chromogram

In the second and third part of the symphony strophic forms, which included themes from the first part, were used. Through a compared analysis of

167 Artes. Journal of Musicology the chromograms we observed root notes and acceleration/deceleration of the musical discourse.

Fig. 2 Viorel Munteanu, Symphony no. 1 “Glossa”, Ist movement, Music chromogram

Fig. 3 Viorel Munteanu, Symphony no. 1 “Glossa”, Ist movement, Music chromogram

2.2. Digital analysis – identifying the cryptograms in Symphony no. 1 “Glossa” by Viorel Munteanu Through the second method of analysis we wanted to discover the cryptograms through digital methods. We created a musical software which identifies the musical motifs in the MIDI format. The music cryptogram of Symphony no. 1 “Gloss” has a pentatonic structure based on these notes: E– D#–C–B–A.

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Our digital tool parses data and identifies the motif sequence and indicates the following characteristics of a MIDI structure: note name, time signature, duration and numbers of ticks1 (Müller, 2015, p. 15).

Ex. 1 Music cryptogram

We started with the information that motif E-D#-C-B-A is supposed to be present in Viorel Munteanu’s Symphony no. 1. Since it is a fairly large work, and we wanted to be able to search motifs in other compositions, we developed a software tool that searches for motifs in the MIDI representation of the score. For this, we took the Sibelius version of the score and exported MIDI. We found that the Sibelius-exported MIDI tended to have errors (such as a 35/32 time signature change), so we imported it into Cubase to clean it up, and re-exported the MIDI as type 0 (each instrument on a different channel). The tool was developed using Python and the popular MIDI library “Mido”. We constructed a matrix of time events, one row per instrument, each element from the matrix holding an array of NOTE_ON 2 and NOTE_OFF events happening at that time. The size of the matrix was determined by reading the MIDI once and selecting the highest number of events from the channels (instruments). In order to analyze the MIDI data, we read the MIDI once per instrument, keeping track of the time signature changes. Here it is important to use the same tick value that was exported from Cubase (in our case 480) since there is no mention of such value in the MIDI file. The number of ticks is useful for determining relative time positioning of MIDI events and is unrelated to tempo. For example, 480 tick resolution means one beat (quarter, denominator 4) takes

1 “Ticks are an integer value that represents how many clock pulses or ticks to wait before the respective note-on or note-off command is executed.” 2 “Transmitting suitable MIDI messages, which encode the note-on, the velocity, the note-off, and other information. These MIDI messages may be automatically generated by some other electronic instrument or may be provided by a computer. It is an important fact that MIDI does not represent musical sound directly, but only represents performance information encoding the instructions about how an instrument has been played or how music is to be produced.” (Müller, 2015, p. 13) 169 Artes. Journal of Musicology

480 ticks. One 4/4 bar would have 4*480 ticks, one 6/8 bar would have 6*240 ticks etc. For each time event (element in the matrix) we launch a recursive method 3 for searching for the next MIDI NOTE_ON or NOTE_OFF event that can be an element of the searched motif. We search for the NOTE_OFF event for the first note of the motif. At that position we expect a NOTE_ON for the next element of the motif. Future versions of the algorithm can allow empty space between elements of the motif or allow for variations of the motif to be detected by choosing an acceptable distance between the MIDI value searched and the ones present in the matrix. When we find a solution, we convert the total number of ticks for every note to temporal information that can be easily understood, with the tick displayed being the difference from the start of the bar, such as:

Solution 1: Note:76(E) Bar:102 Beat:1 Tick:240 Note:75(D#) Bar:102 Beat:2 Tick:480 Note:72(C) Bar:102 Beat:3 Tick:1080 Note:71(B) Bar:102 Beat:3 Tick:1200 Note:69(A) Bar:102 Beat:3 Tick:1320

Ex. 2 Symphony no. I „Glossa” by Viorel Munteanu, Ist movement , mm. 103-107

3 “A notion is defined recursively, if in its definition appears the very notion that is defined. In computer science we call direct recursion, the property of functions to call themselves.” (http://info.tm.edu.ro:8080/~junea/cls%2010/recursivitate/recursivitate.pdf accessed on 6.11.2020) 170 Studies

Running the algorithm took about 1 minute for the entire symphony, without any special code optimizations. Future improvements can include MIDI implementations of any of the following substring search algorithms using finite-state-automaton-based search: Rabin–Karp, Knuth–Morris–Pratt, Boyer–Moore.

3. Conclusions In conclusion, to improve the results, before running the algorithm we quantified the start events and lengths of notes to 1/32, in Cubase. We found MIDI type 0 to be easier to parse than type 1, where a dedicated track has the time signature and other tracks lack time signature (computing the time signature for the events would make the code unnecessarily complex). This method is not perfect. Different music writing software (Score or DAWs) export the MIDI with tiny differences in the notes order (for example overlapping notes, which we decide to ignore for the motif search). Having lots of rules for the possible frequency variations of the motif or for allowing search of partial segments of the motif would result in the code being messy, therefore a neural-network based approach would probably be more effective if we decide to run this on very large MIDI databases. In conclusion, digital tools offer a modern and quick method of musical analysis on large data sets, which determines another point of view (another prism) on the understanding of the contemporary musical phenomenon.

References Anghel, I. (1997). Orientări, direcții, curente ale muzicii românești din a doua jumătate a sec. XX [Orientations, directions, currents of Romanian music from the second half of the century XX]. București: Editura Muzicală. Apostu, A. (2019). De vorbă cu Viorel Munteanu [Talk to Viorel Munteanu]. In Rezonanțe. Retrospecții. Viorel Munteanu [Resonances. Retrospectives. Viorel Munteanu], I (p. 27). Iași: Editura Junimea. Duțică, G., Vasiliu, L. (1999). Structură. Funcționalitate. Formă (Perspective contemporane în analiza fenomenului muzical) [Structure. Functionality. Musical Form (Contemporary perspectives in the analysis of the musical phenomenon)]. Iași: Editura Artes. Duțică, G. (2016). Universuri componistice românești [Romanian compositional universes]. București: Editura Muzicală. Müller, M. (2015). Fundamentals of Music Processing: Audio, Analysis, Algorithms, Applications. Zürich: Springer International Publishing.

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Webography http://info.tm.edu.ro:8080/~junea/cls%2010/recursivitate/recursivitate.pdf https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automat_finit

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Appendix

The results of the digital analysis algorithm in Symphony no. 1 “Glossa” by Viorel Munteanu (extract):

Index The Solution discovered instrument

30 First soprano

31 Second soprano

34 First tenor

35 Second tenor

38 Vio lin 1

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STUDIES

C. Current musical performance

DOI: 10.2478/ajm-2021-0009

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Childhood as a musical theme – affectivity and instrumental expressiveness in the works of Schumann, Debussy and Enescu

CRISTINA-NICOLETA ȘOITU, Lecturer, PhD “Gheorghe Dima” National Music Academy Cluj-Napoca ROMANIA ∗

Abstract: Childhood is a theme that music does not avoid, and through works such as Kinderszenen by Robert Schumann, Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy or Impressions d’enfance (Childhood Impressions) by George Enescu, is illustrated by various compositional means, determined by epochs or trends with which the creators identify, but also by their personal experiences and their expressive intentions. The affectivity of childhood is the key to decipher the musical message, pursuing the connection between the universe and the way in which the composers chose to lead the sound discourse through instruments, exploring so diversily the possibilities presented by them. The image, the symbol or the instrumental timbre, understood as processes of transmitting the expression, are the elements that the study seeks to define in correlation with the programmatism and the musical specificity of each previously mentioned work. This analytical incursion belongs to the contemporary performer, who, in order to understand and render this theme, uses not only the knowledge in the field, but also the extra-musical insight, belonging to literature or psychology.

Keywords: Schumann, Debussy, Enescu, childhood, affectivity.

1. Introduction Childhood is a recurrent theme in literature and the arts in general, and composers such as Schumann, Mussorgsky, Bizet, Fauré, Debussy, Ravel or Enescu illustrated in their music several aspects of this time in life, dedicating works to various instruments or ensembles. Romanticism and the trends of the twentieth century managed to capture in the most appropriate way this theme, through programme music, which offered suggestions for understanding and interpreting the universe of children. For the contemporary performer, the approach of works that appertain to a theme, but belong to distinct epochs, implies a thorough preparation: from the knowledge of the specific features of the musical language of a period, of a specific composer and more specific, of a work, to the context in which the piece was created and the means that its author used in order to highlight the expression of their work.

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The affective universe of childhood is always a common one, so that the understanding of the artistic message could have as a starting point precisely this fund of affectivity and emotions to which the works included in this thematic fund refer. In this study we will focus on compositions such as Kinderszenen by Robert Schumann, Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy or Impressions d’enfance by George Enescu. All three are works of artistic maturity, the first two for solo piano, and the last one for piano and violin; although catalogued differently (Kinderszenen – Romantic, Children’s Corner – Impressionist, and modern, in the case of Childhood Impressions), the emotional context of the composition is what defines them: each is dedicated to a loved one (Clara Schumann, daughter Emma – “Chouchou” regarding Debussy and maestro Enescu’s violin teacher, Eduard Caudella).

2. Analytical aspects 2.1. Robert Schumann – Kinderszenen op. 15

This cycle of pieces was composed in 1838 (in the same year as Kreisleriana), in response to Clara Wieck’s words to Schumann: “you sometimes seemed like a child to me” (Tranchefort, 1989, p. 725). According to the composer, these miniatures are those of an “immature adult,” thought of as “retrospective glances for adults.” Schumann confesses to Clara, the dedicator of these pieces: “the wings were ripped off this child” (Tranchefort, 1989, p. 725), an expression that betrays the long suffering he carried in his soul, as long as Clara’s father opposed their relationship, but also the hope for a brighter future, in which the idea of a family could materialize; at the same time, the appeal to the world of childhood, one of innocence and simplicity, indicates the composer’s feeling of nostalgia for that protective universe, in which the feelings are sincere, positive and unfettered. Out of 30 designed pieces, Schumann chose 13 for the composition of this work, pieces of small dimensions, but expressive through the melodic and rhythmic variety. The expression of the song Von fremden Ländern und Menschen (Of Foreign Lands and Peoples) is an evocative one, through the simple tonality of G Major, through the melody that unfolds in legato, as well as through the rhythmic ostinato performed in the middle plane (in triplets). Kuriose Geschichte (A Curious Story) is a “stylized folk song” (Sandu-Dediu, 2011, p. 61), descriptive, in D Major, written in a 3/4 pattern, and Hasche-Mann (Blind Man’s Bluff) has an alert tempo, with sixteenths in staccato, which give an energetic allure to the piece, and with accents that suggest the surprise moments of the game, but also the joy and pleasure of the children.

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Fig. 1 R. Schumann, Blind Man’s Bluff

The beginning of the piece Bittendes Kind (Pleading Child) reminds of the original motif of the first piece, and the appearance of the ritardando suggests the mystery of the gesture described musically. In Glückes genug (Happy Enough) the motivic curve transposed on different sounds shows the feelings of the child who tells happy stories, and the plane of the sixteenths captures his exaltation, so – in D Major – the narrative character is outlined. Wichtige Begenbenheit (An Important Event) has a festive air, through the punctuated rhythm and the octaves in the bass, but also through the chosen key – A Major – or through the ternary metric (3/4).

Fig. 2 R. Schumann, An Important Event

Träumerei (Dreaming) is one of the famous pieces of the piano repertoire, with a great emotional load, encompassing positive feelings such as: peace, love, fulfilment, security; the characteristic tempo of a chorale, imagined in 4/4, expresses an ideal of purity, and the key of F Major conveys 176 Studies serenity. Am Kamin (At the Fireside) continues the tonal plane and texture, but changes the tempo and metrics (2/4), bringing the fascination of stories and storytelling to the forefront. Ritter vom Steckenpferd (Knight of the Hobbyhorse) features an extremely expressive rhythm in 3/4, with syncopes that suggest the rocking of the child on the wooden horse. Fast zu Ernst (Almost Too Serious) contains small note values, in 2/4 metre, and Fürchtenmachen (Frightening) describes the state of restlessness through the chromatisms in the median counterpoint plane and the agogic change (fragments noted Schneller). The piece Kind im Einschlummern (Child Falling Asleep) is entrusted to a 2/4 pattern, with a rhythm defined by syncopation, dactyl formulas or dotted formulas. Der Dichter spricht (The Poet Speaks) ends the cycle, constituting a chorale (in the measure of 2/2, the key of G Major), with a recitative aspect in some places, realised through insertions of ornaments or cadences with vocal specifics.

2.2. Claude Debussy – Children’s Corner This suite, composed in 1908, contains on the cover the dedication to “my dear little Chouchou, with tender apologies from her father for what is to follow,” the program consisting of the six titles and drawings of the composer. Often resembling Mussorgsky’s Chambre d'enfant, the suite captures the universe of a Parisian girl in the care of a Miss (English nanny), resembling this way Mussorgsky’s work in theme and delicacy of the described affectivity, but not in the character of the pieces; the difference is given by the nature of the child, concretely defined by the environment to which it belongs: rural, respectively urban. Paul Dukas, after hearing Pelléas, stated that he could not separate the purely musical analysis of a work from the poem that inspired it (Cortot, 1981, pp. 10-11), and this remark could be a premise that does not allow us to detach the music from the program after which it was conceived. Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum makes an ironic reference to the technique of Clementi’s works, through tempos that suggest the states of the child studying an instrument: from involvement (egal et sans sécheresse) to fatigue or desire to evade (in the middle section) and, eventually, to the joy or even the jubilation felt towards the end of the study time (en animant peu à peu being the indication of the last section). The nuances describe the same emotional path of the child, so we find: p at the opening of the piece, pp at the reprise of the initial section and f or ff at the end. We can understand the composer’s restraint regarding the technical training proposed by Clementi if we follow Marguerita Long’s appreciations on Debussy’s own way of playing music. The pianist noticed the suppleness, the delicacy and the depth of the touch, with controlled and refined accents and a pedalization similar to Chopin, both regarding the pedal to be “like a breath” (Tranchefort, 1989, p. 289); in addition, she states: “he almost always

177 Artes. Journal of musicology played in a semi-nuance, but with a full and intense sonority, without any harshness of attack, […] the scale of his nuances extended from the triple pianissimo to forte, without ever reaching disordered sounds or the loss of the subtlety of harmonies.” In Jimbo’s Lullaby, written in 2/2, the composer delves into the low register at the beginning, suggesting the elephant’s song, more precisely the specificity of the movement; we find here the procedure of prolonging the sonorities (measure 9 contains the indication les 2 Ped.). The melody is played again in the middle octave in measure 19 (un peu en dehors), being an indication of the vocal song, a sign of the girl’s presence. The appearance of the staccato eighths in the bass, in the section Un peu plus mouvementé, could suggest the game: the elephant is a toy one. Serenade for the Doll, in 3/4, represents a child’s song, played using staccato and apogiaturas in the melody; the staccato is present in almost the entire piece and renders the feeling of a playful atmosphere, in which the girl’s tenderness (léger et gracieux) is unravelled. In The Snow is Dancing, the image of the flakes becomes very suggestive through staccato, repetitions of gradual notes and accents, through agogics (ritenuto and returning a tempo) and decreased dynamics; all these are elements that reflect the state of delight and contemplation of the child. The Little Sheperd makes a clear pictorial reference, the image of the shepherd being rendered through the melody, which indicates a wind instrument and a free performance, as we can see from the agogic indications.

Fig. 3 Cl. Debussy, The Little Sheperd

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Marguerite Long listened to little Emma play the piece and described the moment as “very emotional,” “reminiscent of Debussy” (Tranchefort, 1989, p. 306). Golliwogg’s Cakewalk is an allegro with ironic notes and jazz sounds, which imprint a lively movement through syncopes, setbacks and pauses that suddenly interrupt the discourse. We can distinguish the child’s fascination with the dance of a doll, this being the symbol of the clowns, to whom Debussy pays homage through this musical gesture (Tranchefort, 1989, p. 306).

2.3. George Enescu – Impressions d’ enfance Childhood Impressions, a composition dating from 1940, is a ten-piece suite with a programme, explained by the composer himself in his Memoirs (Gavoty, 1982, pp. 24-25), the titles being noted in French. The work was published in 1952 at the Salabert Publishing House in Paris, and is dedicated “à la mémoire d’Eduard Caudella” (his first violin teacher, who encouraged him to continue his studies in Vienna). Here we encounter a complex compositional vision, one of maturity, but with a bright theme. There are analogies with important writings of Romanian literature included in the same thematic sphere: Childhood Memories by Ion Creangă or Pastels by Vasile Alecsandri. Childhood is initiatory, almost mystical, both in the conception of Enescu and of some emblematic writers such as Mihai Eminescu, Mircea Eliade or Lucian Blaga. Although the moment of composition and the theme might suggest a descriptive, impressionistic work, it masks a deeply symbolic one: “the Suite’s movements are not descriptive or intended as tone paintings: they are abstract, hermeneutic, but also nostalgic invocations of scenes from Enescu’s childhood [...]. Each movement consists of a series of timeless moments that capture the atmosphere of Enescu’s childhood.” (Sarah Grossert, 2016, CD booklet, Ars Produktion, Stefan Tarara & Lora Vakova-Tarara) Therefore, the suite focuses not on the strict description of the recalled elements, but on the atmosphere that remained embedded in the heart and mind of the child Enescu and that he expresses through sounds at the age of maturity. The specificity of memory adapts to the age of the individual, and childhood determines the following stages: in the first three years of life are stored elements correlated with biological development, but also the features of the loved ones or “their affective-relational implications,” and after that age, up to the age of seven, memory stores “a vast social, territorial, verbal experience, flirting with imagination” (Șchiopu, 1997, p. 441). Enescu left for Vienna after turning seven, so what he preserved in his memory was an emotional treasure related to his origins, defined by Romanian language, culture, and spirituality. The explanation of the programme even captures some elements of the culture and customs of the place, such as the Orthodox faith of the inhabitants, the specifics of the houses or the peasant dress.

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The Enescu exegets identified a route that the composer travels in the musical exercise of memory, following the outer perimeter of the house, then the inner one, with a return to the outside: pieces 1-3 – exterior, pieces 4-5 – interior, pieces 6-9 – the outer frame outlined from the inside, piece no. 10 – exterior. A similar cyclical pattern is found in the Romanian fairy tales, in which the main character returns to the place where he left (usually his parents’ house), but with a richer life experience; the route is therefore initiatory, having an important role in the growing-up process. An argument in favour of this comparison is the use of the motifs characteristic of a piece in the ones that follow it or even in the final one (in a varied presentation). The affectivity is considered “very intense” in the first years of childhood (Șchiopu, 1997, p. 54), thus, what Enescu retained from that period (1883- 1888) and the way in which he transposed the information musically (to which subject he paid more attention in terms of execution time or timbre intensity) may prove the emotional impact of some elements from the environment with which he had contact. The Fiddler, Cradle Song and Sunrise stand out as some of the most expressive songs. In this affective plane, Pascal Bentoiu identified in the suite three cells, conveying some states, as follows: cell x (semitone and minor third or augmented second, also mentioned by Ștefan Niculescu) = “restlessness, depression,” cell y (augmented fourth and minor second, to which Clemansa Liliana Firca assigns the unity of the work) = “anxiety, inexplicable, but also a major, cosmic balance” and cell z (semitone and major third) = “peace, reconciliation, inner balance”. (Bentoiu, 1999, pp. 449-450) We followed the distribution of the cells in the pieces that compose the suite and included in a table their frequency, resulting in an emotional picture of the music programme. In the parentheses of the table we find the number of cells that include other sounds as well, but retain the intonation of the characteristic intervals; their number is found in total, therefore it is not a surplus.

Piece Number Cell 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 x 23 14 30 17 1 5 13 1 29 53 (4) (2) (0) (3) (1) (0) (2) (0) (0) (9) y 12 21 17 8 - 2 10 - 15 10 (4) (5) (6) (0) (1) (0) (1) (0) z 47 10 13 11 35 8 25 2 13 58 (2) (0) (0) (0) (13) (1) (3) (0) (0) (1)

Table 1 Distribution of cells x, y, z

In The Fiddler predominates cell z, which suggests the reconciliation equivalent to understanding the character’s purpose, and if we think about the association that some analysts make, that of the common destiny between him

180 Studies and the musician Enescu, we will observe that x, the other important cell, indicates the restlessness, the state of the artist’s constant search, which is interwoven with the balance (that “cosmic” balance) brought by y, which could prove the idea of the awareness of the joy that the world brings through his music, despite the difficulties he is faced with. Also, cell z could show the joy that music awakens in the child’s soul, proven by the first experiences related to the sound universe: at the age of three Enescu hears a fiddlers’ band (taraf), at the age of five he receives a violin, begins to learn the basics of music, composes his first musical work, and at the age of seven he meets Eduard Caudella (the violin teacher who notices his talent). The first title is part of a prophetic theme in the becoming of the child, with a strong autobiographical tinge. This piece is also an ethnic and spiritual mark of the suite. The musical text hints at the influence of the fiddlers’ technique in the area of Moldavia on the violinist Enescu, noticed in terms of ornamentation, the use of the glissando or bowing techniques (e.g. bariolages). In the second piece, The Old Beggar, we most often encounter cell y, followed by x, so we deduce the anxiety and depression of the character, but perhaps also the anxiety it transmits to the child. Z is not used as much, suggesting the rare moments of reconciliation of the character with himself and his fate.

Fig. 4 G. Enescu, The Old Beggar

In The Stream at the bottom of the Garden, as Pascal Bentoiu notes, the number of x cells is equal to the sum of the cells y and z. The anxiety indicated by x is that of the murmuring water, which never stops its flow, suggesting the ephemerality of time that cannot be controlled. Y may show the inexplicability of the secret of life, and z, the tranquillity acquired in the state of contemplation of the water, as well as the state of balance that the child feels in the garden of his parents’ house. The Caged Bird and the Cuckoo on the Wall is mainly based on x, which brings to our attention the restlessness of the captive bird, while z and y indicate both the balance (given by the precise signals of the bird- object, which measures the time), but also the anxiety of the seclusion. The slightly higher frequency of the z-cell compared to y also shows the balance

181 Artes. Journal of musicology provided by the child’s familiar environment. In Cradle Song we are dealing almost only with the z cell, a natural thing we might argue, given the title of the song. This is because the mother dispels from the child all the worries of the day, through her song. Through unison (the symbol of the voice) a strong connection is created between the two; this strong emotional imprint is underlined by the composer, who narrates about the excessive care bestowed on him by his mother, being the only surviving child of the family. The motifs of this piece can also be found in A Cricket or in Moonlight through the Window Panes. In the piece entitled A Cricket the only cell we encounter is z, which may denote the inner calm brought by the friendly nature, represented here by the small insect. Moonlight through the Window Panes includes, as Pascal Bentoiu remembers, the theme from the Cradle Song, so that we see mostly the z-cell, which induces the tranquillity and mystery generated by the celestial star with a quasi-static appearance, with a light which, filtered by the window of the room, becomes even more beautiful, maybe it even enhances the fairy-tale atmosphere created by the mother’s songs and stories. The x and y cells are inserted to predict the storm (Bentoiu, 1999, p. 450). Z is used in the eighth piece, Wind in the Chimney, to symbolize the safety of the hearth, and x stands for the anxiety that the rustle of the wind creates at night; “the chromaticism is clearly deduced from the semitone of y” (Bentoiu, 1999, p. 450), which illustrates the anxiety of a stormy evening.

Fig. 5 G. Enescu, Wind in the Chimney

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The anxiety caused by the dark and the frightening sounds of the storm are predominant in Storm Outside, during the Night, and y and z indicate the oscillation between the feeling of security in the interior (the house) and the anxiety of the child. The piece Sunrise contains a large number of z cells, so we understand the joy of overcoming all the fears felt by the child in the face of darkness, the storm, the violent sounds (which are still remembered by the appearance of the x and y cells). The increased percentage of z’s presence, expressing the embrace of light, of the once again friendly, serene nature, can even indicate the victory of good in the face of evil, a belief that the child preserved, and the adult transposed it musically in the bleak years before the war.

Fig. 6 G. Enescu, Sunrise

3. Comparative expressive landmarks The inclusion of the works mentioned in this study in the development of a programme was possible due to the composers’ appeal to image, symbol and state of mind. The image is related to the evocative, descriptive character of the music, and the symbol and the state of mind are correlated with “a dialectic of metaphors”; thus, “the programmatic idea [...] acts as a catalyst that optimizes the double transfer toward the ideal, through a subtle mechanism of suggestion: the area of manifestation of connotations is narrowed, but, in compensation, their intensity increases” (Banciu, 2006, The Aesthetic Significance ..., p. 10). We can see that in Schumann’s case the emphasis falls rather on the image, in Debussy all three are present, and in Enescu the symbol and the state of mind

183 Artes. Journal of musicology predominate. A key element in the musical outline of a programme is the timbre. The musical expression is determined by imagination, virtuosity and instrumental vision, concepts that we compared in the works of the three composers. As for Schumann, we notice the musical expression that stems from the melody, we may even discuss about a poetics of cantability; the emotions identified through images and states of mind define an imagination of sensibility and storytelling. The composer does not appeal to virtuosity, but to a piano technique focused on differentiated touches, intelligible phrasing which, most of the times, is achieved by means of the legato; polyphony and nuance are also part of Schuman’s instrumental thinking. When Clara received the score of the work, the following words of the author accompanied it: “You will certainly enjoy playing these little pieces, but you will have to forget that you are a virtuoso. [...] You will have to avoid the effects; instead, you will have to let yourself be carried away by their simple, natural grace which lacks in rigid ity” (Tranchefort, 1989, p. 725). In Debussy we encounter an imagination distinct from that of the Romantics, more precisely a descriptive and symbolic one. Alfred Cortot thinks that the virtuosity imposed by Debussy’s works constitutes an element of “atmosphere,” “which attenuates or crystallizes the relations of sonorities”; he considers that the “fluid” passages of the composer “tend to blunt the contours, to veil the harmonies and almost to prolong silence.” (Cortot, 1981, p. 24) The intense exploration of the piano registers, the subtle nuances, the harmonies that venture beyond the limits of classical tonal relations and the meticulous pedaling are the characteristics that define Debussy’s pianistic instrumental thinking. Enescu makes use of a symbolic and affective imagination, with details that are clarified by explicit musical indications. In Enescu, the image rests in the shadow of the symbol, and a proof of the symbolism of the work is, as Pascal Bentoiu remarks, the fact that the motives that suggest the solar fullness and joy of the last piece are those used in the previous movements: “musically, the strictly programmatic argument is somewhat abandoned, as the melodic essences of the previous moments are called to the glorification of the sun.” (Bentoiu, 2017, p. 79) The Romanian composer’s belief in a virtuosity determined by emotion and message is rendered by the technical difficulties that require first of all an exceptional timbre refinement, determined by the excessive sensitivity that characterizes Enescu, but also by the historical situation. Previous eras employed “three of the properties of the musical sound: pitch, duration and intensity”; in order to extend the “physical limit of sound”, musical modernity chose “the most rhetorical of properties: the timbre” (Banciu, 2006, Introduction ..., p. 89). Enescu’s score of the Impressions brings

184 Studies forth a very complex dynamic scale, with harmonies enriched by those added sounds or by the polyphonic overlaps, indications that suggest the type of instrumental sonorities.

4. Conclusion The performer examines not only the musical, technical elements, but a whole path of information, from the historical, stylistic elements, to those belonging to other disciplines, in order to expressively render the works, gathering a complete picture of the programmatic suggestions. This path becomes a necessity when the programme of the pieces is part of the same theme, but the works belong to different eras.

References Banciu, G. (2006). Introducere la estetica retoricii muzicale [Introduction to the Aesthetics of Musical Rhetoric]. Cluj-Napoca: MediaMusica. Banciu, G. (2006). Semnificația estetică a programatismului muzical [The Aesthetic Significance of Programmatic Music]. Cluj-Napoca: MediaMusica. Bentoiu, P. (2017). Breviar enescian [Compendium of Enescu’s Works]. București: Editura Radio. Bentoiu, P. (1999). Capodopere enesciene [Masterworks of George Enescu]. București: Editura Muzicală. Blaga, L. (2011). Geneza metaforei și sensul culturii [Genesys of the Metaphor and the Meaning of Culture]. In Trilogia culturii [The Trilogy of Culture] (pp. 331-500). București: Humanitas. Cortot, A. (1981). La musique française de piano [French Music for piano]. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France. Firca, C. L. (2002). Modernitate și avangardă în muzica ante- și interbelică a secolului XX (1900-1940) [Modernity and Avant-garde in the Pre- and Inter-war Music of the 20th Century (1900-1940)]. București: Editura Fundației Culturale Române. Gavoty, B. (1982). Amintirile lui George Enescu [The Memories of George Enescu]. București: Editura Muzicală. Petra-Basacopol, C. (1979). L’originalité de la musique roumaine à travers les oeuvres de chambre et de scène d Enesco, Jora et Constantinesco [The originality of the Romanian Music in the Chamber and Concert Works by Enescu, Jora, Constantinescu]. București: Editura Muzicală. Rădulescu, A. (2011). Childhood Impressions: George Enescu′s Memories between Musical Iconism and Symbolism. Proceedings of the “George Enescu” International

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Musicology Symposium. George Enescu from knowledge to recognition (part I), pp. 119-124. București: Editura Muzicală. Sandu-Dediu, V. (2011). Fragmente romantice despre Robert Schumann [Romantic Excerpts about Robert Schumann]. In Robert Schumann (pp. 30-127). București: Editura Didactică și Pedagogică. Șchiopu, U. (1997). Dicționar Enciclopedic de Psihologie [Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology]. București: Editura Babel. Tranchefort, F. (coord.) (1989). Guide de la Musique de Chambre [Chamber Music Guide]. Paris: Fayard.

186 DOI: 10.2478/ajm-2021-00010 Studies

German Musical Baroque, a mini European Union avant la lettre: the bassoon concerto

LAURENȚIU DARIE, PhD Student “Transilvania” University Brașov ROMANIA ∗

Abstract: The German musical Baroque represents a sum of stylistic diversities, in which the European cultural values were merged with the national ones, resulting in a strongly individualized, but malleable style. The works dedicated to the bassoon by German composers are living evidence of aesthetic unity in the Baroque stylistic diversity, emphasizing the universality of music and its cohesive force. The analyzed concertos approach the aesthetics of each composer, through his relationship with Italian and French music, personalized in an expressive form of the German type: robust, in a clear, dynamic solid structure.

Keywords: German Baroque, bassoon, stylistic diversity.

1. Introduction to the German Musical Baroque Music is seen, in the Baroque era, as a rhetorical tool: a harmonious sound creation capable of determining certain emotions and feelings in the souls of the listeners. If the Italians tried to produce this effect through a melodic exuberance, the French chose the more subtle path of elegance and sound refinement. German musicians, the real maestros of musical rhetoric, came to master both elements of the Italian language and the peculiarities of the French musical language, creating a specific style, eclectic and malleable, able to adapt and integrate a multitude of timbral possibilities and sound inspiration. The German baroque melody imposed itself through diversity, color, register and expressiveness, being a synthesis between exuberance and gallantry. German harmony is, in turn, richer in color and functionality than alternative systems of French or Italian music. Also in this field can be observed the typologies of thinking, diverse but, somehow, unitary, in the German space. Orchestration is another confluence point, in German music, between Italian effervescence and French gallantry. The German musical Baroque is thus characterized by robustness, dynamism, clarity, a compact and solid structure, and precise articulation. The desideratum of the unification of cultures in a polymorphic entity, with zonal characteristics affiliated with a whole monolithic structure appears, in the Baroque era, in the form of artistic immersion and stylistic correspondences, highlighted in the form of filiation of a unique, archetypal

∗ [email protected] 187 Artes. Journal of Musicology culture, from which emerge, like genealogical branches, vast effluvia of geographical and social peculiarities. The entire European Baroque cultural area has, as an expressive fluency, the rappel to its origins in Greek and Roman Antiquity, shaped by the oriental infusions of the Middle Ages. Thus, the baroque expressive flow decentralizes, in Europe, an impressive bundle of folk elements, with geographical specificity, which it directs in a strong aesthetic stream, with common roots and zonal affiliations. This unity desideratum one finds clearly formulated in Schiller’s poem that underlies Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, An die Freude ([Ode] to Joy) : „Alle Menschen werden Brüder” (All people become brothers). Towards this energetic influx with the climax in Beethoven’s creation, the baroque music tends, from the very beginning, through the permanent connection of the composers from one land/zone to the aesthetic of other geographical areas. And the bassoon is one of the important instruments used for this purpose, as a stylistic binder, through the creation dedicated to it, in the German music of the 17th and 18th centuries. The geographical advantage of the German historical regions, which become, in the Baroque era, a cultural hub, between Italian, French, Spanish and Eastern- European art, results in taking over and assembling, in a common language, the influences of these paradigms, generating, a priori, the idea of unity in diversity, which underlies, as a motto, the current European Union. In the Baroque, the bassoon was mainly used as a basso continuo instrument. The solo repertoire appears relatively late and the contribution of German composers to its enrichment is significant. As a soloist, the bassoon is found both in the position of concertante instrument and in that of obbligato instrument, or as a partner in a chamber ensemble. It is noticed, during this period, the appearance o f the trio-sonata genre dedicated to a chamber ense mb le consisting in two oboes and basso continuo, with the bassoon as an obligato instrument. Concertos dedicated to the instrument, in singularity or in various timbre combinations (with another bassoon or pairing with other/s instrument/s) are also consistent, both in their quantity and in the quality of their academic treatment and musical inspiration. From the entire musical creation dedicated to the bassoon, belonging to the German Baroque, I have selected three concertos, which I consider edifying, in their artistic motion, to fulfill this desideratum, through the stylistic immersion of the French and Italian aesthetics that one should find in their musical development: Concerto in C Major for Bassoon, Strings and Basso continuo by Johann Friedrich Fasch, Concerto in F Major for Alto Recorder, Bassoon, Strings and Basso continuo by Georg Philipp Telemann, and Concerto in E flat Major for Two Bassoons, Strings and Basso continuo by Johann Gottfried Müthel. I specify from the beginning that I will make a general presentation of these musical works, having the main focus on the defining elements that demonstrate the belonging to universality, supporting the thesis

188 Studies expressed in the title of this article: the compositional desire for unity, while maintaining the individual conceptual ethos in the German Baroque.

2. Johann Friedrich Fasch – Concerto in C Major for Bassoon, Strings and Basso continuo, FaWV L:C2 Johann Friedrich Fasch (1688-1758) is one of the important composers of the Baroque, through the new breath of his creation, which is the link between this era and Classicism. Without representing an actually period of transition per se, at the level of melodic stylistics or harmony, Fasch's creation, especially the instrumental one, organizes the sound material in a form of innovative expression, more appropriate to the thematic presentation, in homophone spirit, than to the motivic superposition with which the polyphonic forms are characterized. The Concerto in C major for Bassoon, Strings and Basso continuo mos t likely belongs to 1740. The tripartite composition and thematic exposition in dialogue are elements similar to the Italian concerto model. Unlike Italian music, however, Fasch's work is more carefully elaborated in the dialogical details and in the extra role that the composer assigns to the solo instrument. The concerto is composed as a continuous expressive flow, in which the orchestral tutti proposes a minimal thematic level, with expository character, in opposition to the solo expositions, which are constituted in expository- developing passages. The acute need for virtuosity is lacking, resulting in a more carefully elaborated aesthetic vision regarding the morphological transfigurations of the thematic element. The preponderance of virtuosity in Italian concertos, but also the graceful, efflorescent ornamentation of French gallant music are replaced, in Fasch's work, by a touch of nobility of the themes and their careful development process (Figure 1).

Fig. 1 J. Fr. Fasch, Concerto, Mvt. 1, mm. 26-35; bassoon, continuo

The absolute involvement of the composer in the creative act represents, in Fasch’s music, a strong argument in the favor of the novelty of his writing,

189 Artes. Journal of Musicology which foresees the classical concerto in its essence. The internal architecture of the concerto movements is, however, based on the baroque principle of dialogue, rather than on the crystallization of the musical forms (see the sonata form in Classicis m).

3. Georg Philipp Telemann – Concerto in F Major for Alto Recorder, Bassoon, Strings and Basso continuo, TWV 52: F1 Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) is one of the most prolific composers in history (at least in terms of the creation that has survived to this day), with over 3000 works, half of which are lost. Prolific composer, poly- instrumentalist (a virtuoso of flute, oboe, violin, viola da gamba, double bass, harpsichord and church organ), poet, author of textbooks, methods and instrumental and vocal treatises, almost completely self-taught, Telemann is the representation of an ideal in terms of choosing a profession of faith and pursuing continuous improvement. Telemann was a musician highly appreciated during his lifetime by contemporaries. His style combines Italian, German, French and Polish elements, is delicate, noble and accentuates the melodic factor. A peculiarity of the expression of his personality is that, over the years, the composer has enriched his style, by taking over various elements, crystallizing, towards the end of his life, his belonging to the gallant style. The Concerto in F major for Alto Recorder, Bassoon, Strings and Basso continuo has the structure of a church sonata (at a macro level), determined by the architecture in fo ur movements, which follow one another in the order of slow-fast-slow-fast, but is delimited by this chamber music genre through timb re consistency and thematic developments. The whole structural and aesthetic paradigm of the concerto-mak ing is built as a dynamic profile in continuous ascent. The tension (rendered both in the form structures, through successive Reprises and thematic developments, as well as in melodic, harmonic and timbre profiles, through dialogues between soloists and orchestra) is configured binarily. A first trajectory takes place during the first two movements - an ascending arch; the accumulation of the first movement is confirmed in the second. The second trajectory includes IIIrd and IVth mo ve me nts – a new ascending arch, in which the accumulation in the third mo ve me nt is confirmed in the fourth. The timbral-tension climax of the whole work is represented by the strong sonority given by the last thematic recapitulation in the last movement, in which the orchestra also benefits from the soloists' contribution. Here, the sound spectrum is used as a unitary whole. The whole complex of aesthetic utterance is doubled by nobility and ( fro m a technical point of view) by a moderate universe of articulations and ornaments, whic h is not entirely claimed by the German style, but also by the French or Italian style, representing an agreeable average of them (Figure 2).

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Fig. 2 G. Fr.Telemann, Concerto, Mvt. 4, mm. 18-23; recorder, bassoon, continuo

Telemann's music incorporates several styles existing at the time, in terms of belonging to a geographical-cultural aesthetic. The composer is an exponent of universality, so the performance of his creations must be made according to the aesthetic-affective contour of his musical themes. The ornamentation, in the case of this concerto, must occur in relation to the character of the melody used. Thus, in each of the four movements there are stylistic pastiches from the three geographical areas approached by Telemann. The fir st movement has a German allure, through the “seriousness” o f the musical discourse. The ornamentation should be moderate, because the musical discourse is, in itself, rich in expression. Thus, it must be discreet, and can be used as a melodic complement, at the end of a musical phrase, or along the way, in the accompanying formulas. The second movement has an Italian character; therefore the configuration of the performing path leaves no room fo r ornamentation, the writing being of virtuosity. As there are no slurs, we can opt for the use of the détaché / staccato articulation throughout the movement, and in terms of speed and incisive rhythm, on sixteenth formulas, we can apply double tonguing. The third movement, although “French” (in the essence of its sound expression), does not leave room for excessive ornamentation. However, the insertion of mordents or turns can be done, in the solo discourse, by both instrumentalists. Also, the endings of a musical phrase can benefit from the contribution of trills. The fourth movement represents a combination between the German style, from which it takes the rigor and clarity of the thematic expression, in the fugato counterpoint spirit, and the Italian one, from which it takes the verve and the writing of virtuosity, complementary to the moments of polyphony. In this movement, the performing act must emphasize the dual character of the music, finding a balance between brilliance and verve (slightly restrained), on the one hand, and rigor and mechanism, on the other hand. This last movement of the concerto must be played with a full, expansive sound, because it is the climax of the entire piece.

4. Johann Gottfried Müthel – Concerto in E flat Major for Two Bassoons, Strings and Basso continuo, IJM 1 Johann Gottfried Müthel (1728-1788), composer and virtuoso pianist, was, along with Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, one of the first representative

191 Artes. Journal of Musicology figures o f the Sturm und Drang / Empfindsamkeit current in music. Situated in a period that determines the end of the Baroque and the beginnings of Classicism, the composer used defining stylistic elements of both historical and cultural contexts, which makes his works be impregnated with a lively, jovial, mostly fluent and sensitive spirit. Müthel is a melodist par excellence. However, the use of instruments, the use of continuo accompaniment, as well as the structuring patterns of his concertos, are still dependent on the Baroque era. The composer makes a synthesis between the rigorous counterpoint of the Baroque and the noble and graceful fluidity of Classicism. The Concerto in E flat Major for Two Bassoons, Strings and Basso continuo belongs to the composer's period of maturity, being created in the years when he lived in Riga, but there aren’t documents attesting to a specific date on which it was composed, also to which bassoonists it was dedicated. One can only speculate that these instrumentalists were employees of the loca l orchestra and were virtuosos, judging by analyzing the score and observing the technical difficulties involved in its performance. The form is classical, with a tripartite structure. The movements are alternating in a fast-slow-fast form. The influence of early Classicism can be observed in the manner of thematic treatment; the writing, however, remains tributary to the Baroque. The pattern of virtuosity is similar to the Vivaldian style, and the treating of the two bassoons as a block, like a single instrument, is similar to the way in which the Baroque composers handled the musical gesture. Also, although graceful and free of the contrapuntal heaviness, the melody still has reminiscences of the period, both through the ornamentation used and the standardized patterns – sequences in descending fifths (or ascending fourths). The first movement of the concerto (Moderato) has a martial character, the thematic configuration evolving on the dotted formulas, which are declamatory and determined in the aesthetic vision. The general sound spectrum proposes the typical baroque dynamic range (piano – forte), but the recourse to small subterfuges of tension oscillations can be achieved. The richness of the rhythmic-melodic formulas that accompany the thematic discourse shows the inventiveness of the composer. The second movement of the concerto (Adagio) evolves into a tragic emotional register. The segments dedicated to each of the partners (soli – tutti) are wide-ranging e mo tio na l melodies and are based on thematic dialogues and cadence completions. The architecture of this movement involves several for ma l strategies: it is tripartite, similar in musical gesture, structure and thematic organization to the da capo aria, and the general emotional aesthetic finds its affinities with the lament in baroque works - alternation of lamentation and passionate declamation; it is strophic, in the sense of the existence of several thematic structures, which are presented in succession; it is redundant, by using the idea of Reprise, in the case of thematic recapitulations. All these structural ordering strategies

192 Studies contribute to the configuration of two ascending tension paths, within the movement, determined by the two large sections (A and A ha r mo nic va r ied ). The recapitulation of the initial segment, as a small Rep r ise (da capo), has the role of relaxing the musical discourse, configuring, as a whole, the arch shape of the general affect. The las t movement of the concerto (Allegro) begins with a musical phrase with the role of motto, in which a complete cadence is performed, which involves the use of steps I, IV and V. Step IV appears more as a melodic distraction, as it evolves on the E flat pedal, but auditorily, the cadence is felt in all its fullness. The succinct character of the themes, their freshness, the overflowing dancing cavalcade, as well as the reprise of the main musical phrase as a refrain, figures this movement in the form of a rondo. The structure elements are, however, in a tripartite form, in which the distinctive elements propose a path similar to the sonata form (Exposition, Development and Recapitulation). Thus, we are dealing with a hybrid form, rondo-sonata, treated as long developing segments (configured in the form of sequential or evolutionary cycles) in a typical baroque manner. The performing strategy eludes the concept of ornamentation and focuses on the tension conduit and the combination of elements related to affect (central element in Baroque) and sensitivity (central element in Empfindsamkeit). The peculiarities of instrumental technique required in this concert are located in the area of virtuosity, if one is referring to the bassoon of the 18th century, a versatile instrument with a range of almost three octaves, but still more limited in the number of keys (hence the limited fingering chart), comparing to the modern instrument. Fork fingering, the sound emission in the high register or the phrasing of the long melodic lines in legato are aspects that can raise certain problems in the case of the baroque bassoon, even if it is more stable and flexible than other wind instruments of the period (oboe, chalumeau, clarinet, or brass instruments). The articulations used in this work are legato and détaché, but the latter involves differences in approach, depending on the thematic context in which it is used. Thus, in melodic structures in which the rhythm is dotted, the longer of the two notes (eighth or sixteenth) must be played almost fragmentarily; the dot marks, in the Baroque and Empfindsamkeit style, more the emphatic, expansive and unequal character of the note than its extension (Fig. 3).

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Fig. 3 J. G. Müthel, Concerto, Mvt. 2, mm. 1-4; bassoons I, II, continuo

Another element of instrumental technique is that of connecting the breath (air pressure) when closing / opening the reed with the tongue. The sound “accentuated” in this way (dotted note) must have a maximum tension, after whic h this te ns io n must be released (hence the swelling of the sound and the feeling of emphasis). This process is specific to the writing of the pompous, exuberant, “royal” movements in the ballets of the French Court, but also to the German, English or Italian works that approached this affective space (majesty, royalty).

5. Conclusions The general characteristics of the German Musical Baroque are robustness, dynamism and clarity, a compact and solid structure, precise articulation. These attributes are the result of a specific aesthetic that generates, in the artistic vision, models closer to the academic style, “rigid”, materialized by taking over and re-shaping the information, in new forms of presentation, characterized as absolutely spectacular. In the Baroque era music is seen as a rhetorical tool, a harmonious sound creation capable of determining certain emotions and feelings in the souls of the listeners. Italian composers produced this effect through melodic exuberance (the harmony and the orchestration being adjuvant elements, used at a "minimal" level of expression). The French chose the more subtle path of elegance and sound refinement (with implications also at the harmonic or orchestration level, not only at the melodic one). German musicians, more focused on the philosophical implications (thus more inclined to exploit the rhetoric), came to master the elements of both the Italian aesthetic language and the peculiarities of the French music, creating a specific style, eclectic and malleable, able to adapt and to integrate a multitude of colorful sounds and inspiration possibilities. The whole sound exposure o f the musical creations belonging to the German Baroque is crystallized, as a cultural-musical expression and artistic exuberance, in the form of the motto of the European Union, “United in diversity”1. The stylistic and conceptual unity

1 https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu / symbols / motto_en 194 Studies of German musicians is given by the diversity of assimilated styles, which have in common the rigorous treatment of themes, the academism of formal structures and the immense inspirational richness of the melody.

References Benade, A. (1994). Woodwinds: The Evolutionary Path Since 1700. The Galpin Society Journal, 47, Mar./1994. Harnoncourt, N. (1988). Baroque Music Today: Music as Speech. Ways to a New Understanding of Music, traducător: Mary O’Neill. Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. Heller, W. (2014). Music in the Baroque. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. Owens, S. & Reul, B. & Stockigt, J. et al (2011). „Das gantze Corpus derer misicirendern personen”. An Introduction to German Hofkapellen. Music at German Courts, 1715 – 1760, Changing Artistic Priorities. Suffolk: The Boydell Press. Stauffer, G.B. (2006). The World of Baroque Music New Perspectives. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Webography https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/symbols/motto_en https://www.baroquebassoon.org/basson-d-amour.htm www.musebaroque.fr

195 DOI: 10.2478/ajm-2021-0011

Artes. Journal of Musicology

Verdian lyric theatre. Hermeneutics of the performance and contemporary challenges

EDITH GEORGIANA ADETU, PhD Student “Transilvania” University Brașov ROMANIA ∗

Abstract: Engaging the viewer in a dialogue with the opera of Giuseppe Verdi is an approach that involves him spiritually, culturally, morally. You can enter this universe of opera music through several gates. The wide path of science will walk through the portal of stylistics, aesthetics, philosophy or art history. On another road comes the profane, motivated by the love for the beautiful. The opera Nabucco was the first step in the evolution of Italian lyrical theatre – from melodrama to realistic drama – characterised by the unity and strength of artistic conception, the energy and simplicity of musical language. Verdi’s dramatic sense and affinity for realism propelled him over time into the role of composer- playwright, his name being closely linked to titles such as: Ernani, Luisa Miller, Macbeth, Othello, Falstaff. However, we can note in recent decades the lack or low presence of important titles among Verdian operas in the repertoire of lyrical theatres. Can the contemporary public still receive this composer’s authentic message? Can current performers wear the clothes of truthful characters and meet the composer’s requirements for the vocal approach? The mission of hermeneutics – this interdisciplinary science – is to discover, as far as possible, the mechanisms of the interpretation of a social phenomenon (as the opera of Giuseppe Verdi has been repeatedly perceived), and its reminiscences in contemporary society.

Keywords: Verdi, hermeneutics, interpretation, performance.

1. Introduction Often, when we try to deal with the problem of the interpretation of music – including here the evolution of interpretation – we realise that a series of paradoxes appear, seemingly arising from the ineffable. When we discuss the style approached in interpretation, it is interesting to compare the version that is offered to us today in the performance hall or through the media, with versions of interpretations considered optimal in a not very distant artistic past. However, there is the risk of us following in this area of interpretation a continuous reference to an interpretive tradition, running the risk of falling into the trap of unwanted passéisme. Viewed from another point of view – the style in interpretation – it must be adapted to contemporary requirements, as long as there is no danger of altering the music, the artistic act and its authenticity.

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Verdian lyric theatre is a legacy of all-time lyrical art. Perpetuating such a performance, as complex as it is profound, is primarily about educating – both vocally and culturally – interpreters who can carry on this legacy. On the other hand, the perpetuation of an authentic performance is also about the degree of receptivity of the audience. We see that the contemporary public reacts to different stimuli compared to the audience of past decades. The trap of modern society tends to encompass the world of lyrical theatre as well, so that the essence of the operas (vocal peculiarities, quality of librettos, presentation of a certain era) is reflected in a superficial way, so much so that certain titles disappear from the posters of the performance institutions. Verdi is one of the eloquent examples of this phenomenon; most of his operas are not represented on stage. The titles of Verdian operas represented in lyrical theatres around the world are limited to an infinitesimal part of his work. We consider that these observations are closely related to the evolution of the interpretive artistic act in general, and offer a vision of the society in which art must evolve, or at least manife st itself authentically.

2. Hermeneutics: science and art of interpretation Hermeneutics, this practice of interpretation, appeared very early in the history of civilizations. The Antiquity’s great cultures generally had their share of the sacred literature that had to be interpreted within the clergy and royal houses. Thus, hermeneutics was practiced by ancient humans long before it represented a branch of philosophy, being considered a science in its own right. In late antiquity, Greeks, Jews and Christians read and interpreted their fundamental texts, many of which were represented by religious writings. According to historical evidence and testimonies, hermeneutic sciences developed in accordance with the evolution of society. “Plato approaches a hermeneutics of symbols, Aristotle leaves as a legacy a treatise of interpretation that deepens the understanding of holy books, and later, in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the patristic theology and the art of interpreting philological texts stand out as branches of hermeneutic sciences” (Coroiu, 2018, p. 34). The full development of hermeneutics as a methodology of interpretation happened several centuries later, during the Renaissance period. This development was triggered by the increased need for hermeneutic practice, which turned the once-pure operation into a self-aware procedure. This increased need for practice was catalysed by two prominent historical phenomena: Protestant reform and the Renaissance’s fascination with classical Greek and Roman texts. The Protestant Reform gave rise to a whole process of debate about the Christian’s relationship with the sacred scriptures. While the Catholic Church reaffirmed, during the Council of Trent, its ancient position of being ITS own authority, Protestants insisted on the principles of visibility –

197 Artes. Journal of Musicology the need for an understanding of the discernment of the interpreter and the self- sufficiency of the Sacred Scriptures. The Renaissance’s fascination with classical Greek and Roman texts, as the second catalyst, has already generated a whole arsenal of interpretive methodologies, collectively known as Ars Critica, useful in establishing the authenticity of the texts, as well as in reconstituting the most original and correct version of the text. Along with this purely humanistic concern, Renaissance jurists also struggled to specifically reinterpret Roman law (e.g. the Justinian Code). Therefore, the hermeneutic methodology of interpretation did not fully develop during the Renaissance, but proliferated in a collection of contradictory, incoherent and confusing systems. Set in a crucible of intense philosophical analysis and subsequent theorizing, Hermeneutics emerged as a stronger system, not only for religion and humanism, but also for the ever- growing social sciences. Carrying forward the Hermeneutics from the world of religious and humanistic textuality in the sphere of the action, behaviour and culture of the social sciences was facilitated by the extension of the meaning of textuality itself. What has been understood traditionally as something that only refers to things that are or can be written has been stretched to cover almost anything related to man and culture. Today, not only documents, literary texts and scriptures can be subjected to hermeneutic approach, but also symbols, rituals, cultural, artistic phenomena, etc. Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher (1768-1834), German Protestant theologian and philologist, was the one who initiated the focus of philosophy on the problems of interpretation and addressed the need for a systematic, unified method of Hermeneutics. He defines the Hermeneutics as: “the art of understanding correctly the discourse of another person” (Schleiermacher, 1998, p. 20).

2.1. Hermeneutics of opera performance In the modern era, philosophers such as Schleiermacher, Dilthey, Heidegger, Gadamer, Habermas, are recognised for their contributions to the development of hermeneutic sciences. In 2015, the famous Romanian opera singer, Ion Piso, published the book Crisis of Opera? A Study of Musical Hermeneutics, making a special invitation to both listeners and opera singers, to better understand the opera performance and its role in contemporary society. Hermeneutics and music – two horizons of human spirituality, so comprehensive, with thrilling depths and heights. These horizons, side by side, are the subject of relentless discussions. In essence, the hermeneutic approach contributes to the understanding of this social phenomenon materialised in the form of opera performance. The contemporary man of art (the performer, the creator) is confronted today with questions concerning the ontological foundations of the human condition. What are the individual’s current relationships with society? What is 198 Studies the status of contemporary lyrical theatre and what is the public’s approach to the traditions of the genre? What new configurations and consequences will the momentum and expansion of contemporary knowledge have? What are the social consequences of the explosion of science and technology in recent decades? The wording of these questions is random, and yet it is entirely aimed at the destiny of the opera performance, subject to the changes imposed by modernity. However, to me is seems important that today, as a lyric artist, musician, conductor, etc., you cannot escape giving, or at least suggesting answers, to decide attitudes in the face of these questions. The turmoil of history marks great social and political earthquakes throughout the 20th century (a good part of the world’s population has gone through two great world conflagrations, and has known the struggle for humanism and humanity). In these circumstances, people of art and culture are forced to give more and more space to political thought, with art, music and beauty largely losing their meaning. The 21st century brings with it new paradigms, new human pursuits in the social-historical field, in which art can provide an answer, a suggestion, an attitude – with its specific means – to human problems. So that “cultural acquisitions of previous eras produce mutations in reception.” (Gaspar, 2000, p. 96) Referring strictly to the status of the lyrical theatre, i.e. the Verdian lyrical theatre, this represents a happy case, frequently appearing in the seasons of the institutions of profile. The issues of Verdi’s opera and the need to use hermeneutic approach is closely related to the understanding of human spirituality described in his opera. Specifically, we refer to the interpretation of Verdian opera – both from the perspective of the performer and from the perspective of the audience – which cannot be foreign to the above mentioned horizon. Carmen Cozma describes this approach to hermeneutic phenomenology, with great spirit: “We are interested, as a priority, in phenomenology as a method of the ʻeidetic description’ of art, here: of music, of the release of a certain essence, of a self from the art experience in the plurality of relations with musical opera, activated at the level of the subject- receiver / auditor / listener; respectively, the perceptive subject of sound- artistic creation; the one who, following direct contact with a (musical) ʻtext’, is discovered as 'another' than the one before such an experience.” (Cozma, 2013, p. 46)

3. Giuseppe Verdi’s opera and the social attribute Researching the long career of the great Italian composer, who debuts with the opera Oberto – 1839 and ends with the opera Falstaff – 1893, we can consider that it is divided into three stages of creation: Oberto (1839) – Battle of Legnano (1849), the stage at which the political-revolutionary influences take precedence; Luisa Miller (1849) – The Force of Destiny (1862), during

199 Artes. Journal of Musicology which Verdi consolidated a compositional style influenced by the literature of the time (V. Hugo, Al. Dumas); Macbeth (1865) – Falstaff (1893), perhaps the most complex period of creation, in which he completes his calling as a playwright – it is also the transition period to realistic musical drama. As for the social attribute of Verdian opera, we will consider the first stage of creation, which reflects Giuseppe Verdi’s social impact. Musicologist Alice Mavrodin supports these ideas by saying: “Verdi had an exceptional ability to integrate psychologically into the spirit of the era, to spontaneously assimilate those invisible currents that feed the spiritual life of a great community and which, for him, turn into creative impulse. However, at the time, the mentioned currents were of patriotic-heroic hue, by no means humorous-burlesque” (Mavrodin, 1970, 35). Thus, the operas that reflect the spirit of the era are in particular: Nabucco: La Scala, Milan – 9 March 1842; Lombards in the first Crusade: La Scala, Milan – 11 February 1843; Ernani (after Hugo): La Fenice, Venice – 9 March 1844; The Two Foscari (after Byron): Argentina, Rome – November 3, 1844; Joan of Arc (after Schiller): La Scala, Milan – 15 February 1845; Alzira: San Carlo, Naples – 12 August 1845; Attila: La Fenice, Venice – 17 March 1846; Macbeth (after Shakespeare): La Pergola, Florence – 14 March 1847; Thieves (after Schiller): Royal Theatre, London – 22 July 1847; Jerusalem (an adaptation of the Lombards): Grand Opera, Paris – 26 November 1847; Corsair (after Byron): Triest – 25 October 1848; Battle of Legnano: Argentina, Rome – 27 January 1849. In the context of the above, Alice Mavrodin recounts: “as for these musically reflected characteristics, they could be defined in two words: simplicity and dynamism. (...) the simplicity to which we refer lies in the plane of affective feelings, which the music suggests, a layout dominant by some fundamental attitudes: energetic affirmation of personality (often in protest form), its opposite, i.e. imploration or fear, seldom dreaming and that’s about it. And the atmosphere is bright-exuberant at times, other times it is sombre and violent, sometimes even mysterious and, here and there, lyrical” (Mavrodin, 1970, 41). This is how we could describe the operas by which Giuseppe Verdi stands out in the first period of creation: a personal music, alive, acclaimed by a society on the decline.

3.1. Verdian lyric theatre and the vocation of actuality What is in Verdi’s theatre, that something that attracts audiences? An eloquent answer would include the following statements: Verdi’s passionate music striving more often to stir and excite the audience, to arouse real feelings, compared to Rossini, Bellini or Donizetti, who almost always strive to delight it. Verdi’s ability to attract audiences to participate emotionally in the drama on stage has been amplified during his creation, vesting the characters of his operas with human traits, truthful, so that the audience empathizes with the

200 Studies protagonists, be they good or bad. Think, for example, about how Verdi makes this transition, from Nabucco to Macbeth, at the end of Rigoletto where he manages to move the audience to empathize with a character whose morality is in question. We reinforce the above with the following statements: “In the way of his searches for customization, gradual distancing in relation to his predecessors, the composer grants two main dimensions to the development of musical dramaturgy: on the one hand, the activation, sometimes picturesque, other times declamatory, of choral ensembles, which, it is understood, justifies the adaptation of the subject to Verdian time; on the other hand, the continuation of the characterological definitions of the characters” (Constantinescu, 2009, p. 24). Finally, and perhaps most appealing to the public, is his gift for song. The Verdian melody creates extraordinary states. Even in places where the text has become stingy and no longer reveals meaning, the song alone can do it. Thus, when the Count of the Troubadour sings about his love for Leonora, even those who cannot understand the words understand the emotion. In addition, the song creates a communion between the stage and the audience, merging a thousand individuals into a single receptive unit. And few are those – if any – who could compete with Verdi’s ease of summarizing a dramatic situation with a short, penetrating melodic phrase, such as the cry of Aida, Numi, pietà or the cry of Desdemona, Salce, Salce. The words of Ion Piso are relevant, referring to the effectiveness of the dramatic accent: “Thanks to this great Verdian innovation, the interpretation will be felt with a great intensity of musical participation, with all its valences, without stifling the typical Italian melodism” (Piso, 2015, p. 17). However, we note in recent decades the representation of the same opera titles in the Verdian repertoire, both in Romania and in the major European opera theatres. One of the great contemporary challenges for the future of Verdian opera consists in the theatres’ gradual surrender of the operas considered as more dramatic in terms of their meaning. And yet, we cannot help but wonder: under these conditions, will Verdi still be able to dominate the operatic repertoire as it does today? The actuality of his opera is a certainty at present, but its future depends on a cumulation of factors: the right performers, the direction to support the ethos of the operas, the musical direction and last but not least, an audience ready to receive Verdi’s music, in its authenticity.

3.2. Stylistic elements in the opera of Giuseppe Verdi In connection with the Verdian compositional style found in opera music, many descriptions can be launched, but its most important characteristics are the melodic component – which metamorphoses at each stage of creation – and the vocality component, through which Verdi performs stylistic syntheses. We find these summaries especially in the writing of the cabalettas, which, starting

201 Artes. Journal of Musicology with the Nabucco opera, open an evolutionary path in terms of the structure of the vocal discourse. We also note new technical and interpretive requirements in the approach of soloist scores, which require the development of a solid singing technique. Valentina Sandu-Dediu offers some coordinates of style determination, eloquent in the context of this research: “The pragmatic side of thinking about style takes into account the expectations of the audience or the types of ʻpatronage’ that subsidize the composition […], visible in preference for certain genres or in stylistic conditioning of a certain ethos” (Sandu-Dediu, 2013, p. 40). These statements describe the compositional mentality and Verdian style of the creative period 1839-1849, a period dominated by patriotic momentum (reflected in Nabucco and Lombards). Thus, the auditor’s expectations of the abovementioned nationalist discourse and ethos are aggregated in the first Verdian operas. Regarding the cabaletta and the stylistic meanings of this period, we can observe a subtle detachment from the old principles of the Italian melodrama of the early 19th century, leaving to appear a descriptive character from it, thus reinforcing new vocal and character typologies (Abigaile, Zaccaria, Nabucco – Nabucco). Starting with the second half of the 19th century we can notice a new stylistic direction (Stiffelio, Rigoletto, Troubadour, Traviata), in which we notice the detail of some stylistic parameters – the melody and rhythm – enriching in particular the vocal discourse. Valetina Sandu-Dediu presents an interesting perspective of style as a phenomenon, having the following stylistic parameters: “Style and melody: the ethos of themes generates a piece, the melody is guided by form, supported by harmony, articulated by writing and rhythm. Melodic styles may be regular or irregular, flowing or spasmodic, expositional or developing, conjunct or disjunct, vocal or instrumental, structural or ornamental. […] All these aspects of musical language come together to clarify the expressive purposes of the composer” (Sandu-Dediu, 2013, p. 31). Regarding the ethos of Verdian opera, we consider it widely represented through the music-dramaturgy relationship. Regarding the evolution of vocality in Verdian drama, the words of the conductor Cristian Sandu are relevant: “From the perspective of vocality, the extreme and, on the contrary, hidden and original areas of the voice are intensely explored in timbre and dynamics, which can capture the finest psychological nuances (in Macbeth and Othello), Verdi giving up the rhythmic-melodic patterns of his predecessors (which is visible especially in cadences). Consequently, the voice receives a quasi-orchestral resonance, while the orchestra will acquire the suppleness, richness and interiority of the singing. A language that tends to form in direct correspondence with the intimate needs of the character of the drama, a language not only different from that of the melodrama but sometimes quite the opposite of it” (Sandu, 2018, p. 12).

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3.3. Verdian Lyric Theatre: Stylistic Coordinates in the Vocal Approach The approach of the Verdian repertoire is closely related to the acquisition of technical skills, traditional to the Italian school of singing. At the beginning of the 19th century, new vocal typologies emerged: the dramatic soprano of agility (or the dramatic coloratura soprano), the dramatic mezzosoprano of agility and the dramatic baritone. The vocal typology of the dramatic coloratura soprano begins to assert itself in the repertoire of Bellini (Puritans, Norma, The Pirate) and Donizetti (Maria Stuarda, Maria di Rohan, Gemma di Vergy), of the dramatic mezzo-soprano in the repertoire of Rossini (Semiramide) and Donizetti (The Favourite). In contrast, the dramatic baritone becomes a constant presence among the roles of the three composers. In this context, the term dramatic does not refer to the actual action of the opera, but to the type of writing attributed to the voices (the extent of the vocal ambitus, large interval leaps, dynamic contrasts in the acute register of the voice, sustained legato). A teacher in the art of singing, Ana Rusu states the following: “The tradition of the Italian school was linked to finesse and elasticity in singing and in no way to strength or tension, and the aesthetic effect of acute sounds was precisely in the sense by tension. Thus, the high tones were perfectly framed in the melodic line by the performers, without emphasising them from the other sounds” (Rusu, 2006, p. 48). Returning to the aforementioned vocal typologies, they will be fully affirmed in the creation of Giuseppe Verdi, who starting with the opera Nabucco will make a transition between the traditional Bel canto style to a more dramatic style, which can be recognised as dramatic Bel canto. One of the great conquests of this style was the development of the cabaletta, managing to turn it into a spectacular moment of vocal virtuosity. We also recall the importance given to the spoken voice in the Italian school of singing, the dictum it is sung as spoken being maintained. A former doctor at the Metropolitan Opera and a renowned phoniatrician in New York in the first half of the 20th century, Pasqual Mario Marafioti states in connection with the vocal emission specific to the Italian repertoire: “The two forms of voice, speech and singing, being the same physical element, are so connected that the neglect of one means the abolition of the production and beauty of the other” (Marafioti, 1958, p. 165). In choosing and strengthening the repertoire a very large influence is exercised by native data. Of course, they need to be accompanied by a rigorous technical training, whereby the interpreter can increase his/her repertoire range along with physiological and psychological maturing. I wanted to talk about this native data because it is an essential condition in addressing the Verdian repertoire. The most important native data of the Verdian vocality particularity are: timbre and volume. Most Verdian roles require dark voices in timbrality, but possessing ample volume and ambitus. Thus, we can also speak of a personal style of interpretation, by which the leading performers have remained

203 Artes. Journal of Musicology in the history of opera music (Caruso, Corelli, Nilsson, Callas, Tebaldi, Price – considered Verdian performers). Another component of personal vocal style in the context of Verdi’s opera is the training of mind and memory. The dramaturgical contexts of the operas are complex and in order to be able to faithfully play the musical score the performer must become a true character. On the other hand, the dimensions of the roles are extensive, requiring a rigorous training of memory as well as physical support. In summarizing the above, we can say that a good performer of Verdi’s music will be distinguished by: the correct playing of the dramatic message, based on a good performance of vocal virtuosity. Salvatore Fucito, Caruso’s pianist and vocal coach, says: “To be considered an artist, the singer must acquire the style of the composer he performs so as to reproduce the particular character of the work he is performing. His singing must be true to his spirit, but his spirit must reflect the feelings of the composer and the work” (Fucito & Barnet, 1922, p. 209). In light of all the above, we consider that the Verdian lyrical theatre is a real school of singing, its perpetuation being a necessity. However, we are currently witnessing a crisis of voices that are tailored for the Verdian repertoire – another aspect of the contemporary challenges on which we stand through this research. An interesting and objective point of view is offered by Mihaela-Silvia Rosca, in the article Theses and antithesis in contemporary opera theatre: “The bicentennial celebrations of Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner have brought back several questions to the public space, but one of them, an important one, regarding the ability of the operatic world to find appropriate interpreters for its own works, seems to have remained fundamentally unresolved. Specifically, I am referring to the perception that there is a crisis of those types of voices that formed at the time when the two composers were at the height of their creation and who continued to dominate the lyrical scene long after their death: sopranos and spinto tenors, dramatic sopranos and mezzo-sopranos, Verdian baritones, Heldentenors, bass-baritones and Wagnerian basses” (Rosca, 2016, p. 324). On the question “can hermeneutics intervene in the choice of opera interpreters suitable for the Verdian repertoire?” an affirmative answer hovers, followed by the explanation: once the specific requirements are understood, rendered concretely through the score, the choice of interpreters is an easy step. The big problem for the interpreters of such a repertoire is that of vocal technique, which involves the exclusive study of roles of endurance and virtuosity. However, the results of such a study are obtained over a long time – different from one voice to another.

4. The Audience: the fundamental dimension of lyrical theatre Participation is the product of a state of congeniality, of affective concordance between the audience and the performance. Participation

204 Studies represents more deeply and completely the idea of receiving the union between the public and the scenic image, because it suggests more prominently the relationship of communion, including value appreciation. In other words: “the opinion of the music lovers is not at all negligible, because since its inception the opera performance was intended for the public, the public being the rightful beneficiary of the act of creation” (Rosca, 2016, p. 323). The notion of participation encloses in itself the entire history of the art of the performance. It expresses in a synthetic manner the permanence of the coexistence between lyrical theatre and the public. “For these sensitive forms and tones appear not only in art for themselves and for the sake of their immediate appearance, but for the purpose of offering, in this appearance of them, satisfaction to superior spiritual interests, for they have the power to awaken – from the depths of consciousness – an agreement and an echo in our spirit. In this way, the sensitive is spiritualised in art, because in it the spiritual appears as sensitised.” (Hegel, 1966, p. 45) The audience represents a form of manifestation in the field of art, especially with regard to lyrical theatre, this syncretic existence. It is the life of the opera, the succession of mutual influences depending on this life. As for Verdian lyrical theatre, all of Verdi’s operas are about people – without deriving the world through myth, in a surreal way, each opera is anchored in a human experience. With greater or lesser success, Verdi portrays his peers, and for such stories, human stories, there will always be an audience. After all, the quality of the artistic act and at the same time the shaping of an audience able to recognise and appreciate that quality objectively takes precedence. The contribution of hermeneutics in this context concerns “the importance of phenomenological suffrage in the effort to find out the essence/eidos, the invariable structure of life, in relation to artistic creation; in this case: artistic-musical creation” (Cozma, 2013, p. 47).

5. Conclusions This study represents a brief analysis of the usefulness of hermeneutics as a way of deepening Giuseppe Verdi’s creation, emphasising the complexity of the mechanism of reception of Verdian lyrical theatre. In the act of artistic, musical communication, there is a transmission of information of certain specificity, from the creator to the public, information contained in the codified message of the opera. In this relationship, the audience is subject to a multiple conditioning, namely: value – provided by the qualitative level of the work of art, social – involving the formative and psychological means – in which the whole cognitive, affective system of the personality of the receiver is engaged. The hermeneutic approach is joined by the other disciplines that facilitate a good understanding of Verdi’s opera (stylistics, aesthetics, music history, the study of vocal technique, etc.), in order to achieve a genuine artistic act and at the same time to receive such an act.

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References Constantinescu, G. (2009). Giuseppe Verdi. București: Editura Didactică și Pedagogică. Coroiu, P.M. (2018). Semantică și hermeneutică muzicală: curs [Semantics and musical hermeneutics: Course]. Craiova: Editura Universitaria. Cozma, C. (2013). Repere într-o hermeneutică a muzicii [Highlights in a Hermeneutics of Music]. Artă și Educație Artistică [Art and Artistic Education], 21, 45-51. Bălți: Biblioteca Ştiinţifică a Universităţii de Stat „Alecu Russo”. Fucito, S. & Barnet, B. (1922). Caruso and the art of singing. New York: Frederik A. Stokes Company. Gaspar, V. (2000). Repere spațiale și semantice în receptarea muzicală [Space and semantic landmarks in musical reception]. București: Editura Muzicală. Hegel, F. (1966). Prelegeri de estetică [Aesthetic Lectures], I (Translation by D.D. Rosca). București: Editura Academiei R.S.R. Marafioti, M. (1958). Caruso’s Method of Voice Production – The Scientific Culture of Voice. Austin, Texas: D. Appleton and Company. Mavrodin, A. (1970). Verdi. București: Editura Muzicală a Uniunii Compozitorilor. Piso, I. (2015). Criza operei? Studiu de hermeneutică muzicală [The opera crisis? Study of musical hermeneutics]. București: Editura Eikon. Rosca M.S. (2017). Teze și antiteze în teatrul de operă contemporan [Theses and antithesis in contemporary opera theatre]. Qvastiones Romanicae, VI/1, 323-328. Retrieved from: https://ciccre.uvt.ro/ro/qvaestiones-romanicae/articole/teze-antiteze- teatrul-opera-contemporan Rusu, A. (2006). Tehnica și virtuozitatea solistică – condiții necesare interpretării vocale [The technique and virtuosity of the soloist – conditions necessary for vocal interpretation]. Cluj-Napoca: Editura MediaMusica. Sandu, C. (2018). Stilemele verismului în evoluția operei moderne [The stiles of verism in the evolution of modern opera]. Cluj-Napoca: Editura MediaMusica. Sandu-Dediu, V. (2013). Alegeri, atitudini, afecte [Choices, attitudes, affections]. București: Editura Didactică și Pedagogică. Schleiermacher, F. (1998). Hermeneutics and criticism and other writings (Translated and edited by Andrew Bowie). United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.

206 DOI: 10.2478/ajm-2021-0012 Studies

A Subjective Approach of the Performance of Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 16

CRISTINA RĂDUCANU, Lecturer, PhD “George Enescu” National University of Arts Iași ROMANIA ∗

Abstract: Starting from a stylistic analysis based on musical language elements, this study offers a personal standpoint with respect to the interpretation and performance of Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, op. 16. The author accounts for all the technical and interpretive observations starting from a structural analysis of the opus. The reflections on various melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, dynamic or agogic characteristics come to reinforce the rationale for the subjective choices of how to perform this piece. The article is not by far an exhaustive study on the topic; it merely offers a personal viewpoint and understanding of this Concerto based on several musical excerpts that have been deemed particularly relevant by the author, who is a pianist as well as a piano teacher. Given that the literature on the stylistic and performative analysis of major piano repertoire is sadly scarce, the author wishes to provide pianists and researchers alike with a paper that may serve them in their artistic or academic enquiries. As this Concerto is very well-known and enthusiastically approached by most pianists due to its beautiful, impressive themes and brilliant virtuosic passages, the author has considered it opportune to present her own point of view as a performing pianist for other pianists who may be strictly interested in various versions to resolve technical-performative issues or, perhaps, who may wish to merely contemplate this opus from a different angle.

Keywords: Grieg, Concerto, piano performance, technique, interpretive, movement.

1. Introduction Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor is one of the best-known Romantic works of its kind. This is mainly due to its particularly Norwegian melos and the brilliant piano writing characteristic of the fast passages. Grieg is a master of the miniature and his compositional skills excel in shorter works, such as vocal and instrumental miniatures. Nevertheless, his Piano Concerto op. 16 is, and will probably forever be, one of the best-liked and most often performed piano pieces of the genre. “The concerto had been premiered in Copenhagen (1869) by Norwegian pianist Edmund Neupert; performances in Leipzig (1872), Brussels (1874), London (1874), and New York (1874) soon followed.” (Kijas, 2013, p. 42)

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Its New York performance is followed by a review in one of the journals of the time: “The Grieg concerto is quite new and seems to be full of beautiful and original ideas. It is long indeed since anything so fresh and charming in the way of pianoforte composition has been presented here.” (Kijas, 2013, p. 42) The Concerto contains all the elements specific to Grieg’s piano writing: the lyrical character, the folkloric nature of certain themes, the rhythm pertaining to Norwegian dances and songs, the tonal harmony specific to Romanticism as well as the modal harmony borrowed from musical folklore, all brought together by a particular musical writing with original elements that altogether render a unique, unmistakable style. Even though Grieg’s works contain folkloric quotations, the composer writes mostly in the style of traditional music. Pablo Casals said that “Grieg’s music is not only rooted in Norwegian folklore, but it expresses the soul, the tradition and the specificity of an entire nation.” (Corredor, 1964, p. 149) The melodic expression exhibiting a traditional Norwegian character is a typical feature of Grieg’s piano pieces. His melodies are simple yet well- defined. The composer makes frequent use of tonal or modal pentatonic structures, while his themes are particularly expressive and easy to remember. “His power of portraying a scene or a mood, a landscape or a state of mind, and of surrounding a simple musical statement with an aura of enchantment are exemplified again and again in his works.” (Dale, 1943, p. 195) Among the features of his writing, we note the descending thirds, the transition from major to minor tonalities and vice-versa, the ample use of ornamentation (for instance, double appoggiaturas), the repetition of short yet expressive motifs in ascending or descending sequences at third intervals, the use of augmented fourths. As concerns rhythm, the composer draws yet again on traditional Norwegian music, resorting not only to songs but also to dances. His works frequently display various rhythmic features pertaining to traditional dances such as the Springar, the Halling or the Gangar. “The rhythm of traditional Norwegian dances exhibits structural characteristics entirely specific to choreographic genres: strange accents; the moving of these accents within the rhythmic pattern, which gives the pattern a whimsical character; lively dynamic contrasts along the entire dance; various combinations between the rhythm of the melody and the dance steps which are typical of Norwegian choreography, all together producing an interesting, vivacious rhythm.” (Dolinescu, 1964, p. 139) In his works, the composer makes use of the tonal harmony, specific to Romanticism, as well as the modal, typical of traditional songs. The originality of his harmonic style, however, resides in the way he positions himself with respect to the harmonic peculiarities of the traditional song.

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“His delving into the world of the traditional song reveals new facets of the modal world, the tone and the particular expression given by the non- traditional successions (strings of parallel fifths used in the accompaniment, figurative resolutions of the leading-note, successive sevenths and ninths deduced from the modal or pentatonic structure, the use of chromaticism as a colourful element and not as a means to change the tonal centre), creating an individ ua l, unique and original language.” (Iliuţ, 1996, p. 387) The composer employs a very wide dynamic range, from subtle whispers to rich sonorities. He relies on the consistent use of both the damper pedal, which supports bravuras on the entire keyboard, and the soft pedal as a means to colourfully refine a more discreet sound. Grieg’s piano works are strewn with unique ornamentation. Filigree passages and musical embroideries give his music a particular character which sets him aside in the context of European Romanticism. His use of forms does not go beyond the traditional, as the composer is not an innovator in this respect. However, as the Romantic nature and the Norwegian ethos fuse in pre-existing forms, the effect of his compositions is all the newer and more origina l.

2. From structure to interpretation to performance Conceived in the sonata form, the firs t move me nt of the Concerto lacks a separate exposition by the orchestra, to the difference of other concertos composed by the Viennese classics. Following a single measure performed by the timpani in a stormy crescendo, the piano opens in a spectacular manner, playing an introductive section of five bars in chords, octaves and arpeggios. This is a rather difficult passage with respect to both technical and expressive aspects; the pianist must be prepared physically as well as emotionally in order to be able to perform such a great virtuosic passage immediately after coming on stage, which makes the Concerto all the more difficult. A good pianist will surely capture the audience from the start with this emblematic opening.

Fig. 1 E. Grieg , Piano Concerto in A minor, 1st mvt, mm. 1-6

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The first theme is introduced by the clarinet. Then the piano brings up the main thematic group which consists in the two contrasting thematic elements: the rhythmic and the melodic-expressive. The former opens in A minor and is reprised in C major; it has a chord structure, a punctuated rhythm with accents on the weak beats.

Fig. 2 E. Grieg , Piano Concerto in A minor, 1st mvt, mm. 18-22

In order to be able to render accurately the lively character required by the composer’s chosen writing technique, the pianist must observe faithfully the key attack indicated in the score; it is therefore essential to distinguish between staccato, tenuto and the final portamento by using an appropriate touch. The pianist’s focus should be on rendering the dynamics as colourfully as possible. I believe the first and second measures of the first thematic exposition (A minor) should be differentiated from one another based on the echo principle (mp – p). Moreover, the same criterion should apply to the reprise in the relative major, this time beginning in stronger dynamics (mf) so as to highlight the importance of reiterating the musical idea. The latter thematic element (E major) is characterised by a melodic structure containing ascending augmented fourths. Since the intervals provide this theme with a Norwegian air, it is necessary that they be emphasized by an expressive tension. The technical difficulty lies in bringing out the main melodic line from the arpeggiated accompaniment in quintoles and sextolets divided between both hands. Thus, the right hand must tackle two sonorous layers that ought to be clearly differentiated one from the other from a dynamic point of view. The highlight of the main melodic line can be acquired by letting the weight of the arm on the fingers 3, 4 and 5, while the accompaniment is played in softer dynamics, the fingers barely touching the keys.

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Fig. 3 E. Grieg, Piano Concerto in A minor, 1st mvt, mm. 23-27

The section animato e molto leggiero represents the bridge to the second theme. Here, the melody is played by the right hand in the upper register, in a playful, dance-like manner. The left-hand accompaniment in quavers accentuates this impression due to the accents on the weak beats (2 and 4). The appoggiaturas and punctuated rhythm of upper register make this section more colourful. From a technical point of view, the focus should be on playing the double notes clearly and simultaneously and highlighting the upper melodic line by creating two distinct sound planes.

Fig. 4 E. Grieg , Piano Concerto in A minor, 1st mvt, mm. 31-32

This fragment suggests the Norwegian dance called the Halling, which is characterized by a binary rhythm and a lively nature. “It is enchanting due to the freshness of the intonations and the rhythmic ingenuity. Its highly expressive features consist of: strong dynamic contrasts which create an increasingly whimsical rhythmic pattern resulting from inserting several calm steps in the middle of the fiery dance; strange accents which are moved within the rhythm; interpolated simple triple time and compound duple time (3/8 and 6/8, respectively). All these reveal the artistry of the dance and express a wide array of emotions, of good mood with frequent humorous manifestations, of sheer vivacity expressed by a rhythm with dynamic degrees matching musicality.” (Dolinescu, 1964, pp. 139-140) The character of this Norwegian dance can be rendered, in the first place, by selecting the appropriate tempo. It is also recommended that the brilliant technique in a fast tempo be corroborated by the observance of the accents as directed in the score. Similar accents on weak beats are found in bars 43-47, on the 4th beat.

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The second theme is firstly played in C major by the cello, the direction being piu lento. Four measures later, it is taken up by the piano, in the same tonality but with several additional ornamental additions. The sinuous melody in the right hand exudes tranquility and revery. The legato can be performed by maintaining a supple wrist and attacking the keys at keyboard level without articulation. The structure of the musical phrase in the form of question and answer gives the pianist the opportunity to create very rich and impressive images by using extremely contrasting dynamics. The polyrhythm created by the two sound planes (melody and accompaniment) amplifies the feeling of peacefulness and the lyrical character of the theme, rendering it more profound and expressive.

Fig. 5 E. Grieg , Piano Concerto in A minor, 1st mvt, mm. 49-58

This splendid theme is an excellent proof of Grieg’s melodic talent due to its beauty and sublimeness. The warm sound of the descant, the vertical structure of the polyrhythm taking into account the relationship between the two sonorous planes, and the tranquillity that must be given to the musical discourse – these are issues that a good pianist will have to identify and tackle minutely. The transition towards the development is achieved by extending the secondary theme with a passage in chords and octaves that acquires great expressiveness by emphasizing the chordal extremes (the bass and the soprano). It generates an accumulating tension due to a constant amplification from a dynamic (crescendo molto) as well as an agogic point of view (piu vivo, stretto). The pianist should commit affectively to this passage which is impressive with respect to the multitude of conveyed emotions culminating with a chord in sff. The development opens in C major with the rhythmic motif in the introduction performed by the orchestra in ff and is reprised later in D minor.

212 Studies

The tempo instruction is animato, followed by a contrasting section in tranquillo, initially in E minor (minor dominant). The orchestra plays the first idea of the main theme (the flute) in E minor and then in F minor. The piano plays a secondary role, performing an arpeggiated passage in sextolets and septolets. The semiquavers should be played in p, dolce, as equally as possible, highlighting the notes on beats 1 and 3 which make up a gradual, step-by-step descent that coincides with the one played by the orchestra. The section tranquillo culminates with a virtuosic bravura written in demisemiquavers and taking up the entire keyboard, with the composer’s directions being brilliante and fff. Therefore, it is recommended that this passage be played with both hands, alternatively, to ensure an easier and, at the same time, more brilliant performance. In this instance, the pianist should follow the homogeneity of the musical discourse by transitioning fluently from one hand to the other. The bravura is followed by an adaptation of the musical material from the second idea of the main thematic group in A major and B major. This passage is like a play upon echoes, Grieg’s dynamic indications being f and p (tre corde and una corda). Then the tension amplifies, the dynamics become stronger and stronger, the tempo is rapidly increasing (stretto), leading to the climax of the development in bars 110113. A few bars before, in 108, the indication is fff, but I believe it is preferable to begin in softer dynamics in order to be able to amplify it up to the climax, thus ensuring a more spectacular overall effect. In the same bar, 108, the F note on beats 1 and 3 as well as the last two notes of the measure (F and E) should be emphasized. The latter two should be played separately, not all together as a passage.

Fig. 6 E. Grieg , Piano Concerto in A minor, 1st mvt, mm. 108-116

Starting with bar 110, the piano performs in fff a rhythmic adaptation in octaves, in E minor, of the motif in the introduction, first in triolets and then in semiquavers. Towards the end of the development, the atmosphere becomes

213 Artes. Journal of Musicology more peaceful, with the brass (horn and trombone) playing the rhythmic motif of the first theme in a continuous diminuendo. The octaves should be played less technically and more expressively, yet without taking too much agogic liberty. In bar 112, keeping the rubato for the octaves in semiquavers seems the correct choice, given the composer’s indication to highlight the first semiquaver of each beat. Thus, the performance achieves great effect. The reprise opens with the piano playing the main thematic group. The composer forgoes the introduction of the solo instrument in the exposition, as well as the theme played initially by the orchestra. It is quite interesting to note that Grieg suggests p instead of mp for the debut of the first theme. That is why the reprise should not be viewed as an emphasis on that musical idea, but rather as a reminiscence. The aspects that differ from the exposition are mainly at the level of harmony and orchestration. For example, in the main thematic group, the second theme is not reprised by the piano in octaves with orchestral accompaniment, but it is played by the orchestra only. In the reprise, the secondary theme appears in the tonality of its parallel key, A major. The composer goes from major to minor and vice-versa with great ease, a characteristic feature of his writing which frequently occurs in the Concerto. The cadence opens with an arpeggio on the subdominant chord (D minor) with F (the third) in the bass, a chord which is picked up by the piano from the end of the reprise. After the first fragment in adagio comes a section in presto, and the last three sequences before going back to the initial tempo should be performed increasingly slowly. The first is indicated as meno presto, the second – più moderato, and the third – andante, ending with the very slow lento, the composer even adding molto ritenuto under the last few notes. We shouldn’t overlook the half rest before the in tempo section, whose role is to enhance the tension created anyway by the diminished tempo.

Fig. 7 E. Grieg, Piano Concerto in A minor, 1st mvt, mm. 176

214 Studies

Starting from bar 177 (in tempo), the pianist should focus on highlighting the melody at the right hand. This melody is a variation of the first musical idea in the main thematic group, this time written in octaves. The inner trill voice can hinder the performance, that is why the pianist needs to practise it to perfection in order to be able to play it easily in piano without going over the melodic line of the descant. The passage is all the more difficult as the composer envisages a melodic line legato sempre, which means that the octaves have to be maintained on the keyboard until the last moment, while the fingers 2 and 3 play the trill of the inner voice. A study option for this passage may be to practice separately the two melodic lines: the octave writing as a main melodic line and the figurative accompaniment in demisemiquavers. The pedal use suggested by the composer makes this fragment quite unique. The indication to maintain the damper pedal during each measure while the left hand plays an arpeggiated passage and the right hand a melodic line containing transition notes creates the impression of an apparent dissonance.

Fig. 8 E. Grieg , Piano Concerto in A minor, 1st mvt, mm. 177

The cadence is very energetic and enthusiastic, and it offers the pianist the opportunity to demonstrate their technical as well as expressive skills. The coda is brief, and begins with the orchestra playing the second musical idea in the main thematic group. It ends with a rhythmically heterogeneous adaptation of the theme in the introduction, played in crescendo by the piano. Thus, we can see the composer’s wish to conclude the first movement of the Concerto in a circular motion, returning to the initial motif. The reiteration of those introductory chords is meant to bring back, by means of dynamics, balance and vivacity, a concert-like grandeur and brilliance, achieving formal unity of the first movement. The Concerto’s second movement is written in simple ternary form ABA and is exquisitely beautiful. The melody flows in waves that dissipate, succeed or run parallel to one another. The first section (A) is performed exclusively by the orchestra, taking an atypical tonal path: D-flat major / E-flat minor. The composer’s use of chordal

215 Artes. Journal of Musicology writing draws the melodic idea closer to a chorale. The descant line unfolds on arpeggios and smaller intervals, and the ensuing mood is calm, pensive.

Fig. 9 E. Grieg , Piano Concerto in A minor, 2nd mvt, mm. 1-7

In the middle part (B), the piano takes up the main role as the orchestra becomes the accompanist. The filigree melody with translucent sounds seems to draw from the second theme of the Concerto’s first movement. The overall impression is that of a nocturne, the melodic line being particularly elevated and tranquil. The pianist requires great inner peace in order to be able to perform this part.

Fig. 10 E. Grieg , Piano Concerto in A minor, 2nd mvt, mm. 21-33

The melancholy and meditative melody should not be hindered by the ornamentation suggestive of the ethos of the Norwegian fjords. Thus, the pianist should focus less on virtuosity and more on highlighting fluently the balance and musicality of this wonderful theme. Brief dramatic moments alternate here with the pervasive lyricism of the fragment.

216 Studies

The initial theme occurs again at the end in a different instance: this time, the piano plays the main role and the orchestra supports it. Written in chords marked ff, the theme acquires eventually a completely new character, becoming grand and impressive, and exhibiting dramatic overtones. Between the bars 64-73 there lies a truly beautiful passage which is constructed like a dialogue between the cello and the piano. The chords on the piano should convey warmth and lyricism, starting from a piano dolce and reaching ff by an increasing dramatic tension.

Fig. 11 E. Grieg , Piano Concerto in A minor, 2nd mvt, mm. 62-67

In the measures 75 and 76, the sixths at both hands should be highlighted individually, as the composer indicates that each must be emphasized and played tenuto. The last six measures represent the conclusion of the second movement. In the bars 79 and 80, the two planes of the musical discourse follow a chromatic path in opposite directions, creating a duet that should be highlighted by emphasizing the soprano and the bass.

Fig. 12 E. Grieg , Piano Concerto in A minor, 2nd mvt, mm. 79-84

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The concluding measure is filled with inner tension and should emanate warmth. To this purpose, the composer’s dynamic marks ought to be observed. The pianist should achieve an increase in dynamics until D1, followed by a diminuendo. Although at times there is an inner disquiet that cannot be suppressed, this second movement begins and ends in complete peacefulness, in a feeling of enchantment. The third move me nt, Allegro moderato molto e marcato, exudes the Norwegian traditional character. “The extreme energy of the Norwegian dance appears like a determined rejection of foreign influences.” (Dolinescu, 1964, p. 55) Grieg chose to forgo any intermission between the second and the third movements of the Concerto, as evidenced by the attacca indicated at the end of the second movement. The orchestra’s four-measure introduction in pp is followed by a similarly long virtuosic passage played by the piano in ff. In the last measure, the pianist has to perform a set of very rapidly descending scales. The density of the musical material entails the issue of containing the semiquavers within a single binary measure. Given that this is quite difficult to achieve, a possible approach – which is outside the box, due to the fact that it literally alters the musical text – would be to perform this measure as a 4-beat. The orchestra and the conductor wait for the pianist as though they observe a fermata, and this strategy facilitates their simultaneous entrance in the section poco animato that displays the first theme.

Fig. 13 E. Grieg , Piano Concerto in A minor, 3rd mvt, mm. 1-12

218 Studies

Conceived as a refrain of the bithematic rondo that concludes the Concerto, the melody opening this section is strong and energetic. At first it plays in the main tonality A minor, and then in its parallel key A major. “The Halling appears once again, but under a different form than that of the first movement; this one is a vigorous, almost wild, theme with a particularly dance- like rhythm.” (Dolinescu, 1964, p. 55) The dance-like character should be rendered by the piano by observing all the indications in the score. The fast transitions from soft to strong dynamics, rapid crescendos and decrescendos or, on the contrary, tumultuous accumulations of increasing tension that climaxes dynamically are all very relevant aspects. I believe it is essential that the pianist pay great attention to dynamics, and absolutely necessary that they be able to finely control it by employing various ways of key attack. In fact, all this stems from the inner ability to understand the variety of moods and emotions generated by the musical discourse, as well as from the desire – and capability – to transform abstract musical ideas into an expressive acoustic reality. The variety of key attacks required by the composer and the accents (those on the strong beats and especially the ones on the weak beats) are meant to highlight the traditional character of the music. This statement may seem trivial, but starting from the premise that a pianist who has reached the necessary level to approach such a piece can distinguish technically between staccato, legato and portato, I believe that any pianist could put these requirements into practice so long as they are able to understand deeply the importance of affording respect to the musical text and they regard as an imperative the intention to convey to their audience the musical meaning conceived by the composer. The second musical idea (the first couplet) is written in the key of the relative major and is based on the rhythmic motif employed in the initial theme. The middle couplet is characterised by an extremely beautiful lyrical theme which the composer develops extensively, making it quite independent in the context of the conclusion. This section should be regarded as a complete whole, since it does not contain any previously-used musica l material. First played by the flute in F major and then taken up by the piano, this theme stands in strong contrast to the previous ones. The melody – which can be likened to the Romanian doina – is affectionate and peaceful, with the composer choosing a more sedate tempo, poco piu tranquillo.

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Fig. 14 E. Grieg , Piano Concerto in A minor, 3rd mvt, mm. 163-170

From a performing perspective, the difficulty lies in personalizing distinctively the two musical planes: the melody in the upper plane, which has a warm sound and a tense phrase based on an apparent ad libitum; and the accompaniment, which has to discreetly provide the musical discourse with tranquillity and serenity. Moreover, in the descant the pianist should pay great attention to highlighting the main melodic line of the musical text. A possible solution to tackle this passage may be to practice the voices individually, which would make the musical discourse clearer and more easily performable in terms of phrasing. As a result of this exercise, we will notice a much-improved capability to “extract” the melodic line from the dense weave of the music. The mental strategy suitable to this approach is essential for its resolution. The pianist should aim at rendering the main melodic line in an equally legato and expressive manner, whether they are playing precisely what is written in the score or as they practice that voice individually. I personally believe that alternating practices are optimal – a purely technical, arid one, which is meant to clarify / resolve the performance issues, and an expressive one, where the deep emotional involvement has a profoundly musical purpose. Bars 201-205 require very strong inner support of the musical phrase, otherwise the intrinsic warmth and dramatism are impossible to render.

Fig. 15 E. Grieg , Piano Concerto in A minor, 3rd mvt, mm. 201-208

The fragment captures an enormous accumulation of tension in quite a short time, after which the musical discourse settles gradually (perdendosi) until there is only a vague memory that ends in a series of arpeggiated chords in ppp.

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The intention to render as suggestively as possible the wide array of complex emotions teeming in the middle couplet compels the pianist to resort to their most intimate affective resources. The refrain and the first couplet are played again, followed by a reprise of the former in its parallel key in triple metre. Thus, the binary Halling form changes here into a Springar, whose features are “a usually major tonality, having a fantastic and curious music exhibiting a lively, bouncy, restless rhythm that exudes an overwhelming love of live.” (Dolinescu, 1964, p. 139) This section can be viewed as a sort of piano cadence where the pianist is put in a position to prove their technical skills by having to play octaves, leaps and chords in a very fast tempo and with great ease. The composer chooses to increase the tempo, indicating it as quasi presto.

Fig. 16 E. Grieg , Piano Concerto in A minor, 3rd mvt, mm. 252-258

To facilitate the transition from one tempo to another, we can choose to imagine that the tempo remains the same but the pianist has to mentally switch from duple to triple time. As concerns the dynamics, the theme climaxes in f and ff. Although the section opens in p, the dynamic and agogic intensity gradually increases (sempre piu f, sempre piu stretto), building up more and more tension that will clima x in the coda. It is quite difficult to observe the indication piu stretto, because the tempo established by Grieg at the beginning of this section is extremely fast and hard to surpass. But if we initially select a tempo just a little slower, then we would be able to play that stretto intended by the composer, which will have great artistic effect. The concluding section of the Concerto, the Coda, sees the orchestra replay the lyrical theme of the middle couplet, but this time as andante maestoso in ff, exhibiting a different character, grand and heroic. At the same time, the piano plays in fff a series of arpeggios meant to enhance the triumphant and festive character of the Concerto’s conclusion; this requires the pianist to produce a brilliant sound and to collaborate perfectly with the conductor.

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Fig. 17 E. Grieg , Piano Concerto in A minor, 3rd mvt, mm. 423-426

To this purpose, the composer’s use of a contrasting, lyrical theme, which is given a whole new colour, creates a very powerful impression on the audience. Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, op. 16 allows each pianist to display their musicality as well as technical skills. The Concerto is very well-liked by audiences and pianists alike, due to its Norwegian air and the beauty, simplicity and accessibility of its melodic lines that make one’s heart vibrate.

3. Conclusions My choice to research this subject came naturally as a result of my experience as a pianist and piano teacher. I deemed it appropriate and necessary to write an article on some of the technical and performative issues in Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, op. 16, because I view it as an interesting topic yet not discussed enough from the pianist’s perspective. Although they are personal and implicitly debatable, my opinions on the Concerto may prove, I believe, quite useful to the young pianists who wish to approach this repertoire. I confess I have often found myself in a position to want to research various works for piano and, even though we are living in the age of the internet, I have come to learn that there is not enough – or even none at all – documentation on how to perform such world-famous musical works (Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor being an example in this respect). I am aware that, at present, the field of musical research is mainly represented by musicology investigations which, in turn, focus on analysing modern and contemporary opuses in an attempt to avoid redundant research. Nevertheless, I firmly believe that the issue of piano stylistics and piano performance can be considered, if not inexhaustible, at least in a continuous development. These are the reasons behind my decision to approach the subject. Starting from general assertions on certain elements typical of Grieg’s compositional style and continuing with observations on form, melody, rhythm

222 Studies and harmony, I have attempted to present my own version of how this Concerto can be performed. Besides the many auditions of great performances and the extensive bibliographical documentation on the composer’s life and oeuvre, the providing of technical and performative solutions can be a starting point – one extremely beneficial for the pianists’ research and instrumental in their artistic and professional evolution. I believe this Concerto should be part of every concert pianist’s repertoire, given that it is very appealing to the audience, it possesses an unexpected thematic richness and it is a work where the simple yet resourceful melodic lines blend beautifully with the brilliance of virtuosic passages.

References Corredor, J.M. (1964). De vorbă cu Pablo Casals [Talking to Pablo Casals]. București: Editura Muzicală a Uniunii Compozitorilor din R.P.R. Dale, K. (1943). Edvard Grieg’s Pianoforte Music. Music & Letters, 24, No 4, 193- 207. Retrieved from: htpps://www.jstor.org/stable/727023 Dolinescu, E. (1964). Grieg. București: Editura Muzicală a Uniunii Compozitorilor din R.P.R. Grieg, E. Piano Concerto in A minor, op. 16. Frankfurt, New York, London: C. F. Peters. Retrieved from: https://imslp.org/ Grieg, E. Piano Concerto in A minor, op. 16 (piano reduction). www.free-scores.com Iliuţ, V. (1996). O carte a stilurilor muzicale [A Book of Musical Styles], 2nd vol. Bucuresti: Editura Academiei de Muzică. Kijas, A. E. (2013). ‘A Suitable Soloist For My Piano Concerto’: Teresa Carreño as a Promoter of Edvard Grieg’s Music. Notes, 70, 1, 37-58. Retrieved from: htpps://www.jstor.org/stable/43672696

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STUDIES

D. Ethnomusicology and sacred music

DOI: 10.2478/ajm-2021-0013

Artes. Journal of Musicology

Aspects related to the interconnection between music and the human brain. Scientific discoveries and contemporary challenges

ROSINA CATERINA FILIMON, Lecturer, PhD “George Enescu” National University of the Arts Iași ROMANIA

Motto: “If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound or not?” George Berkeley

Abstract: A new scientific discipline, neuromusicology, connects the scientific research of music and that of the nervous system, in particular of the brain. It studies the effects of music on the brain; the present paper relates to this particular field. Initially, the right hemisphere was associated with the process of music reception and it was considered that the activation of the left hemisphere was the responsibility of language. Neuroimaging, however, demonstrates that the elements of musical language activate various brain areas in both hemispheres, simultaneously generating the perception of music and emotions. Research in the field of psychoacoustics has revealed that listening to music triggers the production of neurotransmitters in the body that relieve pain, reduce stress and anxiety. Another effect determined by listening and studying music is the structural changes that occur at brain level due to brain neuroplasticity. Pathological changes at brain level have consequences in perception and influence all human activities. Disease alters the artistic creativity of people suffering from various pathologies, biographies of many artists proving that neurological diseases influenced their artistic activity. Decoding the functioning of the brain in the presence of music and its effects on brain activity make it possible to use music therapy as a complementary method to medical treatment. The harmful effects of the current Covid-19 pandemic on the brain are obvious and are already reported in completed or ongoing research studies. The adoption of music as a therapeutic tool in the current global epidemiological crisis highlights its undeniable qualities in multiple pathologies and updates its mental and somatic benefits, complementary to medicine. All this provides an important drive in the reassessment and reconfiguration of the need to amplify the interference strategies between the field of music and that of medicine, implicitly that of neurology.

Keywords: neuromusicology, cerebral hemispheres, neuroplasticity, music therapy, Covid-19 pandemic.

 [email protected] 224 Studies

1. Introductory. The cerebral hemispheres and music A new scientific discipline, neuromusicology, connects the scientific research of music and that of the nervous system, in particular of the brain. It studies the effects of music on the brain; the present paper relates to this particular field. What we define as music actually represents the mental content generated by our brain in response to external vibrating stimuli that cause musical reception and perception. In point of fact, the musical piece we hear is matter that vibrates outside us and stimulates the brain causing various sensations. The brain is defined as “a sophisticated learning system; in fact, it generated true and genuine sounds from external vibrations; this is true for both spoken language and sound and for the music produced by musical instruments. Outside us there are no sounds and noises, as they are a cerebral response determined by the vibrations of the outer world” (Manzelli, 2003). Starting from this definition, the answer to the following question, phrased by Irish philosopher George Berkeley (1685-1753), becomes obvious: “if a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear, does it make a sound or not? [...] The answer is no – sound is a mental image created by the brain in response to the vibration of molecules” (Levitin, 2010, p. 29). Pleasant or unpleasant music exists only in the subjective way in which the listener perceives and analyses a musical piece. Our aesthetic sensations, the mental imagery we associate with a particular piece of music is the result of a mental musical content, specific to each individual, which depends on many factors: the listener’s education and training, the encoding, storage and retrieval ability of memorised information, psychosomatic reactivity, the level of concentration, the age of the user, other factors such as the geographical or historical element, or the individual’s inclination towards a particular field, in the case of both the amateur and the musician. As each individual is unique from a cerebral and psychic point of view, it has its own personal way of reacting to external stimuli, thus living a more or less different experience on listening to a musical piece. Objective and absolute judgments on a musical piece cannot be expressed, there is no reference version of it, in fact there are as many variants as there are listeners. “Even the researcher's objectivity depends on the degree of ‘expectation’ (experience) that the environment, education, the historical moment with all its procession of taboos of acceptance or rejection has unconsciously formed in him/her.” (Gaspar, 2002, p. 11) The brain1, the coordinator of the whole organism, processes and stores the information transmitted by the sense organs, much like a computer, and transmits motor impulses to the muscular and endocrine systems. The seat of

1 The brain or encephalon consists of the cerebral hemispheres, diencephalon, cerebellum and brainstem. 225 Artes. Journal of Musicology perceptual, motor, cognitive functions, including memory and emotionality, is in the cerebral hemispheres. Even though the two cerebral hemispheres appear to be identical, there are functionally essential differences between them, as each of them specializes in certain mental processes. They are connected by a bridge made up of a bundle of nerve fibres, a transverse commissure called corpus callosum. If this bridge is fractured (split brain), the cerebral hemispheres will behave differently. The split brain phenomenon was experimented on by Roger Wolcott Sperry (1913-1994), a physician, neuropsychologist, neurobiologist, one of the most important scientists of the twentieth century, who made the understanding of the lateralization of brain functions possible. The research was initially conducted with the therapeutic purpose of treating epilepsy (1959-1968). Sperry surgically sectioned the corpus callosum (the area of the brain that connects the right hemisphere to the left hemisphere) and, following neuropsychological tests, observed that the cerebral hemispheres of patients operated on for callosotomy show specific functions. Sperry was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1981) for this discovery (Tramo, 2009) (Pearce, 2019, pp. 217-220). Each of the two cerebral hemispheres commands and perceives sensations from the opposite side of the body: the right hemisphere coordinates the information coming from the left side of the body, while the left hemisphere coordinates those from the right side. Each cerebral hemisphere specializes in certain mental activities and comprises four lobes: frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital. The frontal lobe is the seat of voluntary movements, and the lesions of this lobe cause motor disorders (paralysis), disorders in the correct articulation of words (dysarthria, anarthria), behavioural disorders. At the level of the parietal lobe, all types of sensitivity are synthesized, as it is the cortical seat of the general sensitivity analyser. This lobe involves sensation and perception; damage to this area causes audio-visual impairments, incapacity to recognize objects by touch (tactile agnosia), problems in the appreciation of the physical properties of objects, volume and shape (stereognosis). The temporal lobe is the cortical seat of the auditory analyser. Lesions to this lobe lead to verbal deafness, in which the patient hears, but is unable to comprehend, to auditory hallucinations, balance disorders, apraxia – the inability to use objects and perform usual gestures; sensory aphasia, in which the understanding of the meaning of spoken or written words is lost. The occipital lobe is the seat of the cortical end of the visual analyser (primary visual cortex). Lesions to this analyser lead to spatial disorientation, as well as visual impairment (Beaumont, 2008) (Rouse, 2019). “However, it is increasingly clear that cognitive functions cannot be assigned exactly to points on the brain, like cities on a map. An assigned mental task can involve a complicated network of circuits that interact, more or less, with others from all over the brain – not like the components of a machine, but rather

226 Studies like the instruments in a symphony orchestra, which combine pitch, volume and timbre to create a special musical effect.” (Shreeve, 2005, pp. 20-21) Recent research carried out with the help of medical devices for non- invasive neuro-imaging – magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET) – allow viewing the reaction of the brain, triggered by a stimulus, through the observation of the increase in blood flow to a certain area of the brain, which reveals the amplification of the electrical activity in the brain involving areas that are in charge of various functions. Initially, the right hemisphere was associated with the process of music reception and it was considered that the activation of the left hemisphere was the responsibility of language. Neuroimaging, however, demonstrates that the elements of musical language activate various brain areas in both hemispheres, simultaneously generating the perception of music and emotions. Timbre and melody are received by the right brain hemisphere, which is creative; the sound rhythm and pitch are analysed by the left hemisphere, which is logical; it interacts with Broca’s aria2, with the language area, which is able to recognize musical syntax (Scaglioso, 2008, p. 227) (Montinaro, 2010, p. 50).

2. The effects of music on the brain 2.1. Psychoacoustics, neurotransmitters and music Music has physiological effects on the brain and naturally on the whole organism. Research in the field of psychoacoustics, a branch of psychophysics that studies the relationship between the physical characteristics of a sound stimulus and the psychological effect produced, has revealed that listening to music triggers the production of neurotransmitters in the body, including endorphin, dopamine and serotonin. Neurotransmitters, which are chemical mediators located in the nervous system, facilitate the transmission, modulation and amplification, in synapses3, of nerve impulses coordinating communication between glands, organs and muscles in the body. “As far as we can tell, each brain center generates impulses at a specific frequency based on the predominant neurotransmitter it secretes. In other words, the brain’s internal communication system—its language, if you like – is based on frequency.” (Capel & Pinnock & Withey et al., 1982) For example, if the brain is induced alpha brain waves (frequency between 8 and 14 Hz) or is in the Alpha state, they will generate a waking but relaxed state of consciousness, of calm and responsive mind, by producing endorphins and serotonin. The technology of synchronization of cerebral hemispheres – Binaural Beats – relies on this brain response; it is applied under the name of Hemi-Sync audio technology by

2 Wernicke’s area, along with Broca’s area, are considered the seat of the motor and auditory images of words. 3 The synapse is the contact area between two neurons. 227 Artes. Journal of Musicology mixing the frequencies of brain waves with music, sounds from nature, verbal guides; the result is Metamusic, used to induce certain brain frequencies to the brain. “This acoustic alchemy put into practice has yielded significant results in the exploration of expanded consciousness states, creative capability development, learning processes acceleration, learning disabilities, focus and concentration, wellness, pain relief, anxiety and depression amelioration, as well as in improved sleep, hypnosis induction, meditation and relaxation.” (Filimon, 2010, p. 108) When listening to our favourite music – be it classical, pop, jazz, rock, New Age – the musical piece effects a state of relaxation that helps to remove fatigue and stress because the brain triggers the production of endorphins, serotonin and dopamine. The effects of endorphin, natural opioid substances, are analgesic, sedative, similar to those of morphine (Noback, 2005, p. 280). They have the role of relieving pain, of reducing stress and anxiety. The limbic system – the centre of emotions – contains a number of opioid receptors that are sensitive in the presence of endorphin-like chemicals. The beneficial effect of music, due to the release of endorphins in the body, causes emotional reactions biologically reflected by lower pulse rate, blood pressure and body temperature, decreased level of corticosteroids and adrenaline (stress hormones, which disrupt the balance of the human body), slower metabolism and improved body coordination. In addition to music, the internal secretion of endorphin is also determined by other stimuli, such as dancing, sports, meditation, laughter, sun exposure, spicy foods, sugar (especially chocolate). “Endorphins have been invoked as ‘music hormones’ due to their ‘morphine-like’ action (an analgesic and euphoric effect), especially since for many listeners, music constitutes a source of euphoria, going up to ecstasy.” (Luban-Plozza & Iamandescu, 1997, p. 81) Low serotonin levels cause mental disorders, depression, sleep disorders, while a decrease in dopamine leads to Parkinson’s disease, ADHD disease; its excess causing addiction. Dopamine- mediated neural links amplify positive emotions, inhibit unpleasant emotional signals, increase vitality and well-being (Salimpoor & Benovoy & Larcher, 2011).

2.2. Neuroplasticity in the presence of music A physiological effect determined by listening and studying music results is the structural changes that occur at brain level. This process, called neuroplasticity (brain plasticity), is the result of the brain's ability to reconfigure its activity and structure in the presence of certain stimuli. This breakthrough in the field of neurology is mainly used for two purposes: prophylactic – neuroprotection, in the case of healthy people: augmentation of intellectual capacity, prevention of neurological diseases – and therapeutic –

228 Studies neuroregeneration and neurorehabilitation, in the case of patients who have undergone traumatic, inflammatory, degenerative processes of the brain. Using the voxel-by-voxel morphometric technique, structural brain changes and adaptations have been observed in professional musicians who learn complex auditory and motor skills at an early age. Musicians develop skills in performing complex physical and mental operations, such as translating musical visual symbols from the score, performing sequential finger movements, improvisation, memorizing long musical phrases, identifying sounds without using a reference sound due to brain adaptations, but they also have innate abilities. Playing an instrument requires performance monitoring by simultaneously integrating multimodular, sensory and motor information with multimodular sensory feedback mechanisms. Compared to amateurs and non-musicians, pianists present significant structural cerebral adaptations of the grey matter and corpus callosum due to the bilateral activation of parietal areas corresponding to cerebral areas responsible for motor, auditory and visual- spatial perceptions. In the case of amateur musicians an intermediate increase is signalled (Gaser & Schlaug, 2003). Reading musical scores activates an area of the brain located in the occipital cortex; this happens only in the case of this complex activity that requires knowledge of decoding sound material (Nakada & Fujii & Suzuki et al., 1998). Instrumental musicians are often forced to perform two activities simultaneously, which stimulates both cerebral hemispheres: reading the score and implicitly the musical symbols involves the use of the left hemisphere, and the interpretation of the notes on the respective instrument requires the activity of the right hemisphere. Musicians who have studied an instrument that requires the independent use of both hands – piano, string instruments, wind instruments – have the ability to simultaneously use both cerebral hemispheres; this fact makes cognitive tasks easier to perform (Gibson & Folley & Park, 2009). The activation of auditory sensory cortical areas results in the development of learning abilities, improvement of cognitive abilities, especially in the case of musicians. Learning music develops specific brain areas responsible for its decoding and integration function, and the younger the person, the more neural circuits are activated. Listening to cheerful or sad, exhilarating or relaxing music, changes in the vegetative nervous system are observed that cause the regulation of blood pressure, of heart rate, breathing and of other physiological reactions. Musical pieces with dance rhythm trigger somatic responses of the motor type causing involuntary movements – movements of the upper and lower limbs, swing of the shoulders and trunk –, in the rhythm of music generating a relaxation of the body, felt as a relief of nervous tension.

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3. Neurological trauma, physical disability and musical creativity Pathological changes at brain level have consequences in perception and influence all human activities. Disease alters the artistic creativity of people suffering from various pathologies, and its influence on art is a topic often addressed by researchers. People perceive psychosomatic suffering differently, therefore the expression of pathological and emotional states arising from it is different. The design and creation of an artistic piece depends, among other multiple factors – genetic, psychological, educational – on pathological abnormalities. The artists translate their own sensory experiences and their own experiences into their works; sometimes this is amplified by nervous hypersensitivity and the suffering caused by their own pathology. Artistic perception and creativity are influenced by brain lesions of the brain. Obviously “it is extremely important that the clinical latency of psychosis disorders – that is the absence of patent clinical symptoms, diagnosable even by the entourage – resulted in the ‘preclinical’ behavioural manifestations of some composers being overlooked; however, the latent psychotic background could not fail to permeate the musical creation of composers such as Hugo Wolf and Robert Schumann, both suffering from manic-depressive psychosis” (Luban- Plozza & Iamandescu, 1997, p. 103). Biographies of many artists prove that neurological diseases influenced their artistic activity. Post-traumatic pieces are structured according to their creators’ genuine experiences. Some of them are Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Friedrich Händel, Domenico Scarlatti, Christoph Gluck, Joseph Haydn, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Henri Vieuxtemps, Hans von Bülow, Richard Strauss, George Enescu, Serghei Prokofiev, Benjamin Britten, Oscar Peterson (Zagvazdin, 2015, p. 150) (Mazzucchi & Fanticini & Bellocchio et al., 2017).

3.1. Maurice Ravel In the last period of his life Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) revealed a progressive degradation of brain functions that began with difficulties in playing the piano, speaking and writing (1927). The neurodegenerative disease was manifested as motor and language disorders, partial memory loss, depressive states; the composer was diagnosed with Progressive Primary Aphasia (PPA) and apraxia (Seeley & Matthews & Crawford et al., 2008, p. 40) (Mazzucchi & Fanticini & Bellocchio et al., 2017). His altered state of health did not prevent him from continuing to compose; he heard the music in his mind, as the composer declared (Orenstein, 2003, p. 319). A series of pieces composed after the onset of cerebral disorder approached classical structures, simplified: Boléro (1928)4, Concerto for piano

4 Boléro by Ravel, a ballet commissioned by Russian actress and dancer Ida Rubinstein. 230 Studies and orchestra in G major (1928-1931), Concerto for left hand (1929-1930), Don Quichotte à Dulcinée for voice and piano (1932). A mathematical analysis of two of his last pieces, Boléro and the Piano concerto for the left hand5, has revealed that neurological suffering changed the composer’s musical style: the use mainly of woodwind instruments resulted in the metal-like timbre of the orchestra, the significant presence rhythm, the obsessive repetition of the same musical themes; this indicates damage to the left hemisphere, and the predominance of the right hemisphere in the process of creation (Amaducci & Grassi & Boller, 2002, pp. 75-82). Ravel described the Boléro as an orchestral fabric without music (Shaw, 2008, p. 5). The composer’s health is irreversibly deteriorated, after he suffers various concussions in an accident involving the taxi he was in (1932). Ravel suffers a concussion with loss of consciousness, a chest injury, facial injuries and broken teeth. The various symptoms lead to a diagnosis of progressive sensory Wernicke aphasia and Pick’s disease6. Following the accident, the depressive state he had been suffering from since 1927 deepens, and in the last years of his life he was unable to compose, conduct, play the piano and express himself verbally. “I will never write my Jeanne d’Arc; this opera is here, in my head, I hear it, but I will never write it. It’s over, I can no longer write my music.” (Vitturi & Sanvito, 2019, p. 137) Ravel died in 1937, following an unsuccessful trepanation operation by neurosurgeon Clovis Vincent (Luban-Plozza & Iamandescu, 1997, pp. 115-116).

3.2. Paul Wittgenstein Ravel composed the Concerto pour la main gauche [Concerto for the left hand] at the request of the Viennese pianist Paul Wittgenstein (1887-1961), who lost his right arm in the World War One. The absolute premiere of the concert took place on January 5th, 1932, in Vienna, with Paul Wittgenstein as pianist, accompanied by Wiener Symphoniker [Vienna Symphony Orchestra] conductor Robert Heger. The lack of a vast piano repertoire dedicated only to the left hand leads Wittgenstein to commission works by other contemporary composers to allow him to continue his career as a solo pianist, among them Benjamin Britten, Paul Hindemith, Sergei Prokofiev, Richard Strauss. The pianist’s physical disability did not prevent him from pursuing his career as a performer and piano teacher; the presence, in the case of Wittgenstein, of the phantom limb symptom was a fact also contributed: at the cerebral level the lost limb is perceived as present, but paralyzed. This phenomenon, present in most people with amputated limbs, is triggered by the presence at brain level of nerve circuits associated with pre-existing innate

5 Concert in one part, lento-veloce-lento. 6 Fronto-temporal dementia, similar to Alzheimer’s disease. 231 Artes. Journal of Musicology motor schemes, such as the nerve matrix responsible for coordinating the movement of the fingers. The memory of the lost segment, a neural representation of motor sensory perceptions that persist at the brain level is added to the facts mentioned above. Thus, patients continue to perform phantom movements, initially considered to be only psychic hallucinations. One of Wittgenstein’s students, Erna Otten, relates: “He often told me to trust his choice of fingering, because he felt every finger of his right hand. Sometimes he would ask me to sit still, close his eyes, and his stump would move agitated, continuously.” Due to the need to adapt only for the left hand piano pieces intended for both hands and to be able to perform his own compositions for the left hand, Wittgenstein innovates the piano technique. He changes the fingering, pedalling, arm movements to be able to easily interpret difficult passages with one hand. His creativeness and special piano experience, both as a pianist and teacher, is packed in the three volumes published by Wittgenstein – Volume 1: Technical exercises, Volume 2: Studies, Volume 3: Transcriptions – under the name Schule für die linke Hand [School for the left hand] (1957).

3.3. Visarion Shebalin Russian composer and teacher Vissarion Yakovlevich Shebalin (1902- 1963), one of the most acclaimed composers of his generation, studied composition with Nikolai Myaskovsky (1923-1928) at the Moscow Conservatory, where he became Professor of composition (1935) and then director (1942-1948). He composed various musical genres: operas, symphonies, string quartets, trios, choral music, romances, folk songs, film music. Along with Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Myaskovsky (1948), he was accused of decadent formalism and dismissed from the Moscow Conservatory. Shebalin suffered from a first stroke (CVA)7 in the left hemisphere of the brain at the age of 51 (1953), after a long period of hypertension. Paresis on the right side led to impaired speech and loss of control over the right arm, thus the composer was forced to write his scores and conduct with his left arm. Complete recovery occurs within a few months, and Shebalin continued composing and completed a number of works (orchestral, chamber music, music for film), and an opera in four acts, widely regarded as the most successful Russian opera whose libretto (written by Russian musicologist Abram Akimovich Gozenpud) is based on a play by one of William Shakespeare’s works: the opera buffa Ukroshcheniye stroptivoy [The Taming of the Shrew], Op. 46 (premiere at the Bolshoi Theater). After the second

7 Cerebral vascular attack (CVA), also known as apoplexy, cerebral ischemia, cerebral infarction, cerebral haemorrhage; devastating disease caused by occlusion or rupture of cerebral blood vessels has an impact on physical and cognitive abilities. 232 Studies stroke (1959) he was diagnosed with aphasia, so he lost the ability to speak and understand what was spoken to him. However, his artistic abilities were preserved and he continued to compose a large number of pieces including: Quartet in C minor, Op. 53, No. 8 (1960), In the Land of the Mordves, Op. 5: Three songs for voice and piano (1961), Symphony No. 5 in C major, Op. 56 (1962), Quartet in B minor, Op. 58, No. 9 (1963), In the Forest Clearing, Op. 59: Seven children’s choirs (1963). Shostakovich stated about his last symphony that „is a brilliant creative work, filled with the highest emotions, optimistic and full of life. The symphony composed during his illness is a creation of a great master” (Bogousslavsky & Boller, 2005, p. 175) (Trimble, 2006, p. 125). The Symphony is distinguished from previous symphonic creations by abandoning the formalism imposed by the social and cultural requisites of his time, by the vivacity and romantic optimism of the musical discourse; this piece reflects the composer's freedom of creative expression.

3.4. Alfred Schnittke Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (1934-1998), a Russian-German postmodernist composer, teacher, an outstanding innovator of the musical language of the twentieth century, is another artist whose spiritual suffering and neurological disorders affected his compositional activity. He studied composition with Shebalin’s teacher, Myaskovsky (1953-1958, Moscow Conservatory) and with Golubev (1958, Moscow Conservatory). As a student he was encouraged by Shebalin and Golubev to explore contemporary music (Zagvazdin, 2015, p. 152). Throughout his life, through his creations and writings, Schnittke was concerned to translate his own thoughts and experience on human suffering, the salvation of the soul and of humanity, the confrontation between good and evil. For example, the reflection of the suffering caused by the loss of both parents was musically expressed in Requiem (1974-1975) and in the piece In Memoriam... (1977-1978) (Kholopova, 1989, p. 46). During the ’80s, he composed an impressive number of valuable works that would soon bring him national and international recognition, including: Symphony No. 2 “St. Florian” (1979), Symphony No. 3 (1981), Symphony No. 4 (1983), Gogol Suite (1980), Concerto No. 3 for violin and Chamber Orchestra (1978), Concerto for piano and Chamber Orchestra (1979), Passacaglia (1979-1980), Concerto No. 4 for violin and orchestra (1984), String Quartet No. 2 (1981), Concerto Grosso No. 2 (1981-1982), Concerto Grosso No. 3 (1985), The Faust Cantata (1983), Concerto for mixed choir (1984-1985), music for film – Malenkie tragedii [Little Tragedies] (1979), Ekipazh [The Crew] (1979), Skazka stranstviy [The Tale of Travels] (1982), Myortvye dushi [Dead Souls] (1984). However, his intense work exhausts his mental and physical capacities so that he suffers a first stroke (1985) located in the left hemisphere. Schnittke lost consciousness and was diagnosed with right

233 Artes. Journal of Musicology hemiplegia (paralysis) and aphasia. “In 1985 I have completed six long compositions during six months. I do not understand how I was able to do it... I had on impression that the time flew extremely fast and kept accelerating, and on the limit of this acceleration stroke hit me, and a new circle in my development began.” (Kotykhov, 1999, in Zagvazdin, 2015, p. 154) The composer recovers, under the supervision of neurosurgeon Alexander Potapov, and resumes his compositional activity. He completes Symphony No. 5 (Concerto grosso No. 4), The Peer Gynt Ballet, Concerto No. 1 and No. 2 for cello and orchestra, Viola Concerto, String Quartet No. 4, piano sonatas. Alfred Schnittke reports: “after suffering a stroke, I realized that I remember considerably fewer things than before, yet I know much more. I began to find my bearings less by intellectual knowledge, rather by an animal instinct. I know something and can explain it, I can also find arguments (as a rule, I do find them), but I am no longer obsessed with their presence or absence. I know it anyway, although no one has explained anything to me. Before, I had to remember, then to think about how to answer correctly. [...] I feel that everything in history is infinite and nothing has any quality or final definition. But from every present point of view it seems to us that now, at last, some kind of clarity has emerged, but 70 more years pass and absolutely everything changes and what has long, it seems, ceased to exist returns” (Ivașkin, 1994, in Cosmescu & Ștefăneț, 2020, p. 22). The second stroke (1991) catches Schnittke as he was conversing with his friend, film director Andrei Khrzhanovsky8, to whom he was talking about violinist Oleg Kagan. He mentions a strong headache that actually foreshadowed an attack that was located in the cerebellum. He becomes a permanent resident in Hamburg (1991), together with his wife, pianist Irina Schnittke and their son, Andrei9. “Another thing I feel, an entirely subjective feeling, is about communicating with my son. I've long noticed a barrier between generations. We still represent the intellectual direction – the generation with brain skills, where everything is weighed, appraised. [...] I hardly ask him anything – he already has the answer ready, although he never talked about it or thought about it. It follows that there is knowledge without learning, too, and this knowledge is not of literary origin.” (Ivașkin, 1994, in Cosmescu & Ștefăneț, 2020, p. 22) In Hamburg he taught composition (1991-1994) and was employed at the Hochschule für Musik. As with the first stroke, he recovers and continues to compose – Concerto Grosso No. 6 (1993), Symphony No. 6 (1992),

8 Khrzhanovsky is the author of the animation film Glass Harmonica (1968), whose soundtrack was composed by Schnittke. 9 Andrei Schnittke (1965-2020), a bass guitar player in the rock band Tsentr [Centre] (1982-1984), composer, photographer. He collaborated with his father on the Faust Cantata (1983), on the music for the films The End of St. Petersburg (1992), The Master and Marguerite (1994). (Schmelz, 2021, pp. 184-187) 234 Studies

Symphony No. 7 (1993). He dedicates The Piano Trio (1992) to the neurosurgeon Alexander Potapov, who helped him in his medical rehabilitation after his brain attacks. The post-lesion compositions reflect a departure from the extroverted multi-faceted style that established him and he moves towards an introspective compositional expression. After the completion of Symphony No. 8 (1994) he suffers the third stroke. By this time, the attack occurs with consequences: after the coma, which lasted for three months, he was diagnosed with left side paralysis, aphasia and agraphia (major difficulties in speaking), no signs of amusia, which allows Schnittke to continue composing using his left hand to write with. All this greatly reduced his ability to compose. He starts composing Symphony No. 9, but the next stroke (1998) wreaks havoc on his brain; the composer died during the same year.

4. The effect of Covid-19 on mental health and music therapy The rapid spread of the viral respiratory syndrome caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (Covid-19 – abbreviation from English – coronavirus disease 2019), after a first outbreak in Wuhan (China, December 2019), took all mankind by surprise. Declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020, by the World Health Organization (WHO), the contamination with the new virus has so far (March 2021) covered over 200 countries, infected 130 million people and caused 2.8 million deaths (WHO). In order to slow down and eradicate the community spread of the virus, since the onset of the pandemic, measures have been taken to prevent the infection – physical distancing of at least 1.5 m, covering the mouth and nose with protective mask, special hygiene and hand disinfection –, the isolation of the population by instituting quarantine (lockdown) and currently the voluntary and free vaccination campaign against Covid-19 (starting December 2020). We all feel the impact of the pandemic on our personal and professional lives. Fear of contamination, stress resulting from compliance with measures to prevent the disease, illness and even their loss of those close to us, isolation, lack of human communication, loss of jobs, drastic reduction of recreation opportunities, travel restrictions, change of lifestyle have generated feelings of helplessness, panic, anxiety, depression affecting both mental and physical health. In spite of all the efforts and restrictions imposed by the authorities, new infections are counted daily, and the pandemic is still rampant. Social distancing measures have dramatically affected the people's daily lives of all as well as economic sectors due to closure of activity. The cultural and creative sectors, the service industry sector, the tourism sector, have been worst affected. The closure of art institutions, the cancellation of cultural events – concerts, tours, festivals, have affected artists, but also auxiliary

235 Artes. Journal of Musicology staff. The disruption of pre-school, school and university education by the total or partial closure of educational institutions has required the reconfiguration of distance teaching activities through teleworking. Culture and education have continued to manifest themselves thanks to emerging technologies and accelerated digitalization, through online or asynchronous activities, contributing to the development of methodologies and technological solutions for distance learning and experimentation of new artistic forms with digital media access. Music during the Covid-19 pandemic has been successfully used in online environments to cope with the stress of social distancing and isolation, with people everywhere having the opportunity to express themselves artistically or to be spectators of novel cultural experiences. The harmful effects of the current pandemic on the brain are obvious and are already reported in completed or ongoing research studies. The damage caused by the attack of the central nervous system by the Covid-19 virus or the mental damage generated by the new stressful living conditions, have led the specialists to request urgent psychological and psychiatric intervention. In the current pandemic context, mental health care is becoming a priority for the affected people employed in the highly strained medical system, of Covid-19 patients, as well as the entire population. Among the measures of rapid intervention an important role is played by music therapy, as a real instrument used to improve, treat and help recovery. Accrediting music as a therapy is supported by extensive research that has proven the beneficial effects of music on somatic health: it improves the immune system and mental health, it stimulates the production of neurotransmitters that induce well-being, reduce pain, stress, anxiety, depression (Chanda & Levitin, 2013). Medical studies conducted during this period of health crisis have used neurological music therapy, monitoring the impact of music in improving and treating nervous system damage in medical professionals and Covid-19 patients or other people affected by anxiety and depression, the results being beneficial. For example, the medical staff of Covid-19 patients (University Hospital in Bari, Italy, from April 1 to May 6, 2020) had monitored fatigue, sadness, fear and worry, for 5 weeks. Under the influence of musical auditions coordinated by a specialist, the analyzed parameter values were lower. Sadness and worry were significantly reduced, as early as the first week (Giordano & Scarlata & Baroni, 2020). In the current pandemic context the importance of music therapy is enhanced by new clinical uses with immediate positive effects. A non-invasive, remedy within everyone's reach, music brings relief to the emotional, social, spiritual and physical trauma caused by the new coronavirus.

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5. Conclusions The brain coordinates the whole organism, processes and stores the information transmitted by the sense organs. The process of music reception was initially attributed to the right hemisphere and it was considered that the left hemisphere is activated by language, but with the help of neuroimaging it was shown that the elements of the musical language activate various brain areas in both hemispheres, simultaneously generating the perception of music and emotions. Music has physiological effects on the brain and on the whole organism. Hearing music triggers the production of neurotransmitters, including endorphin, dopamine and serotonin. When we listen to our favourite music the brain triggers the production of endorphins, natural opioid substances, which help relieve pain, reduce stress and anxiety. Listening to and studying music produce structural changes that occur at brain level due to brain neuroplasticity. The activation of auditory sensory cortical areas results in the development of learning abilities, improvement of cognitive abilities, especially in the case of musicians. Neurological disorders and suffering modify the artistic creativity of people suffering from various pathologies. The artists translate their own sensory experiences and their own experiences into their works; sometimes this is amplified by nervous hypersensitivity and the suffering caused by their own pathology. Those who suffer from damage to the left hemisphere retain their musical skills: reading and writing scores, the ability to compose, which proves that musical skills are coordinated by the right hemisphere (if this has not been affected). Pieces composed at post-traumatic stages are structured according to their creators’ genuine experiences. Decoding the functioning of the brain in the presence of music and its effects on brain activity make it possible to use music therapy as a complementary method to medical treatment, an alternative to drug treatment that often come with negative side effects and high costs. The harmful effects of the current pandemic on the brain are obvious and are already reported in completed or ongoing research studies. In the current pandemic context, the care of the mental health of those mentally affected, especially medical staff and Covid-19 patients, is becoming a priority. Among the measures of rapid intervention an important role is played by music therapy, as an instrument used to improve, treat and help recovery for persons in difficulty. The adoption of music as a therapeutic tool in the current global epidemiological crisis highlights its undeniable qualities in multiple pathologies and updates its mental and somatic benefits, complementary to medicine. All this provides an important drive in the reassessment and reconfiguration of the need to amplify the interference strategies between the field of music and that of medicine, implicitly that of neurology.

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241 DOI: 10.2478/ajm-2021-0014 Artes. Journal of Musicology

Voices in Space or the Contemporary Realism in the Pedagogy of the Future Opera Singer

DUMITRIANA CONDURACHE, Lecturer, PhD CONSUELA RADU-ȚAGA, Lecturer, PhD “George Enescu” National University of Arts Iași ROMANIA ∗

Abstract: The Romanian opera and operetta repertoire is a constant objective in the Opera Class of the Faculty of Performing, Composition, and Musical Theoretical Studies in “George Enescu” National University of Arts from Iași. The stylistic diversity and the richness of the drama make not only an important instrument for the study out of it, but also a moral debt for the knowledge and transmission of a music whose beauty – once (re)discovered – is a source of enchantment for the artists, as well as for the public. If in the beginning of the professional route singing in the mother tongue facilitates the work and the study of the opera singer, over time this option may enter an ethic of the performer, happily completing his repertoire. Although one of our main goals is to guide the students, future opera singers, to gain and to develop their acting skills so as to be natural and convincing on stage, contemporary realism does not exclude experiments. Having this in mind and in order to make studentsʼ work visible, we made an experimental video document, based on a first selection from our recitals, which is aimed to let the audience take a glance into the intimacy of our class study on Romanian opera and operetta, both from the musical and drama perspective. By changing the original objective – the entire presentation in semester exams of studentsʼ classroom work – the fragmentary nature of the processing gives a certain dynamism to our work. Changing the purpose brings things to a new light, the artistic overbearing the pedagogical, and last but not least, the Romanian music proving that it supports an experimental treatment.

Keywords: Romanian repertoire, opera, operetta, opera acting, experimental video document.

1. Introduction In the last years, the Opera Class of the Faculty of Performing, Composition and Musical Theoretical Studies from Iași has given an important place to the study of the Romanian music of opera and operetta. The Romanian heritage belonging to these genres is rich and varied, modern, but also with deep folk roots, and it might be beneficial if it were a permanent source of learning during the formative years of the future opera singers. This is what we tried to do, putting students in front of the musical and dramatic deciphering of some scores belonging to Romanian composers. Some of them are still in the

∗ [email protected], [email protected] 242 Studies manuscript stage and they have not been printed 1. Thatʼs why the thorough research was even more captivating, along with the discovery of the musical language, of the poetic or dramatic theme, of vocal issues, the charm of handwritten notes, in pencil, representing a special novelty for our curious students. In other cases, the young singers set off slightly disappointed because they didnʼt find a performance that would give them an initiating landmark, but the next stages of study revealed a beautiful music to them, not exactly easy to sing, but which drew them into its nets, and made them realize that it was worth the effort to make it known. From the meditation on the musical art in Întâlnire cu George Enescu [Meeting with George Enescu] by Doru Popovici, up to the echoes of history and legend in Decebal by Gheorghe Dumitrescu, or Horia by Nicolae Bretan, and the psychological drama in Năpasta [The Plague] by Sabin Drăgoi, but also the irresistible comedy of O Noapte furtunoasă [A Stormy Night] by Paul Constantinescu, going through the lyricism of feelings in Lăsați-mă să cânt [Let me sing] by Gherase Dendrino, and culminating with the frothy trills in Motanul încălțat [Puss in Boots] by Cornel Trăilescu, the Romanian lyrical repertoire may be, through variety, complexity and beauty, a strong point of attraction both for students and professionals, and also for the wide audience. Thus we came to reinterpret a selection from two pre-pandemic recitals of Romanian music (during which undergraduates and graduate students from the Opera Class sang accompanied on the piano by lecturer PhD Raluca Ehupov and assistant professor Laura Turtă-Timofte) and treat it with specific resources of video art (processing performed by lecturer PhD Andrei Cozlac), interventions that support or amplify the drama, the comedy or the lyricism of the musical moments. The result was a 16-minute movie, which, through the meeting between the diverse vocal matter, supported by the convincing acting of the performers, and a playful-current visual perspective, crosses the border into a contemporary form of expression, necessary in times under which the manifestations in the artistic fields are so different, always evolving and changing, and what is called statement, artistic intention expressed in words, has become a must. The existing material2 proved malleable and the experiment brought a new light on our work. The two recitals wanted to mark three important events: the Centenary of the Great Union, the celebration of the 160th anniversary of the Little Union, and the 100th anniversary of the official use of the Romanian language. On these occasions the singer students approached and came into contact with the Romanian opera, which in over 100 years of creative

1 The operas Întâlnire cu George Enescu by D. Popovici and Horia by N. Bretan have not been published yet. 2 Images were recorded by Ștefan Merlan. 243 Artes. Journal of Musicology accumulations offered to the genre not only world-renowned singers, but also very valuable opuses. Configured as Lyrical Laboratories, the student performance under whose cupola the Opera Class continued and developed the idea of presenting some show-type recitals unfolded in the “Eduard Caudella” Hall (Balș House), the first having the title Pagini de operă românească [Pages of Romanian Opera], and the second Sonorități lirice românești [Romanian Lyrical Sonorities].

2. Didactic aspects In addition to the shows with better or less known titles, during which the students and master students have the possibility to sing, to act, and to build a character in its entire complexity, the recitals of the Opera Class come to complete and to diversify the didactic activity, enriching the singers’ repertoire with excerpts from opera, operetta, or musical (arias, duets, terzettos). These versions of performance are suitable for the years of study where the vocal composition is predominantly female (the most common are soprano voices), and the distribution of an opera cannot be fully covered. During musical excerpts the students express themselves vocally and theatrically, they reproduce the states of the played characters, they use objects, they move, gesture, dance, utter prose, interact with the other characters present on stage, and so they learn and experience life on stage. Another benefit of this type of performance is that there can be chosen and interpreted those musical numbers which best correspond to the vocal possibilities of each student, covering as many directions of the large field of study as possible. In the Romanian repertoire the young artists can manifest themselves with the advantage of a direct understanding of the libretto, and the acting assumption is, from this point of view, not necessarily easier, but more natural. Taking the responsibility of the meaning of the words, as well as the accuracy of the articulation should be a benchmark they can use when singing in other languages. The technical and expressive elements related to the articulation and voice projection in Romanian should be the pattern in the utterance of the words and the diction (vowels and consonants). Of course, we can open an entire discussion about the necessity of approaching the Romanian repertoire in the study of singing, from artistic, technical, and spiritual points of view. We will not insist here on this aspect, but rather on the close connection between opera acting and musical interpretation. The singing in the mother tongue makes students’ and educators’ work and study easier, considering “an opera is written starting from the libretto, never the other way around” (Soare, 2014, p. 180). Because there are no problems with pronunciation or comprehension of the literary text, the attention can be directed to others parameters of musical interpretation and opera acting, the coordination of all elements necessary for the raising of the

244 Studies syncretic show proposing another centre of interest. This situation is beneficial for the singers at the beginning of their studies, who, as is natural, are concerned and focused on the physical process of singing, breathing and air support, posture of singing, phonation, the control of the abdominal wall, the position of the palate, of the larynx and the preparation for producing vocal sounds in the extreme registers. Without solving the vocal and musical issues and the comprehension of the dramatic context we cannot move to the next level: the investment in the character, the scenic movement, the use of the objects (of the props), the interaction with the other characters. The project Voices in space is probing the area of the Romanian opera and operetta within the Opera Class and it has a double function: that of documenting at school the study of students (and ours), but also of bringing it to the public in a current form, more exciting, perhaps, namely in the experiment of the visual kind, following the idea to bridge the gap between the novel, the movie and the visual arts, where innovations are in a constant and engaging competition with tradition.

3. The world-wide repertoire versus the Romanian repertoire Due to the great tradition of bel canto, an overwhelming part of the opera music that is currently sung on the world stages is written in Italian, which is understandable, so a whole singing technique was transmitted to perform this repertoire. Between the era of the popularization of culture, when all scores were sung in Romanian, and that of globalization, approaching an overwhelmingly foreign repertoire (Italian, German, French, Russian, etc.), the study of Romanian music should occupy a training place, from the earliest stages of study (secondary and higher education), a place where the young singer concerned with the study of his voice should get acquainted with the whole issue of the syncretic genre, begin to know and to experiment the means of the scenic language, the principles of phonation and acting, gradually building his self-expression. The Romanian melos and ethos deserve to be played and made known by Romanian performers, the deep understanding of the Romanian music being more difficult to expect from some musicians who come from another cultural space, and speak another language. If this is part of an ethic of the future opera singer even from the university years, the performing universe will thus contain a wealth that will happily complete the repertoire.

4. Musical Stopovers For a shape that was intended to be as wide was possible, the musical pageant started from the chamber opera area, a subgenre preferred by some composers, starting with the second half of the twentieth century. Embodying

245 Artes. Journal of Musicology the singer character from the opera Întâlnire cu George Enescu, Bianca Sava brought on stage the music of Doru Popovici, a composer who focused mainly on chamber music in the second part of his creative activity. Composed in 2002 for soprano, bass, violin, piano, and mixed choir, Întâlnire cu George Enescu, which has the opus number 154, is in line with religious operas, inspired by Christ’s precepts. Bianca Sava proved her understanding of the literary text and she conveyed the philosophical message, building a moment of inner tension, a prayer to the Moldavian Orpheus, during which she spoke about the mission of the art creator, and she emphasized “the correspondence between ethics and aesthetics” (Constantinescu, 2008, p. 311). The musical fragments extracted from the historical operas demanded the performers strength in the rendering of the dramatic accents. From the wide repertoire of the historical opera we stopped at the operas Decebal by Gheorghe Dumitrescu and Horia by Nicolae Bretan. For the first case, the aria Ah, soartă blestemată [Oh, coursed fate!] from the end of the fourth act was sung by mezzosoprano Florena-Lucia Radu, with a powerful voice, being a melodic discourse distinguished by harrowing tragedy. From Horia, the opera of the freedom from within, the most well-known opus signed by Bretan, we stopped at the aria Dați loc, creștini [Make room, Christians] from the fourth act, the eighth scene, an aria which belongs to the character Ileana, daughter of Horia, and which was performed with passion and fervour by the ample voice of soprano Andreea Ghidu. Remaining in the sphere of the national opera we slid lightly and naturally towards the popular drama created by Sabin Drăgoi, on a road that is not far away from the mussorgskyan experience. A thrilling image of the Romanian village from the end of the nineteenth century, Năpasta proposed two characters, Ion [John, the Madman] and Anca, both having an aria from the second act. Ionʼs aria Nu dați, nu dați [Donʼt hit, donʼt hit] from the scene of agony is one of the most tempting bass aria from the Romanian repertoire. The generous melodic with a beautiful cantabile requests a pliable and warm voice that can build up long phrases on legato and quiet nuances, making the natural transition from free parlato, to arioso, and to the aria itself. The young Ivan Dikusar reluctantly approached this complex aria, but from the staged study there resulted a successful interpretation, under which a noble and imposing voice with a special timbre is easily distinguished, a voice highlighted by acting which has already acquired a certain maturity, being able to transmit the moment of confusion, of physical and mental weakness of the character. Along with the spinto voice of Maria Miler, the verismo accents of Drăgoiʼs music were heard. The aria Vrea să plece [He wants to go] illustrates a tenacious character, who lives in order to take revenge. Maria Miler stepped into the characterʼs shoes with a lot of patience and intelligence, realizing a supple recitative, which turned into a song in some places, in passages of

246 Studies arioso, the moments of tense drama bringing to the surface the potential of her voice (the volume and the penetrance).

Fig. 1 Maria Miler – S. Drăgoi, Năpasta, Ancaʼs aria, second act

The next musical stopover took us to the end of the 19th century, when Neo-Greek culture was blooming and the melismatic style paid tribute to oriental influences. Paul Constantinescuʼs opera O noapte furtunoasă marked an important moment in the Romanian composition as the first musical comedy of universal scale, written in a modern, twentieth century style. The piece of work has artistic values due to its comic-dramatic effects unprecedented in our national creation. The short aria of Zița, Angel Radios [Radiant Angel], from the first act, was sung by soprano Diana-Elena Vornicu, who, with ease and ingenuity, shaped a colourful and vivid character. Reframing the atmosphere in Caragialeʼs play, Bianca Sava and Vlad Bîrgu got close to the love relationship between Veta and Chiriac in their study of the final duo of act one. The dramatic situation caught their attention so during rehearsal they enjoyed funny moments, trying to find the most appropriate gestures and movements for the interpretation of the provincial love scene, having at its centre the fake suicide of the male character. The publicʼs reaction at their interpretation of the duo warmly rewarded the efforts of the two students.

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Fig. 2 Bianca Sava and Vlad Bîrgu – P. Constantinescu, O Noapte furtunoasă, duet Veta-Chiriac, end of the first act

A sincere atmosphere with a melancholic touch was created by the sopranos Ioana Secu and Diana Claudia Bîlcu, who united their voices and energies in the duo between Martha Roth and Bertha Gorgon, which is a less played musical number, as in the economy of the Lăsați-mă să cânt show by composer Gherase Dendrino this one is often skipped. The scene raised some difficulties for the young sopranos, as it begins in the romance genre proposing a series of markings of tempo modulations, rendering nuances more and more subtle, on notes which are not easy to reach (in the vocal passage and higher). Diana-Maria Urdeș conquered us with the charm of the waltz in Berthaʼs aria from act two of the same operetta. Lăsați-mă să cânt has at the core of its plot the composer Ciprian Porumbescu, whose beloved one was Bertha Gorgon, for whom he had the most special feelings and to whom he dedicated the song Te iubesc... [I Love You...]. The famous aria, simply intitled You, finds often place in the soprano repertoire, as it is very challenging for the lyrical voices. The performer stood for scenic intelligence, feminity and sensibility and the warmth of her voice went together in harmony with the intensely charming lyrical moment. Vlad Sîrbu joined Diana-Maria Urdeș to “continue” the love story between Ciprian and Bertha. The well-known duo I Love You in act two does not raise significant technical issues so the singer can focus on highlighting the most subtle vocal colours and communicating the inner feeling. This musical number has a special beauty, which is why it is present in recitals and concerts and students are magnetically attracted by the dramatic situation and clear melodicity. The two studentsʼ energies slowly came together as the male character entered the aura of warmth of the female characterʼs soul. Their collaboration took place under good circumstances and Vlad Sîrbu, a tenor of fine musicality, gained interpretation skills and improved his scenic mobility.

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In the end we reached the realm of childrenʼs opera, loved by both children and grown-ups. The tale of the naughty tomcat who uses countless tricks to obtain power, wealth and... the hand of a princess for his master interested not only theatre and movie directors, but also composers who having Perrault`s tale as a starting point wrote remarkable operatic works. The Motanul încălțat opera written by Cornel Trăilescu became one of the longest- lived creations of The National Opera House in Bucharestʼs repertoire. Diana- Elena Vornicu sung the popular aria Eu sunt Motanul Cotoșman [I Am The Puss in Boots], from the end of act, a musical number which is often interpreted by light lyrical or coloratura sopranos. The alert tempo, the sharpness of vocal articulation, the overwhelming energy and the joyful interpretation can easily be remarked in Diana Vornicuʼs evolution, so we can say that this aria shed light both on her vocal and scenic qualities.

5. Contemporary Realism and the opera singer Realism has crossed the ages and arts and remained alive, because it actually doesnʼt belong to the 19th century, but to Antiquity, through Aristoteles, who first put his finger on it naming it mimesis. The mirroring in images of ourselves is a need that arouse in the old ages and has been following us through our existence as a species. We feel the need to mirror the other but also to see ourselves, human beings, in the mirrors of art. Theatre – mimed, spoken, sung – brought in front of people distorted or embellished images, but vivid ones, images made by people, the most attractive then. In the future singer-actorʼs pedagogy there are multiple layers of training, but all merge into the truthful way of playing a character, a scenic persona, by all means of sensibility and intelligence, of musical, acting and spiritual means gained along his formation process. The talk around what is contemporary in a theatrical performance led to the idea that me, who am thinking and living now, I play a part, through this single fact this becomes contemporary. No matter how hard I wished to change this, my spiritual and physical body is contemporary. So, assuming this already makes a Caragiale scene contemporary. Is it so simple? Basically, it is. Musical language, the performance formula, the singing technique and style, a way of acting (a manner sometimes), a tempo – faster or slower – distinguishes an artistic movement from another. The style of a show may be psychological, symbolic, metaphorical, surrealistic and in many other ways, – the fundamentals of the show is to play, to embody a character, to assume situations, relations. Therefore, at the foundation of a performance, whether it follows a tradition (singing or directing) there stays a certain form of realism. One cannot embody a character, no matter how strange or human he can be: whether it is a phantastical creature, a human or an animal, he will be taken by the actor as

249 Artes. Journal of Musicology his/ hers for the identification to happen. In a minimalistic performance, having as set just a backcloth, without or with few props, embodying characters, the intelligence and subtlety of nuances may sustain the interpretation which the director together with the conductor and the singers gave to an opera. So, this kind of performance requests at its centre the presence of the singer-actor. In the quest of form there are still stages – and here comes the wish and need to bring things to an understanding and express them through contemporary means. Switching our initial goal – the public presentation in semester exams of studentsʼ exercises –, the fragmentary character of this video processing gives a certain dynamism to our work. The change of the goal brings things into a new light, thus the artistic prevails over the pedagogical sight and, of no less importance, the Romanian music proves to be able to take on an experimental view. We called our experiment Voices in Space as we think that musical art is not only a temporal, but also a spatial one. The performer sends his/her voice into the space into a certain distance, deepness, wideness, adapting it to the size and quality of the hall, to the display of the public. The voices also circulate one to the other in the scenic space or “air”, in the same moment they make their way to the public. More than this, we “played” with the concept of space as the video processing allowed us to make big leaps over centuries, through symbolic elements which would “send” the public, by the mediation of sound and image, in a trip to past times. Last but not least, our conceptual play refers also to the idea of voices in the virtual space, a reality which has become more and more ours during this period (which will itself be history some day).

6. Conclusions We celebrated 160 years of Higher Artistic Education in Iași with Romanian opera and operetta music wishing to value more and more the national specificity and a powerful artistic individuality, underlying the fact that Romanian lyric theatre has been contributing to the creation of the national Romanian style. The middle of the 20th century marked the beginning of the modern period of the Romanian composition school, when the most valuable works, in which folklore played an essential part, were created. In the process of education and training of young singers we need to insist on the aspects of knowledge and authenticity, thus restoring the treasury of both universal and national values. Itʼs the same with the old painted churches on the verge of destruction. The painting needs to be restored and preserved and the Romanian repertoire has to be researched, studied and (re)interpreted carefully, passionately and with strong engagement in its deepest layers. We all have a duty towards our ancestors and the feeling of national belonging gives us the

250 Studies impulse to make Romanian opera better known, as we believe that “so long as we have theatrical spaces suited to the purpose, and performers willing to devote themselves to realizing its complex glories, operas will continue to be performed, and will continue to articulate some of the drama and complexities of human experience in ways no other art form can match. Many of the trees in this vast forest are very old and very grand. Their beauty and the shadows they cast are immense” (Abbate & Parker, 2019, p. 567).

References Abbate, C., Parker. R. (2015). A History of Opera. The Last Four Hundred Years. London: Penguin Random House. Constantinescu, G. (2008). Splendorile operei. Dicționar de teatru lyric, ediția a 3-a [The Beauties of Opera. Dictionary of Lyrical Theatre, 3rd edition]. București: Editura Didactică și Pedagogică. Cosma, M. (2001). Opera în România privită în context European [Opera in Romania viewed in a European Context]. București: Editura Muzicală. Cosma, O. L. (1962). Opera românească. Privire istorică asupra creației lirico- dramatice [The Romanian Opera. Historical overview of the Romanian lyrical- dramatic creation], 1, 2. București: Editura Muzicală. Moisescu T., Păun M. (1969). Opereta. Ghid [The Operetta. Guidebook]. București: Editura Muzicală. Popescu, M. (1987). Repertoriul general al creației muzicale românești [General Repertoire of the Romanian Musical Creation], 1, 2. București: Editura Muzicală. Sandu-Dediu, V. (2002). Muzica românească între 1944-2000 [Romanian Music Between 1944-2000]. București: Editura Muzicală. Soare, T. (2014). Pentru ce mergem la operă [Why Are We Going to the Opera]. București: Fundația Calea Victoriei.

251 DOI: 10.2478/ajm-2021-0015 Artes. Journal of Musicology

Interdisciplinary aspects in organizing the Music Education lessons

ALEXANDRA-IOANA HOMONE, PhD Student “Gheorghe Dima” National Academy of Music Cluj-Napoca ROMANIA ∗

Abstract: The 21st century brings many changes in the education system regarding the teaching-learning-assessment process. Moving the importance from knowledge to the skills gained by the student requires the rethinking of the didactic strategies, and interdisciplinarity wins more and more in front of the monodisciplinary activities. On the other hand, the presence of technology in the traditional space dedicated to learning has led to the creation of new contexts in which the students can acquire new knowledge, develop skills trained in different subjects. The special circumstances in which school has been in 2020 put the importance of technology on a high level in the teaching-learning-assessment process. Online education has brought new challenges, which have added personal concerns for interactive and interdisciplinary activities. Therefore, our paper presents several ways of approaching interdisciplinarity in Music Education lessons, providing solutions validated by the results obtained in activities with students.

Keywords: interdisciplinary, music, applications, collaboration.

1. Introduction 2020 was the year characterized by a great challenge for all teachers, because everyone had to adapt to new ways of online, synchronous or group activities. A good professional training proved to be insufficient in the absence of digital skills, knowledge of various educational platforms and programs. Confronting the unknown with situations that seemed ephemeral, turned quite quickly, for many teachers, into an assiduous concern for rethinking the way we work with students, for developing strategies different from what is currently applied. Music Education teachers also faced such problems, because the subject is a discipline that, due to its specificity, involves face-to-face collaboration. In fact, the transition of online teaching was a turning point for education, regardless of its nature, because the most important element, the relationship between teacher and student, was affected by the lack of direct contact, at present being mediated through educational platforms and programs. The difficulties that have arisen are numerous; we mention among them the insufficient level of digital skills, the lack of necessary logistics

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(laptops, internet connection), the class management tools together with the suitable ones for teaching-learning-assessment activities, but also a limited involvement and the absence of motivation, both from teachers and the educated (Botnariuc, Cucoș, Glava, Iancu, Ilie, Istrate, et al., 2020, p. 12). However, many teachers have managed to reinvent themselves, to find the proper creative resources so as to capture the attention of “prisoner” (sometimes bored) students in front of the screens during the daily school programe. In some of the cases, the solution found was the active-participatory collaboration between the teachers, who oriented themselves towards interdisciplinary activities, less capitalized on in previous didactic activities. The need to develop digital skills has led to learning applications and how to work on various platforms. In the end, many teachers discovered new ways of doing learning activities, different from what they had done before, but effective and appreciated by students.

2. Interdisciplinarity in the curricular documents Anchored in the social realities of the contemporary era, the Romanian educational system of the 21st century promoted through its curricular documents a new mentality on the teaching-learning-evaluation process, focused on the student and the skills that he must acquire during it. In case of the Music Education class, the teaching activity needs an interaction with the personal activity of each one, starting from what can be found in the student’s living environment, in order to reach the formation of some musical skills and abilities. To do these things it is necessary that the way in which the teacher thinks be interdisciplinary. At the same time, the important elements in the realization of the contents are represented by the system of principles and criteria that the teacher must take into account when preparing his lessons. One of these points is the fulfilling of the relation of cooperation-collaboration of the scientific subject on the interdisciplinary, pluridisciplinary and transdisciplinary levels (Bontaș, 2008, p. 112). The trio made by these terms starts from the word discipline, associated with various prefixes, which contribute to offering a multitude of meanings that all target the student as the center of the educational system. Interdisciplinarity is defined as the coordination between two disciplines, at a superiour level, their meanings interact and complete each other in order to reach an integrated common content (Bontaș, 2008, p. 112). The documents underlying the educational system present interdisciplinarity aspects, so that students can correlate scientific information from different sources. In the case of Music Education, a discipline attended in the middle school cycle, in mainstream schools the school curriculum proposes the integration of interdisciplinarity elements starting from the 5 th grade. This is targeted even by the content area called Heteronomic and Interdisciplinary

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Cultural Aspects (Programa școlară, 2017, p. 6). It aims to relate music to the socio-cultural and historical-geographical context of the time, respectively to identify the elements of syncretism and the use of the Internet. Since the legal framework exists and gives us the opportunity to create connections and make lessons more creative, there is a need for openness and collaboration from teaches. Scientific contents can be connected to each other, as long as teachers are sufficiently prepared to pass this information on to students. It’s a challenge to create interdisciplinary content, but it’s a joy to see how students react differently when they work in different ways with new content.

3. Examples of own interdisciplinary approaches in Music Education lessons In the case of the didactic activity carried out online in the Music Education classes, the approach was totally changed because the practical element, the most important one, couldn’t be realized as it was usually done in class. The reason is that there isn’t a platform or program that allows a number of people to play or sing simultaneously in real time, with opened microphones, as it usually happens under normal conditions in the classroom. Therefore, like other music teachers, I had to reevaluate my teaching-learning methods and find ways to keep students’ interest alive. The elaboration of a new classroom work strategy also included the interdisciplinary approach for some topics. The steps followed in the didactic planning were: discussions with teachers from other disciplines to achieve the concordance between the calendar plannification of each party involved; discussion with teachers on the topict to be addressed in both subjects; teachers’ working meetings to verify and valide the information collected; debating proposals for activities that can be implemented in the classroom and finally, their actual application with the students, in online lessons. The preparation of interdisciplinary activities required time and ingenuity to escalate the obstacles along the way. The first problem identified in the preparation of these lessons was related to the calendar planning, made by each teacher as early as the beginning of the school year and difficult to modify subsequently. Once the opportune moment was established to carry out the interdisciplinary activities, each of the teachers had a short period of time (several days) to prepare the material that would be presented in the working meeting, respectively to identify the interest activities that can be implemented for the approached subject. During the working meeting, the scientific information to be presented to the students was verified and validated. The purpose of the practical activities was to develop musical skills and abilities starting from the knowledge from other fields, which the students have acquired over time and from the lesson from the other discipline involved.

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Also, through the practical activity of the Music Education class, we observed whether the musical meaning can be easily identified by certain methods and teaching aids, used for online education. The essential element of this approach was the collaboration of at least two teachers and the observance of the work plan, so that the content offered to students was mastered by them in an interactive manner. The implementation part will be presented in detail below for different interdisciplinary combinations that were made between March and December, 2020.

3.1. Music and History We will describe our examples starting from the connection between music and history. Following all the stages of preparing a lesson, in the implementation one, we debated a lesson that approached as subject the Musical Chronology, in the 9th grade. The main problem was that the duration of the Music Education class is fifty minutes, once every two weeks, while the History classes take place weekly. Another aspect that appeared during the planning stage is related to the contents mentioned in the school curriculum, which the students had to learn in 9th grade, totally different in the two subjects. By mutual agreement, it was decided to hold an hour in both history and music where the eras were classified, together with a brief characterization of them. First, the chronology was made in the history class because it’s easy to operate with general knowledge, and later, starting from the knowledge assimilated to this discipline, the musical eras were established. The main purpose that we had in mind was to identify the common elements (more precisely the periods) regarding the name of the era, because we know that the musical ones didn’t take place simultaneously with certain historical periods. The teaching strategy implied the following methods: learning by discovery, heuristic conversation and music listening. Each era was introduced through a set of questions related to the historical information that students had, and later, the era was customized with the help of musical audition, in order to discover some defining characteristics of the period. The feedback from the students was impressive because they weren’t aware that music was among the last arts to develop. At the level of teaching aids used, the development of the activity in the online environment allowed a greater diversity. We made a film especially for this lesson presenting the historical and musical epochs, in which general data were included, as well as auditory elements specific to the mentioned periods. In addition to this audio-visual element, a worksheet with multiple choice items and a game in the form of “hangman” was created as an application.

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Fig. 1 Capture from the presentation movie dedicated to the Musical Chronology lesson

3.2. Music and Romanian language and literature A topic in the school curriculum for Music Education, which is usually done in an interdisciplinary form, is that of the Doina and Balada lesson. These two gernres of folklore were approched from a literary and musical perspective. The challenging aspect was the one regarding that in Romanian Language and Literature the content is studied in the 6th grade, while in music it’s done only in the 7th grade. Starting from the communication of the teachers involved, we established that the music lesson should be thought out starting from what was previously discussed in literature. In the planning meetings, the teacher with whom I did the topics in an interdisciplinary way presented the lesson material, how the explanations were made to the students and what the applications look like, so that the students could differentiate between the two genres. In the opening of the music class, I made a Venn Diagram to see what the similarities are and the different characteristics between the two literary genres. Even though the beginning lasted a little longer than I thought, later, due to the musical examples listened to, everything started to clarify, and the students discovered similarities and differences for the subjects from the musical perspective. The work tasks formulated before hearing the examples were easily solved; the students identified the theme based on the lyrics and, following the form and musical characteristics of the songs listened to, it was easy for the students to mention in which category they can place them. The students actively participated in the class, being engaged in the form of an audition–based musical genre identification game.

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3.3. Music and Maths For the 5th grade, where elements of musical language are mainly studied, I collaborated with the mathematics teacher because I turned my attention especially to the rhythmic notions and the way they are marked, considering that music is a fun form of mathematics. The combination of durations in the measures involves mathematical operations that students learned in primary school. However, learning durations and making combinations of them to varying degrees puts students in difficulty. The planned lesson had as principal purpose recapitulating the rhythmic values in the form of a game, which had as main task for the students the making of a collective “pizza” whose ingredients were precisely the rhythmic values. The countertop was represented by the whole note, then the “pizza” was divided in turn in several pieces (halves, quarters, etc.) with the help of students, who had to add a new “ingredient”, then transformed into a new duration corresponding to the division made. In addition to logical- mathematical intelligence, the interpersonal one was activated because students had to cooperate and collaborate as a team regarding the ingredients that had to be placed on the pizza, therefore the culinary skills were also formed, this part being fun for students. After finishing the game, which had the role of capturing the students’ attention and, at the same time, of updating the knowledge about rhythmic values in a different form than usual, a diagram with their synthesis was noted on the board.

Fig. 2 Collective Pizza – layers of whole note, eights and sixteenths

Following the lesson, with the help of a worksheet, music took the form of mathematics. There were three different types of exercises through which students better mastered their theoretical notions. In the first, students had to use mathematical operations to find equality by noting a number, starting from

257 Artes. Journal of Musicology knowing the value of written musical signs. The second exercise used only one rhythmic value next to which the students had to mention another one to give the result noted at the end of the exercise. The last exercise indicated only the result, leaving open the possibility for students to make their own rhythmic combination, by involving at least two rhythmic values. Of course, the practical element was present in every hour of music through rhythmic exercises that included elements of body percussion. This type of exercise, through which rhythmic habits were formed, became routine, being the warm-up part from the beginning of music classes.

3.4. Music and ICT Another important combination which has a huge impact, especially in the context of 2020, was the link between ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and music. First of all, before the meeting with the other teacher regarding what we can do together, it was necessary to improve my digital skills and discover what new types of applications I can integrate in an hour apart from simply using the Microsoft Office Suite or the music editing programs. ITC, together with a lot of platforms and programs, comes to the aid of the music teacher and supports the learning of musical content by students through programs and activities that can be done, thus developing students’ digital skills and musical skills that they can acquire (Philpott, 2005, p. 116). One of the most used applications was the Google Chrome extension called Chrome Music Lab. With the help of the app there were made reinterpretations of some songs that the students knew in form of melodic dictations – Melody Maker¸ melodic, rhythmic or melodic-rhythmic creation exercises were done, where some concrete tasks were given such as the use of certain musical notes, respectively the modification of the tempo – Song Maker or Rhythm; and, last but not least, the artistic side was involved by creating musical drawings where students could draw a landscape or some geometrical shapes, which were eventually converted into musical sound, resulting in a melody – Kandinsky. This application can be used not only for a specific topic, but can be easily integrated into as many topics as possible, giving students the opportunity to develop their creative spirit. The collaboration with the ICT teacher was regarding the decoding of the technical language, if there were problems in the connection and in the use of the application. The students were interested and started using what they found in Google’s music lab, not only in music, but also in other disciplines.

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Fig. 3 Musical drawing made in Kandinsky

3.5. Music, Physical education and Career guidance In 2019/2020, I had the opportunity, in the high school where I teach, to lay the foundations of an optional discipline called Music, dance and good manners in society. The aim was for students in the 11th grade (specialization in Philology) to develop their musical taste and aesthetic values starting from what they observe in society; at the same time, we aimed to make them aware of how they may be affected by the decisions they make. The content debated over a year took into account the development of current musical genres, of great interest to students, dances, as well as the practical realization of movements, namely educating young people on how to behave in society. Interdisciplinarity was a combination of disciplines such as Physical education, Counseling and career guidance (form master class), Music education, etc. The element that involved body movement wasn’t only based on rhythmic exercises, but also included learning dance styles. In addition to these elements of movement, the way we behave with each other was also targeted, this contributing to the cohesion of the relationship between the students of the class and to the well-grounded knowledge of each student’s personality. Theatrical elements were also added, each student being able to discover his own personality through a series of diction exercises, role interpretation and debates on various topics. Finally, we set out to do an artistic event, in which to present everything that was learned during the year. Being something new, interactive and where the knowledge didn’t follow theoretical resources, but imply rather practical elements, the students quickly adapted to what they had to do, being open to any new challenges. Regarding the organization of this new optional discipline, I collaborated with the leading teacher of the class – who provided me with important data about the students in the class – and with the physical education teacher, with whose help I had the opportunity to do the class in another space than the music room. The assessment method used online was in written form with the

259 Artes. Journal of Musicology aim of verifying students’ ability to apply knowledge in other contexts than those known in the teaching activity (Dulamă, 2020, p. 61). The questionnaire consisted of short-answer items, free in form and content.

4. Conclusions Creating lessons of Music Education is a challenge for the teacher who works in mainstream schools in this century of technology. In order to captivate students, often more oriented towards science, mathematics or other fields, those who teach this subject must be creative and have varied skills, in addition to musical talent, and the interdisciplinary approach can be a viable solutio n. The move of the educational process over to the virtual space required a rapid adaptation and rethinking of teaching strategies so that the educational process retains as much as possible the characteristic of what is commonly practiced in a classroom. There is no recipe for the perfect lesson, but rather through the personality of the teacher, the way he interacts with students and his vision of the discipline, unprecedented things can be done and activities to learn certain content can take a new form, attractive to students. The interdisciplinary lessons in the subject of Music Education that were done online were a continuation of the approach of previous years to achieve student–centered learning emphasised by adopting an interactive model. We considered that the interdisciplinary approach must be seen from the perspective of the student, not only from that of the teacher, having as a basic pillar the personality and skill of the educated because they are addressed first of all. Why is it important to carry out interdisciplinary activities? Because they contribute to the student’s development and help him to holistically perceive the surrounding reality. The success of the activities I designed depended on a good knowledge of the classes of students I worked with. I tried to adapt to the personalities of the students and their interests in order to transform the music class from the banal conversation on theoretical issues and learning a song, into an hour that would help them discover the musical universe by using their own skills and satisfying their perceived needs. The preparation of interdisciplinary activities highlighted the importance of the collaboration of teachers for a better knowledge of their students, but also communication, as a key point of the educational process. Digital skills are one of the priorities of the 21 st century and represent a challenge for each of us, that we must face through continuous information. The activities carried out demonstrated how important it’s for our teaching strategies to include technology, to capitalize on the opportunities offered by various educational platforms in diversifying learning tasks, for communicating with students, developing critical thinking and creative

260 Studies expression. The integration of technology with musical activities has allowed students to work at their own pace and improve their learning outcomes, behaviour and attitude towards the discipline. The interdisciplinary approach helped to form the general and specific competencies of the discipline, but also led to the development of behavioral skills. It provided students with motivation, aroused enthusiasm, improved active class attendance, and increased the self-confidence of students who were unwilling to sing or play during class hours. Therefore, we can conclude that a well-planned teaching strategy, which combines the specific activities of Music Education – vocal singing, music listening and instrumental practice – with technology and the interdisciplinary approach to education is the safest way to optimize lessons, regardless of the school cycle we work with.

References Bontaș, I. (2008). Tratat de pedagogie, ed. a VI-a [Pedagogy Treatise, 6th ed.]. București: Editura All. Botnariuc, P. & Cucoș, C. & Glava, C. et al. (2020). Școala online pentru inovarea educației – Raport de cercetare evaluativă [Online School for Educational Innovation]. București: Editura Universității din București. Dulamă, M. E. (2020). De la teorie spre practică în evaluarea on-line [From theory to practice in online assessment]. Acta Didactica, 20. Cluj-Napoca: Presa Universitară Clujeană. Philpott, Ch. (2005). Learning to Teach Music in the Secondary School – A Companion to School Experience. London: Taylor & Francis E-Library. * * * Programa școlară pentru disciplina EDUCAȚIE MZICALĂ. Clasele a V-a – a VIII-a. Retrieved from http://programe.ise.ro/Portals/1/Curriculum/2017-progr/63- Educatie%20muzicala.pdf

261 DOI: 10.2478/ajm-2021-0016 Artes. Journal of Musicology

Emotional and spiritual intelligence, aesthetical and semantic implications

COROIU PETRUTA-MARIA, Professor, PhD “Transilvania” University Brașov ROMANIA ∗

Abstract: Musical art is built on its semantics, in the absence of semantics – which is the main reason why a composer writes music, why a singer interprets it, but also the most important reason for the music listener as the receiver – music loses its meaning. Musical compositions can be problematic for interpreters and listeners at various levels of human sensitivity, intelligence and semantic ability, which are all fundamentally connected to conveying and receiving a message transmitted through music. These creations have emotional (psychological) implications, but also more profound ones, spiritual (religious), of which we are more aware and which are emphasized if we take into consideration the concepts of EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE and SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE.

Keywords: spirituality, emotion, aesthetics, semantics, intelligence.

1. Introduction Musical art is built on its semantics, in the absence of semantics – which is the main reason why a composer writes music, why a singer interprets it, but also the most important reason for the music listener as the receiver – music loses its meaning. Musical compositions can be problematic for interpreters and listeners at various levels of human sensitivity, intelligence and semantic ability, which are all fundamentally connected to conveying and receiving a message transmitted through music. These creations have emotional (psychological) implications, but also more profound ones, spiritual (religious), of which we are more aware and which are emphasized if we take into consideration the concepts of EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE and SPIRITUAL INTELLIGENCE. Emotional intelligence (EI) consists in the ability to identify, use and manage one’s own emotions (and those of others, as much as possible) in an efficient and empathic way, with a view to obtaining correct answers, achieving major benefits in terms of the quality of the communication and of the human relationships, of thinking and behavior regulation – with multiple consequences deriving from it (improved health, better professional performance, more efficient self-organization).

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Emotional and spiritual intelligence are part of the human non-cognitive abilities being – until several decades ago – the only ones truly highlighted in the description of the human personal abilities. This is valid beyond any doubt, because cognitive intelligence is not the only defining trait of a human being (even less so of an artist or of his/her creation).

2. Emotional and spiritual intelligence – psychologic, aesthetic and semantic connections If the beginning of the 20th century saw the emergence of the concept of social intelligence (visible in the moments of collective decision-making), the mid-century saw the emergence of references to individualized emotional factors, which describe the self-regulating capacity. In the 80s, Howard Gardner (Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences) even introduces the idea of multiple intelligences (interpersonal and intrapersonal). Thus, EQ (Emotional Quotient) refers to the integration of intelligence in emotion, in a given cultural context, and the terminology spread worldwide in the aftermath of Daniel Goleman’s book, Emotional Intelligence – Why it can matter more than IQ. The five components of emotional intelligence refer to self-knowledge, self-control, motivation, empathy and mastering social skills. They demonstrate the fact that this emotional quotient (EQ) is different from the intelligence quotient (IQ), which measures human intelligence from the point of view of general mental cognitive abilities, based on standardized tests, built for each age level”. The qualities deriving from emotional intelligence offer the person who cultivates it empathy, the ability to find solutions, to express truthfully his/her own opinions, while showing regard for the opinions of others, the ability to overcome negative elements and constructive criticism, to accept their mistakes and to correct them, to improve self-knowledge and self-control. These are some facts concerning emotional intelligence which help us distinguish it from spiritual intelligence. Spiritual intelligence (SI) was theorized before 2000, and is even more difficult to quantify (measure) than emotional intelligence. Stephen Covey states that: „spiritual intelligence is the central and most fundamental of all the intelligences, because it becomes the source of guidance for the others” (Covey, 2004, p. 53), underlining the true importance of this human personality trait, of which very few of us are aware. Among its most valuable qualities there are: humility (next to love, the highest virtue, according to the Holy Fathers), respect for others, the ability to move past the immediate, material aspects of existence, the use of virtues and spiritual solutions for mundane problems, the purity and dignity of one’s actions, the ability to preserve and cultivate peace in troubled times, stability, the positive approach to difficult situations and personalities, and the vocation to foster your own inner growth and that of the ones around you. Tightly linked

263 Artes. Journal of Musicology to the religious element, spiritual intelligence is needed to approach and understand the religious repertory of cult music – which is the focus of this discussion. If emotional intelligence is the domain of human psychology (and of semantics at the artistic level), spiritual intelligence (SQ) refers to the superior level of human existence which covers the relationship with Divinity, the mental adaptation to transcendence and metaphysics, the problems concerning significance and values, the achievement of a state of inner balance (more than at the psychological level), the religious act (which exceeds by far the strictly moral or expressive act), being attached to hermeneutics. Spiritual intelligence is often defined close to the ideas of “compassion, wisdom, peace” (Wigglesworth, 2006, p. 3), but, if these values remain only at the level of human psychology, of morality, (which may be, to a certain extent, even non- religious), then they do no reach their final significance. Similarly, religious music (to which we refer directly here) does not resort only to the semantic skills of its interpreter or of the public, used to decode an expressive message in the sonorous composition, but invokes the deeper substratum of the hermeneutic skills. Hermeneutics involves – in addition to the techniques for analysing strictly theological aspects – the state of prayer, a state which is impossible to theorize completely in a study about music such as this one or even in a study about theology, impossible to exhaust even during a holy existence. It can be supported (if it was instilled in the child during the years spent in the family environment) by religious education, in whose absence – I strongly believe – man will neither be fully prepared for life, for eternity, nor be a very good interpreter or listener of the highest quality music, because the latter implies the state of prayer. “The purpose of religious education is to lead a useful life, of service to beauty. Religious education reaches the primary and ultimate existential coordinate, that of the ontology of man’s craving for the lost state of youth without aging and life without death, for a paradisiac existence” (Nicolescu, 2020, p. 3). Religious education is included under the term SPIRITUAL (but does not define the same reality) and requires a hermeneutic approach which exceeds the superficial state, that can mask major deficiencies at the level of personality development. “Spiritual Intelligence is considered by many to be the most important of our many intelligences, and has the power to transform your life, civilization, the planet and the course of history. A truly intelligent person is not one who can simply spout words and numbers; it is someone who can react ‘intelligently’ to all the opportunities, simulations and problems provided by the environment. Real intelligence means engaging your brain with every aspect of life” (Buzan, 2002, p. XIII).

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Spiritual education also looks beyond the strictly emotional education; both of them are reflected by music and are necessary in order to understand the artistic masterpieces: meta-emotions involve being aware of one’s emotions so that they can be expressed more efficiently. If the emotional education stops at data such as: „learning to manage yourself and your personality effectively, learning to manage your relationships effectively and acceptance of self and others” (Sparrow, Knight, 2006, p. 291), then the musical itinerary to follow has many gaps which have to be filled in order to understand the masterpieces for which it is necessary to acquire these multiple types of intelligence. What else can semantic and hermeneutic analysis be, beyond the strictly technical musical level, than becoming aware and conveying, explaining and shaping these emotions? Spiritual (religious) education provides full and inner education for the human being, contributing to the ontological fulfilment of man. Anyway, even if religion is not practiced (lived), religious education is part of the so-called general knowledge of any educated person, but „religious education fails to fully reach its purpose unless it becomes faith, which is the essence of its purpose – the one that provides balance to the human being. The seed of faith is ontologically within man, but it has to (…) bear fruit, to lead to (…) commitment and sacrifice. However, faith cannot be reached only through education” (Nicolescu, 2020, p. 3). The essential fact is that spiritual education allows access to some of the values which are able to give MEANING to life – the vital element which relates to the unity and value of existence: the Austrian scientist Wolf Singer noticed, before the 2000s, that there is a neural process in the brain which gives unity and meaning, while enhancing the results of cognitive and emotional intelligence. Values are the highest standards on which we base our multiple choices both in life and in art, and the symbols are the superior reality where meaning exists. Religious music depends directly on the spiritual intelligence of its author, interpreter and audience who has access to it, and decoding and experiencing it from a pragmatic perspective is conditioned by the conscience that the individual acquired in relation to Divinity. This type of research is interdisciplinary, and entails the interaction of various fields, which directly involve aeshetics, semantics and cultural studies: „Studying EI (emotional intelligence) at the interface of brain function, communication and culture requires an interdisciplinary approach that combines the perspectives of neuroscience with those of social psychology, media studies and cultural studies. The aesthetic representation and performance of emotions appeal to all levels of emotional experience in the viewer” (Fahlenbrach, Bartsch, 2008, p. 221). The examples of religious music culminate the history of the entire musical creation, in any cultural style and space, in any period and socio-

265 Artes. Journal of Musicology cultural context. „Christianity exerted a powerful influence on Medieval art (western and byzantine). (…) The Bible inspired the Byzantine psalm music, but especially Bach’s Oratorios” (Petrovai, G., 2011), Haydn’s The creation and Beethoven’s Misa solemnis, J. S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion or compositions such as Crucifixus by Antonio Lotti and its variant in Mandala by Aurel Stroe. Understanding and internalizing the symbolic value of elements such as the Cross, the sacrifice, the humility – for St. Matthew Passion by J. S. Bach, for example – are essential. These landmarks can easily function as a basic model in understanding them ONLY through a cultivated, deep spiritual intelligence of which we are aware. In its absence, the interpreter, listener or analyst would miss the supreme motive which unleashes the creativity of the authors of these masterpieces: that of expressing, living, conveying to the world the truths of faith (supreme in life, precisely because they are the ones which give meaning).

Fig. 1 J. S. Bach, Mass in b minor, Kyrie eleison

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In the absence of the norms of spiritual education, how can we access the profound meanings of the three invocations of divine mercy from the beginning of the Mass in B minor by J. S. Bach, invocations that actually represent the concentrated form of heart prayer in the hesychastic tradition? In the absence of awareness of these unseen, but so real realities, the analysis stops at a strictly musical (possibly informative-theological) framework, but without having the opportunity to enter the depths of the state of prayer that haloes the great Baroque masterpiece.

3. Conclusions Spiritual intelligence is in direct connection and cooperation with all the other forms of intelligence, both in everyday life and in the cultural-artistic environment: „spiritual intelligence progresses naturally from your personal intelligence (knowledge, appreciation and understanding of yourself), through social intelligence (knowledge, appreciation and understanding of other people), to the appreciation and understanding of all other life forms and the universe itself. In fact, contact with, understanding, and an appreciation of nature is a major aspect in the development of your spiritual intelligence” (Buzan, 2002, p. XIX). At the musical and symbolic level, manipulating the higher emotions and the experiences generated by them represents a must, both for the creative process and for the interpretative one: „the importance of dealing effectively with feelings about differences has never been more urgent than it is at this time in human history. Framing your world through the Emotional Intelligence (…) can be transformational and life changing” (Gardenswartz, Cherbosque, Rowe, 2008, p. 177), even for the artistic phenomenon. Out of all the values promoted by musical aesthetics, semantics and hermeneutics, beauty (with its external and internal meaning) is the one that confers meaning to the artistic creation: „two components must be part of any religious education: one is beauty, because beauty is essential for life and gives it meaning, it attracts and purifies, and a good relationship with beauty, as Dostoyevsky remarked, can be liberating; the other one is usefulness. Among other things, education is meant to offer attractive aims to our existence and to bring us closer to them, so that after the rough journey of life a person could feel fulfilled and loved” (Nicolescu, 2020). This is why artistic beauty is one of the most important factors of education (formal or continuous, achieved beyond institutions), and music offers the most illuminating examples for this subtle component so important in shaping the human spirit.

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Referințe Buzan, T. (2002). The Power of Spiritual Intelligence. HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Covey, S. (2004). The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness. Simon and Schuster. Gardenswartz, L., Cherbosque, J., Rowe, A. (2008). Emotional Intelligence for Managing Results in a Diverse World. Mountain View, California: Davies-Black Publishing, Fahlenbrach, K., Bartsch, A. (2008). Emotional Intelligence at the Interface of Brain Function, Communication, and Culture: The Role of Media Aesthetics in Shaping Empathy, in Scientific Modeling of Emotional Intelligence from a Cultural Perspective (ed. Nicole C. Karafyllis, Gotlind Ulshöferp). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Nicolescu, C. (2020). Rostul educației religioase [The purpose of religious education]. Lumina, 14 Sept. Petrovai, G. (2011). Legătura inseparabilă dintre artă şi religie [The inseparable link between art and religion]. Retrieved from: https://curentul.net/2011/05/03/legatura- inseparabila-dintre-arta-si-religie/, May 3/2011. Sparrow, T., Knight, A. (2006). Applied EI. The Importance of Attitudes in Developing Emotional Intelligence. John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Wigglesworth, C. (2006). Why Spiritual Intelligence is Essential to Mature Leadership. Integral Leadership Review, VI, 3.

268 DOI: 10.2478/ajm-2021-0017 Studies

Tradition and Characteristics in the Approach to Psaltic Music Theory in Romania – the 20th Century

ELENA CHIRCEV, Professor, PhD “Gheorghe Dima” National Academy of Music, Cluj-Napoca ROMANIA ∗

Abstract: Throughout the 20th century, Byzantine music theory was a constant preoccupation of chanters, teachers and musicians, who contributed to the development of this field and to the publication of a significant number of books in the Romanian language. The paper addresses these theoretical contributions based on several key elements: conception, structure, content, vocabulary, musical exercises and examples, extension, graphic aspect, relevance in the era –, but also in the context of the development of a specialized literature in Romanian. The analysis of these books reveals that everything that was published in Romania in the 20th century in the field of psaltic theory remains within the confines of the Byzantine tradition, faithfully passed down to the modern era. At the same time, the changes that the Romanian society went through in the second half of the century influenced the manner of approach to the theoretical notions, which were treated in the light of staff notation and Western music theory. However, over the course of the 20th century, successive authors managed to develop a specialized terminology in Romanian and to transmit the notional content specific to the Byzantine tradition.

Keywords: communism, musical grammar, simultaneous notation, propaedia, Byzantine tradition.

1. Introduction Developed over the centuries in parallel with a persistent and strong oral tradition, the theory of Byzantine music gradually became a self-standing discipline, asserting itself fully only in the 19 th century, with the publication of the first book in the field by one of the three great Teachers of the New Method, Chrysanthos of Madytos – Εισαγωγή εις το θεωρητικόν και πρακτικόν της εκκλησιαστικής μουσικής (Paris, 1821). Based on the notions used in the medieval propaedias and on the above-mentioned oral tradition, the work benefited from the advantages of the printing press and enabled the faster transmission and assimilation of the theoretical notions and of the repertoire of chants written in the new notation. The completion and detailing of the content initially displayed by the famous chanter led to the publication of the Mega Theoreticon of psaltic music (ΘεωρητικόνΜέγα τής Μουσικής, Trieste, 1832).

∗ [email protected] 269 Artes. Revistă de muzicologie

This book by Chrysanthos has remained to this day a reference bibliography for all those who wish to research psaltic music or to improve their skills in kliros singing in Orthodox churches, regardless of language and country. Chrysanthos of Madytos’s comprehensive book was not translated into Romanian, but the theory of the New Method spread to the Romanian Principalities soon after 1814; it was adopted and transmitted to the specialized schools throughout the 19th century, mainly due to the theoretical and editorial contributions of Macarie the Hieromonk (?1770-1836) and Anton Pann (?1796-1854)1. Their works, written in Romanian, served as a basis for the development of textbooks in the next century. Everything that was published in Romania in the 20th century in the field of psaltic theory remains within the confines of the Byzantine tradition, faithfully passed on to the modern era. This continuity was ensured by the relentless reference to the books printed in the decades immediately following the ratification of the New Method by the two above-mentioned authors. On the other hand, in the second half of the last century, due to the changes that occurred in society and the political interference in the instructive-educational activity of the theological schools and in everything that meant the manifestation of the Orthodox faith, we also witness certain particular approaches to psaltic music theory, generated by the special conditions mentioned above. Therefore, a new direction appeared in the approach of the theoretical elements: through the prism of staff notation and of the Western music theory. This direction was maintained until the end of the century, when the change of the political regime in Romania enabled the free expression of faith, the access to information and the return to the theory handed down by the Byzantine tradition. The Romanian bibliography includes mentions of the theoretical preoccupations in several historical writings or in those whose aim is to present the origin and structure of the books printed by Macarie and Pann2. The references to the theoretical contributions of the 20th century are brief and refer mostly to the 1951 volume (Lungu & Costea & Croitoru, 1951). We therefore intend to provide a more complete image of the theory of psaltic music in 20th century Romania, by emphasizing the influence of the theoretical books

1 In 1816, the first school was opened in București where Petros Manuel Ephesios introduced the New Method to the Romanian chanters, and in 1820, the same chanter printed, for the first time in the world, the first psaltic music books, i.e. an Anastasimatarion and a Doxastarion. See the study Începuturile tiparului românesc în notație bizantină [The Beginnings of the Romanian Printing Press in Byzantine Notation] (Moisescu, 1985). 2 We refer primarily to the introductory study written by Titus Moisescu on the republication of the Theoriticon published by Macarie (1976), and to the detailed study on Pann’s grammar, conducted by Fr. Alexie Buzera, Ph.D. (1999). We have also considered all the works on the history of church music that speak of these contributions. 270 Studies published shortly after the application of the 1814 reform to the authors of the following decades, and also to indicate the transformations undergone by the textbooks of psaltic music theory, based on certain key elements: conception, structure, content, vocabulary, illustrative material and musical examples, extension, graphic aspect, relevance in the era, but also in the context of the development of a specialized literature.

2. Theoretical preoccupations before 1900 Given that the development of a psaltic music theory in the national language is a long-lasting process, we find it necessary to take a retrospective look at the elements that generated these preoccupations and, in particular, to try to understand the status that music theory had as a discipline of study in medieval education and in the institutionalized education of the modern era. This historical perspective will allow us to emphasize the permanent relationship of the Romanian chanter to the Byzantine source, to the tradition expressed in Greek and, at the same time, to see the contribution of the Romanian chanters to the development of a musical theory in the national language before the 20th century.

2.1. Theoretical writings in Byzantine manuscripts The complementarity between the oral and written traditions is one of the major characteristics of Byzantine music. Therefore, the formulation of some theoretical notions is related to the practical activity at the kliros and to the crystallization of musical notation, which facilitate the preservation and spread of the rich repertoire already existing in the second half of the first Christian millennium. Documented by the manuscripts dating back to the 10th century, the crystallization of the neumatic notation required an instructive process for which the teacher-apprentice dialogue (i.e. the oral transmission of tradition) was no longer sufficient. The teaching of notation and of the theoretical principles therefore required improved teaching methods, since the reading of musical texts is only one step in a long series of stages an apprentice had to go through in order to learn the art of interpreting psaltic music. This explains the mixture of theoretical notions, exercises and methods of learning music that is found in the protheory recorded in musical manuscripts for centuries (Liakos & Mazera, 2013). The notation of sung music led to the written formulation of certain statements about neumes and tones, meant to facilitate the learning process. These medieval texts were the starting point for the elaboration of some proper theoretical works. According to the distinguished Byzantinist musicologist Gregorios Stathis, the brief theoretical notions necessarily preceded the chants from the Papadike-type collection, being also accompanied by schematic

271 Artes. Revistă de muzicologie representations of the relationships between tones and by exercises3, in order to facilitate the learning process. These texts had various names in the Byzantine musical manuscripts: propaedia, grammar, introduction, papadike, etc. In modern times, Byzantine music researchers refer to the medieval theoretical texts using mainly the generic term “grammars” (Alexandrescu, 2011-2012, 2015). The oldest theoretical writing on the act of chanting is the treatise Hagiopolites (Raasted, 1983 and Alexandrescu, 2011-2012, pp. 21-55), preserved in two manuscripts dating from the 14th century (Paris gr. 360 and Vat. gr. 872) (Alexandrescu, 2011-2012 and Liakos & Mazera, 2013). At the same time, another type of theoretical writing is also recorded in the form of a dialogue, while in the 17 th century, Cyrilos Marmarinos used the name Theoritikon (Liakos & Mazera, 2013). The increasing number and the variety of these writings found in the musical manuscripts has led researchers to try to classify them according to content (Tardo, 1938 and Alexandrescu, 2011-2012, apud Floros). The oldest known manuscript used in a Romanian school was written by Evstatie the Protopsaltes of Putna in 1511, followed by two more propaedias from the 16th century4 and by many others from the following centuries (Barbu- Bucur, 1984, p. 2). They attracted the attention of musicologists as early as the last century, so that, in the Romanian bibliography, a first study on the propaedias was published (in two parts) by Archd. Sebastian Barbu-Bucur, Ph.D. (1974, 1975). The author had found 58 manuscripts with Koukouzelian notation containing propaedias in the Romanian libraries, to which in 1999, Fr. Alexie Al. Buzera, Ph.D. added two more propaedias5. A more recent research on musical grammars was carried out by Ozana Alexandrescu, who also created a typology for the musical grammars preserved in the Romanian libraries, along with a detailed presentation of some of these works (Alexandrescu, 2011-2012). The researcher has identified the existence of three types of grammars. Type I, the simplest one (which provided only literacy and was 6-8 pages long), is most often found in Anastasimataria, but

3 “However, the papadike will always begin with a comprehensive protheory of the psaltic art, representing a comprehensive collection of the so-called “methods” (of teaching – our note) belonging to different teachers, for the teaching and explanation of the various themes of psaltic music, with additions from the writings of the best known theorists. In this protheory we also find representations of tables or of the qanun instrument, of the wheel and tree (as parallage methods), of the so-called «complex parallage of Maistor John Koukouzelis», of the «very wise parallage of Ioannes Plousiadenos» etc.” (Stathis, 1975). 4 The Greek manuscript I-26, Antologhion [Anthology], from the “Mihai Eminescu” Central University Library in Iasi and mss. 283 from the Romanian Academy Library in București. 5 One in an 18th century manuscript and the other one written much later, in 1845, in a manuscript with polychronia and school hymns in the notation of the New Method, but with a propaedia in Koukouzelian notation (Buzera, 1999, p. 27) 272 Studies sometimes also in Anthologies. This type includes the list of signs, phtorals, the names of the echoi, the wheel of the echoi, the apechematas, parallage exercises, the poem The Great Ison of Koukouzelis, and, after the 17th century, it also includes the troparia for the Mathetas of Chrysaphes. However, the content of the propaedias may vary, by including the presentation of neumes and phtorals, but lacking certain sections. Type II is an extensive grammar (about 50 pages long), notated in the Anthologies of the 17th and 18th centuries. Having a strong applicative character, in the first section it includes the texts of type I, while in the second part it includes a large number of applicative musical examples, with pieces entitled “metrophonia” and “method”. Type III includes only theoretical content, i. e. texts that circulate under the name of Tratatul Pseudo-Damaskenos [Pseudo-Damaskenos Treatise], but the author has also identified a different text in manuscript III-88 in Iași (Alexandrescu, 2015). Regarding the Romanian contribution to the transmission of theoretical notions – in addition to the copying of the Greek manuscripts –, with the affirmation of the national language in church, the theoretical notions were also translated6. The first theoretical text in Romanian belongs to Filothei sin Agăi Jipei, who calls it propaedia and includes it in his manuscript Psaltichie rumanească [Romanian Psalm Book] (1713)7 before the Anastasimatarion. The text belongs to type I and was published by Archd. Sebastian Barbu- Bucur, Ph.D. (1930-2015), who notes that in the beginning, the author reproduces the texts of the Greek propaedias almost identically (1984, p. 4)8. Based on the extensive research undertaken by Archd. Sebastian Barbu-Bucur on ms. rom. 61 from B.A.R. (Romanian Academy Library) (and its copies) it was found that the last copy of Filothei’s propaedia was written in 18219, but the last propaedia with the old notation is from a manuscript dated 1845, a period when the printed psaltic music book was in full swing. 10

6 Archd. Sebastian Barbu-Bucur, Ph.D. (1930-2015) believed that most of the theoretical notions were transmitted in the Romanian language: “All these small grammars of psaltic music are extremely brief […] because the teaching was done only partially in Greek, while most of the musical knowledge was passed down to the disciples orally, in Romanian” (our emphasis) (Barbu-Bucur, 1984, p. 2). 7 The Romanian manuscript no. 61, Psaltichie rumanească [Romanian Psalm Book], is kept at the Library of the Romanian Academy in București and was published in four volumes by Archd. Sebastian Barbu-Bucur. The books contain photocopies and the complete transcription of the chants, accompanied by introductory studies. 8 Filothei Jipa's propaedia includes: the categories of signs – somata, pneumata, cheironomic signs, the phthorai of the 8 modes, the apechemata of each mode, parallage exercises, Chrysaphes’s troparion for the Mathetas, the transition from one mode to another, martyrias and the wheel of the modes. 9 This is found in ms. rom. 5970 B.A.R., written by Hieromonk Acachie from Căldărușani Monastery, according to the model established by Filothei at the beginning of the 18th century (Barbu-Bucur, 1984, p. 4). 10 It is the one mentioned by Fr. Alexie Buzera, (1999, p. 27). 273 Artes. Revistă de muzicologie

The theory of the New Method was introduced in the Romanian Principalities shortly after the Reform became official, with the important contribution of the school founded by Petros Manuel Ephesios in 1816, at St. Nicholas Church in the Șelari suburb in București, and of the musical manuscripts brought by other Greek chanters (Moisescu, 1976, p. 19). The research carried out by Priest Prof. Alexie Al Buzera, Ph.D. (1934-2011) on the 19th-century manuscripts preserved in the Romanian libraries revealed the existence of 632 musical manuscripts (343 dated and 289 undated), along with 35 other manuscripts containing the new musical theory, 24 of which are with Romanian text. After studying them, the author concluded that the manuscripts were integral or fragmentary copies of Macarie’s Theoriticon [Theoretikon], of works printed by Anton Pann or variants that used combinations of them with elements (theoretical or exercises) from unidentified Greek sources (Buzera, 1999, pp. 27-33). The parallel circulation of the theoretical manuscripts and prints reveals the existence of an organized education, in which the teaching- learning process was increasingly based on the written theory. The detailed, explicit works took the place of the brief medieval propaedias, and thus the Romanian copyists contributed their work to the dissemination of the New Method. 2.2. Theoretical works printed in the 19th century After the penetration of the New Method in the Romanian Principalities and the printing of the first books with neumatic notation in București (1820), the activity of copying/editing the manuscripts continued, along with the translation of the new repertoire into Romanian. Hieromonk Macarie is well known for having managed to print the first church music books with Romanian text in Vienna, in 1823 – the Anastasimatarion and the Irmologion. On the same occasion, the worthy Hieromonk also printed the first book of music theory in the Romanian language. Entitled Theoriticon [Theoretikon], the volume published by Hieromonk Macarie was a translation from Greek, but its sources have not been identified yet11. According to T. Moisescu, the decision to write a separate book containing theoretical notions was made after Macarie’s arrival in Vienna and was probably inspired by his contact with Chrysanthos’s work, written in 1821 (1976, p. 20). Hieromonk Macarie’s book was the first in a series of 18 printed books containing notions of psaltic music theory, published in the 19th century12. The Theoriticon was republished at least three times: in 1848, in Iași, by Dimitrie

11 In connection with this manuscript, Titus Moisescu states: “… we believe that Macarie did not use this ms. gr. 761, as was erroneously believed until now: perhaps another manuscript was available to him – or perhaps he used Chrysanthos’s work written in 1821.” (1976, p. 20). 12 See the complete list in the appendix of the present paper. 274 Studies

Suceveanu, in 1856, in Buzău, by Hieromonk Seraphim and in 1875, also in Buzău, by Neagu Ionescu. Meanwhile, another theoretical work appeared and dominated the second half of the 19th century: Bazul teoretic și practic al muzicii bisericești sau Gramatica melodică [The Theoretical and Practical Basis of Church Music or the Melodic Grammar], the volume with which in 1845, Anton Pann inaugurated the series of church music books printed in his printing house 13. The need for a theoretical book, felt in the schools of the time and well known to Pann in his capacity as professor of church music at the Seminary of the Holy Metropolitan Church of București, determined him to return two years later with Prescurtare din Bazul muzicii bisericești și din Anastasimatar [Abridged Form of the Basis of Church Music and of the Anastasimatarion], and, in 1854, with the work entitled Mică gramatică muzicală teoretică și practică [The Small Theoretical and Practical Musical Grammar]. Anton Pann’s contribution to the construction of a fundamental theoretical work was emphasized by many musicologists and historians, while Fr. Alexie Buzera, Ph.D. is the one who drew attention to the main Greek source used by the great chanter, namely, Theodor Fokaefs’s work, published with the same title in Greek, at the Patriarchal Printing House in Constantinople, in 1842 (1999b, p. 39). Pann’s work was widely circulated in the second half of the 19th century and established itself as a model due to its more evolved and easier-to- understand vocabulary14. The text was easy to follow due to its catechetical form and clearer explanations, so that by the end of the century, seven more books were published that were nothing more than abbreviated versions of Pann’s work, printed with/without mentioning the source 15 by former students of the great chanter, who had become teachers in theological seminaries and in schools for church singers. This ensured the preservation of tradition, by

13 The year of publication of this book is considered to be 1845, as is recorded in the copies preserved in various libraries. The cover of the copy preserved in the Digital Library of the Stavropoleos Monastery in București was printed in 1846, but the title page of the same copy indicates the year 1845. The book was probably covered in 1846, but the contents had been printed a year earlier and Pann did not replace the title page. This copy comes from the library of musicologist Titus Moisescu, but in the study dedicated to the first prints of psaltic music in the Romanian space he indicates the same year 1845 for the mentioned grammar (1985). The year 1846 is also mentioned by the authors of Gramatica muzicii psaltice [Grammar of Psaltic Music] (Lungu & Costea & Croitoru, 1951, p. 5). 14 We will not insist on the content, as all the information is accessible in the above-quoted book of Father Alexie Buzera and in the study “Anton Pann – Bazul teoretic și practic sau Gramatica melodică. Contribuții” [Anton Pann – Theoretical and Practical Basis or the Melodic Grammar. Contributions], published in the journal “Acta Musicae Byzantinae”, (Buzera,1999a, pp. 51-60). 15 The list of books can be found in the appendix of the present paper. 275 Artes. Revistă de muzicologie passing down the theory and model established by Pann in written form, along with the oral model of the church chant. The manuscripts and works printed in the second half of the 19th century provided a lasting basis for the subsequent completion of a specialized vocabulary. At the same time, the numerous printed books reflect the interest in the quality of training in theological schools. Especially relevant is that in one single year, i. e. 1897, five theoretical works were printed. Along with the reprints (or with the works drawing on the dominant model), the first edition of a theoretical work based on a new concept and in line with the times draws attention: Principii de muzică bisericească orientală [Principles of Oriental Church Music] by Ion Popescu-Pasărea (1871-1943). We will return to this contribution in the next section of the study. In the last year of the 19th century, an elementary course in oriental (church) music [Curs elementar de musică orientală (bisericească)] was published by the protopsaltis of the Buzău Bishopric, Nicolae Severeanu (1864-1841), and approved by the Holy Synod as a textbook for the theological seminaries and schools for church singers. Although succinct (only 32 pages long), this textbook also stands out through its vocabulary and clarity of presentation and illustrates a modern orientation in approaching the theoretical notions in schools, foreshadowing the changes that would occur in the coming decades.

3. Theoretical works of the 20th century

3.1. Theoretical books of the first half of the 20th century The activity of elaboration and publication of theoretical works continued with the same intensity in the first decades of the new century, as the training of those who provided liturgical services was a constant concern of the teaching staff in seminaries and schools for church singers. Between 1901- 1942, 12 more books were published, written by six authors. They are (in order of their appearance): Nifon Ploeșteanu, Ioan Zmeu, Ion Popescu-Pasărea, Theodor V. Stupcanu, Nicolae Severeanu and Amfilohie Iordănescu16. There

16 To these could be added the theoretical notions presented in the opening of the book signed by Mihail Vulpescu, mentioned by Gh. Ionescu: “In 1930, he publishes the volume Cântecul popular românesc [The Romanian Folk Song] (300 pages), with a preface by Nicolae Iorga, in which he introduces a chapter on psaltic music notation. As a matter of fact, he used to notate the folk songs collected in villages and from his seminary students in both linear and psaltic notation” (Ionescu, 2003, p. 370). Musicologist Viorel Cosma specifies the title of this section: Câteva indicii asupra muzicii bisericești [A Few Clues about Church Music] (Cosma, 2006, p. 275). We did not have access to this book, but considering the above, we believe that the aforementioned pages do not represent a theoretical work, like those in the books of Bishop Nifon or Amfilohie Iordănescu. 276 Studies are just as many variants of the title17, in which we find key words from the covers of the previous century (principles, method, course), but also three new formulations; in 1902, Nifon Ploeșteanu18 compiled and published a Carte de muzică bisericească [Book of Church Music] (our emphasis); Ioan Zmeu entitled his booklet published in 1903, Extract din teoria musicei ecclesiastice [Extract from the Theory of Ecclesiastical Music] (our emphasis), and three decades later, Amfilohie Iordănescu compiled a comprehensive volume entitled Buchet de muzică [Bouquet of Music] (psaltic chants) (our emphasis). In addition to the republication of Principiile [Principles] by Ion Popescu-Pasărea and of the Curs [Course] written by Nicolae Severeanu, Theodor Stupcanu (music teacher at the “Veniamin Costache” Theological Seminary in Iași) summarizes the basic theoretical knowledge for his students, in a 32-page book entitled Metodă pentru a învăţa psaltichia [Method for the Learning of Psaltic Music], published in two editions (1911 and 1932). However, Ion Popescu-Pasărea remains the most important representative of psaltic music of the first half of the 20 th century, with a remarkable contribution in the theoretical field. His 1897 book (Principii de muzică bisericească orientală [Principles of Oriental Church Music]), revised and completed at the 1906 edition, was republished six times until the middle of the century (1906, 1910, 1923, 1928, 1939, 1942), including a Braille edition (1938). Comparing the extension and content of the theoretical books of that period, we notice the volumes compiled by Bishop Nifon Ploeșteanu (400 pages) and by monk Amfilohie Iordănescu (222 pages), which preserve the characteristics mentioned for the medieval propaedias, their books being musical anthologies preceded by theoretical notions. In fact, Bishop Nifon Ploeșteanu does not even mention their existence in the title; instead, he specifies the content of his collection, which includes church music written in neumatic notation and on the staff for three voices, which is a unique combination of monody and choral works. Most of the other publications are, in fact, booklets of 30 or 32 pages, with the exception of I. Zmeu’s Extract which is only 19 pages long, and I. Popescu-Pasărea’s Principiile, which is 72 pages long19. The conciseness of these writings (illustrated also by the formulation of the titles) sends us thinking of the same medieval propaedias, the difference lying in the manner of organization of the information and, of course, in the vocabulary20. But, as in the case of the texts that preceded the

17 See the list of complete titles in the Appendix of the present paper. 18 Nifon Ploeșteanu (1860-1923) was Bishop and Vicar of the Metropolitan See of Ungro- Wallachia between 1895-1909. 19 Pann’s grammar has 232 pages. 20 However, this similarity with the medieval propaedias is attenuated if we compare it with works printed only a few years earlier; for example, in Lazăr Ștefănescu's work published in 1897 (Teoria principiilor elementare de Muzică Bisericească şi Anastasimatarul teoretic şi 277 Artes. Revistă de muzicologie

Anastasimataria of the previous centuries, their purpose was to provide students with the elementary notions, which would help them to sing the musica l texts written with neumes. However, the theoretical works of the first half of the 20th century solve an important aspect, even if they are tributary to Anton Pann’s grammar, in both form and content. Although the catechetical dialogue from Pann’s Bazul [Basis] is preserved, the authors manage to detach themselves from their teacher’s book by updating the terminology, because the main problem of the books printed in the last decades of the 19th century was the old, cumbersome vocabulary which made learning difficult. Here is what N. Severeanu (as a teacher at the seminary in Buzău) noticed in the brief preface to his course published in the last year of the 19th century, justifying the stringency of certain editorial initiatives, along with his own initiative to write a theoretical course: “If I decided to publish this book, it was not out of the desire to assert myself as an author, but rather, as a connoisseur of oriental music and an experienced singer, I cannot remain indifferent when I see that this art, instead of progressing, has fallen behind. I am not saying that there aren't any books, but that they have not achieved their objective at all, or, in other words, they are not practical (far from me saying pedagogical), because those who reprinted the old oriental music books, only limited themselves to replacing the Cyrillic letters with the Latin ones and nothing more. […] I did everything I could to modernize the old language which was so strange for the new generation and to present the theory in such a way as to make it completely accessible to those who will learn it.” (1900, pp. 3). N. Severeanu’s remarks reflected the position of a chanter who had also studied the theory of Western music as a student at the Conservatory of Music in București (where he graduated in 1890), which led Titus Moisescu to say that through his course he “brought a breath of new and modern air by introducing the language of Western linear music into psaltic theory”, whereby the musicologist was referring to the replacement of the word “temporal” with “signs of lengthening and shortening of the sound”, or the replacement of the phrase “consonant signs” with “elements of expression” (1976, pp. 27). Even if these phrases did not impose themselves in the musical grammars that followed, Severeanu’s book had anticipated the evolution that psaltic music theory would undergo in the following decades, thanks to Ion Popescu- Pasărea’s contribution. With a similar training – graduate of the “Nifon Mitropolitul” Seminary in București and of the Conservatory of Music in the same city (Ionescu, 2003, p. 301) –, this prestigious musician had the great

foarte practic [The Theory of the Basic Principles of Church Music and the Theoretical and Very Practical Anastasimatarion]), theory occupies only seven pages. 278 Studies opportunity to have Ștefanache Popescu as a teacher at the seminary21, who had been a student of Anton Pann. Ion-Popescu Pasărea had therefore benefited from a direct connection with the psaltic tradition of the 19th century, through his teacher, who noticed his talent and influenced him in the choice of the music 22 that he served throughout his entire life and whose perenniality was one of his constant concerns. Nevertheless, the influence of Pann’s grammar is not so obvious in his theoretical book, as we have seen by comparing it (its structure, content and vocabulary) with those developed by the above- mentioned authors. We will dwell a little longer on the complexity of the musical training of the authors in question: they learned church music from the most educated chanters of the time and, in addition, attended Western music courses at university level, four of them being graduates of the Conservatories in București (Nifon Ploeșteanu, Ion Popescu-Pasărea) or Iași (Th. Stupcanu, N. Severeanu). The thoroughness of their training was reflected in their interests, in the way they approached the theoretical problems, in their efforts to modernize the way of transmitting knowledge in psaltic education, but also in their understanding of the importance of oral tradition, passed down to them by their former teachers. The connection with the Byzantine tradition was also made through the direct contact that some of them had with the psaltic music practised in Greece or in Constantinople 23. Based on the knowledge gained in the years of teaching and on their experience as teachers or as chanters at the kliros, these devoted servants of the Church wrote music theory textbooks meant to facilitate the initiation in musical writing and reading and the learning of the modal system. The amount of knowledge is similar, but the structure and presentation depend on the author’s personality and skills. For example, the only grammar that still preserves the Socratic manner of presenting the notions is the one developed by Amfilohie Iordănescu – a reminiscence, perhaps, of the years when he was a student at the school of church singers at the Cernica Monastery24. The text of

21 Bishop Nifon Ploeșteanu completed the same training, as a student of Ștefanache Popescu and a graduate of the Central Seminary in București, in 1882 (Ionescu, 2003, p. 267). 22 I. Popescu-Pasărea was also a graduate of the Department of Law, but he gave up practising law and dedicated himself to psaltic music. 23 For example, Ioan Zmeu learned psaltic music from his father, Manolache Zmeu, who had been a colleague of Dimitrie Suceveanu and had made a study trip to Greece in 1840. This experience determined him to send his son to Athens, Constantinople and Jerusalem, to improve his psaltic music skills (Ionescu, 2003, 255, 266). 24 Cernica Monastery is a historical monument built on two islets, in the town with the same name located 14 km from București. It was built in 1608 and became an important monastic settlement and a centre of culture, spirituality and religious art. It houses a monastic seminary, a museum and a 15,000-volume library. 279 Artes. Revistă de muzicologie the other books is arranged in sections marked by titles (called chapters in those written by Zmeu and Iordănescu) and/or numbered. Following A. Pann’s example, the authors introduce students to the psaltic art starting from the definition of music 25, which, for Bishop Nifon Ploeșteanu is “the language of the soul (our emphasis), because it shows us its secret movements and intimate life” and, at the same time, “the art of producing and combining sounds, to delight the ear, to interest the spirit and to move the human heart” (our emphasis) (1902, p. 10 and p. 83). This definition is almost identically formulated by N. Severeanu: “… the art of producing and combining sounds in a way that is pleasing to the ear” (1926, p. 5). The structure of the books is similar, following a natural sequence, from introductory notions (information about sounds, the names of the notes, signs), to the categories of neumes, the various combinations/special situations and the notions related to the church modes. Due to the limited number of pages, the content is reduced to the basic information, with few explanations, which emphasizes once again the strength of oral tradition. At the same time, the demonstration and clarifications provided by the teacher are essential to the understanding and learning of the notions and to the students’ progress. With regards to the arrangement of the chapters/sections, we notice the (unnatural) order in which the categories of signs are presented – by Ploeșteanu, Zmeu, Iordănescu –, with the temporal sings being presented last, after the consonant ones 26. The terminology used by the authors is homogeneous, the variations being, most of the times, insignificant, for example: temporal/timporal, consonante/consunante. The terms “note” [notes], “semne” [signs] or “semne de scriere” [writing signs] are used to designate the neumes, while in I. Zmeu’s book we also find the old term used by Hieromonk Macarie – “caractere” [characters]. We mentioned earlier the novelties proposed by N. Severeanu; surprisingly, the same chanter uses a strange form, “torale”, for the signs called phthorai, ignoring the Greek etymology of the word (φθορά = “corruption”). His attempts at “modernization” have not stood the test of time, and the theory has preserved to this day the names of the categories of signs –

25 The only exception is I. Popescu-Pasărea, who appreciates that: “Music, in the general sense of singing (our emphasis), is one and the same; it belongs to all times and all peoples” (1939, p. 3). 26 However, in I. Zmeu's book, the parallage exercises with clasma and diple precede those with consonant signs; only the exercises with the gorgon’s multiples (which are not mentioned in the text) are placed after the examples with consonant signs. 280 Studies vocal, temporal, consonant27 – as they were laid down by the theory of the 19th century28. To further the comparison of these books, we will refer to the chapter dedicated to the modes, noting the consistency given to this section – so important for the church chant – by I. Popescu-Pasărea. While the other authors limit themselves to brief statements about modal signatures, the tuning formula, scale, cadences and range, the great chanter adds essential information about the melodic formulas, explaining in detail the meaning and role of cadences in configuring the specificity of each heirmologic or sticheraric mode. In addition, he provides examples of the usual formulas for all the types of cadences, along with a so-called calapod [pattern] of the heirmologic and sticheraric mode. Other clarifications are also made when there are exceptions in the cadence system, for certain chants etc. We emphasize the importance of writing down these formulas, which were indeed presented by the teachers who used other theoretical resources, but only orally. Through the author’s efforts, they were made available to students, who could repeat them at any time, without needing the teacher’s presence. Before presenting the characteristics of the modes separately, I. Popescu-Pasărea also provides guidelines for the mastering of each mode: “In order to know the modes well and to distinguish between the two variants of each mode: sticheraric and heirmologic, we must study the four characteristic attributes of each mode, namely: the scale, the basis of the mode, the cadences and the cadence formulas, which make up the type of each mode…” (p. 36). In all the grammars, the theoretical notions are practised with the help of examples whose repetition facilitates the formation of the skills required for a fluent reading. The exercises are either incorporated in the chapters (Severeanu) or placed at the end of the text and vary in number between 14 (Zmeu) and 36 (Severeanu). There are no examples of this type in the theoretical part of Ploeșteanu’s book, because his intention was not, in fact, to write a textbook of music theory, as it results from the introductory text of the section and from the preface29: “Given that some people, whether out of ignorance or ill-will, call psaltic music primitive and rusty, and consider its characters30 as hieroglyphic signs and therefore impossible to learn; that is why I have decided to deal briefly in this book with the basic theory of psaltic music, so as to allow anyone to see that this music is easy to learn, should anyone be eager and willing to study it.” (1902, p. 83)

27 We note that A. Pann uses the term consonate, but this variant was not adopted (1845, p. 54). 28 In the volume Gramatica muzicii psaltice [The Grammar of Psaltic Music], supervised by Fr. Nicu Moldoveanu, Ph.D. and published in 2013, the names are the ones mentioned above. 29 In the book's Preface, Nifon Ploeșteanu showed that his intention was to bring together in the same volume the monodic and choral chants that are most useful to church singers. 30 He refers to neumes. 281 Artes. Revistă de muzicologie

These examples sometimes coincide with those of 19th century grammars, but each author also uses variants inspired by older models, as well as personal examples. We notice N. Severeanu’s orderly manner of presenting them by numbering them, thus facilitating the teaching activity in the classroom. The ability to read the musical texts written with neumes was formed with the help of exercises in which the names of the scale steps were written under the neumes, as was the custom in the 19th century31; this is, in fact, a wrong method, as it does not facilitate the memorization of the signs and of the function they perform, nor the student’s independence in reading the chants. In Popescu-Pasărea’s Principii [Principles], exercises are placed in the last pages of the book, with titles that reference various sections of the text. What draws our attention here are the clarifications in the title (“writing, reading and intonation EXERCISES on the above principles”), which reflect a well-defined and different teaching strategy from that of other authors. The learning of the scale step names is achieved through question-and-answer exercises: “If we move from πα two tones above, where do we end up? From ϐu 3t. above?” etc. – so as to make students think, consciously pronounce the name of the step and then intone in the same manner. Learning the intonation of the diatonic scale is not limited to singing it in ascent and descent, but also requires the singing of the melodic formulas notated with scale step names (Example no. 2 p. 66). The learning of the diastematic neumes (vocal signs) is facilitated by the writing exercises (Example no. 3, p. 66). It was only after the student practised enough neume writing that followed the reading (uttering the name of the scale step, without intonation) and only afterwards the “reading and intonation” exercises, which were repeated until the chapter on rhythmic signs was approached, which meant that, by then, the fluent reading of the vocal signs had been learned (Example no. 8 b, p. 68). We therefore appreciate that the great chanter’s theoretical work asserted itself by this different approach to teaching, which was much more efficient than the mechanical one suggested by the other textbooks. According to the models used in the previous century, the grammars contain the schematic rendering of the scale of each mode, with the steps, martyrias and the indication of the value of the tones. All the books follow Pann’s model, where the octave is divided into 22 sections, with the three types of tones having the following sizes: the great tone (4 sections), the middle tone (3 sections) and the small tone (2 sections). The scale diagrams are presented

31 See Macarie's Theoriticon [Theoretikon] (Moisescu, 1976), on pages 6-7, 26-30. In Pann's Bazul [Basis], all the exercises in Part II are presented in this manner. Part III, Pentru melodia ehurilor [For the Melody of the Modes], includes examples from chants, in which the neumes are accompanied by text. 282 Studies from a vertical perspective, as they appear most of the times in Pann’s model, while N. Severeanu presents them horizontally32. We find that none of the books aligns with the system of octave division into 68 sections – as it appears in Hieromonk Macarie’s Theorithicon [Theoretikon] –, or with the system established in 1881, with tones of 12, 10 and 8 sections. From what has been presented so far, we can say that in the first half of the 20th century, the authors of the psaltic music theory books managed to create an adequate structure of the content and updated the vocabulary, which was preserved as such in the decades that followed. Through his musical grammar, I. Popescu-Pasărea managed to create a model in which theory and practice intertwined harmoniously, in a manner that covered the needs of an efficient education. In fact, his contribution to the evolution of psaltic music in Romanian is unanimously appreciated, and he is therefore considered the one who, through his books, marked the completion of the process of Romanianization of church chants. 33

3.2. Theoretical books of the second half of the 20th century A comparison between the number of works published in the two halves of the last century reveals a disarming contrast, because for five decades, only three books on psaltic music theory were published in Romania and the Theoriticon [Theoretikon] of Hieromonk Macarie was republished (1976). The cause of this surprising decline was the change of political regime, because, with the forced abdication of His Majesty King Mihai I of Romania and the proclamation of the Romanian People’s Republic (1947), the country entered the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union. The establishment of the atheist communist state was followed by a succession of normative acts regulating the activity of religious cults, which came entirely under the jurisdiction of the communist party, of the government and of the Grand National Assembly. The decrees issued in 1948 and 195934 radically affected everything related to the

32 In Pann's Bazul [Basis], the charts appear in this manner only in the case of the scales formed with the help of the phthorai mustaar, nisabur, hisar, general ifes and general dies, pages 137- 140. 33 See, in this regard, the works of Archd. Sebastian Barbu-Bucur on the process of Romanianization of church chants. 34 The subordination of the religious denominations was stipulated in Decree no. 177/1948, on the general regime of religious denominations; Article 13 stated: “The organization and operation of any religious denomination are subject to recognition by a decree issued by the Presidium of the Grand National Assembly, upon Government proposal, following the recommendation of the minister of religious affairs. In well-motivated cases, recognition may be withdrawn in the same manner”. The decree also provided for the abolition of numerous theological schools (seminaries, schools of church singers) and departments of theology. Decree no. 410/1959 supplemented the previous one with amendments that had retroactive effect and which affected the monastic life. The persecution against those who wore monastic 283 Artes. Revistă de muzicologie

Orthodox Church and to the spiritual life of the Romanian people 35, that period being later characterized as one of the worst crises undergone by the Church36. Apart from the reprisals against the monastery dwellers37, this crisis was reflected in the measures taken for the reorganization of the religious affairs, including the dissolution of over 100 monasteries and the abolition of the schools of church singers, of numerous seminaries and of the departments of theology. The process of purification that the entire society, those who served the Orthodox Church included, went through during that period, affected both the quality of the theological education and the performance of the religious services. In this context, in the June 1952 session, the Holy Synod decided to introduce a unique version of the church repertoire throughout the country, thus trying to save the traditional psaltic chant (“Lucrările...” [The Meeting ...], 1952, pp. 616-617). The so-called “standardized chant” had to replace the local variants existing in the collections published in the previous decades and at the same time to ensure the active participation of the parishioners in the religious services38. This true church music reform had been prepared by the publication of Cântări liturgice omofone și cântări la Cateheze pe ambele semiografii suprapuse [Homophonic Liturgical Chants and Catechetical Chants in Both Overlapped Notations] (Lungu, Uncu, 1951) and of a grammar, followed by two volumes of the Anastasimatar uniformizat [Standardized Anastasimatarion], containing chants for Vespers and Matins (Lungu, Costea, 1953, 1954). The decisions of the communist state led to a decrease in the number of those who were familiar with the neumatic notation, as well as to a robes intensified, many monks and nuns being forced to leave the monasteries and work in factories, in order to undergo a process of re-education. Retrieved from http://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocumentAfis/47. 35 See more details about the situation of the Romanian Orthodox Church during communism in Chircev, 2019. 36 In 1999, on the occasion of the republication of Victor Ojog's Anastarimatar [Anastasimatarion], Archd. Sebastian Barbu-Bucur, Ph.D. and Fr. Alexie Buzera wrote the following in the book's preface: “Psaltic music has gone through several crises ... from time to time, but none has equalled the crisis of the last 50 years” (Ojog, 1999, p. V). 37 The attention of the authorities turned to the monasteries, especially after the Hungarian revolution of 1956, because they were believed to be hiding opponents of the communist regime among the monks. 38 On the occasion of the 1951 Meeting of the Holy Synod, His Beatitude Patriarch Justinian Marina (1901-1977) stated: “... it is time to put an end to regionalist church music and it is absolutely necessary that in Transylvania, Banat and in all the parts of the country we abide by the traditional psaltic music, so that at one point, by standardizing the church chant, a believer from Dobrogea can always take active part in the responses to the Divine Liturgy in a church in Maramureş, or a believer from Banat can do the same in a Moldavian church”. (Lucrările Sfântului Sinod [Meeting of the Holy Synod], 1952, p. 617). 284 Studies deterioration in the quality of the musical training offered in theological schools. To ensure the training of the few students enrolled in these schools, the music theory books published in the first half of the century were replaced with a single textbook, published in 1951, at the initiative of His Beatitude Patriarch Justinian39: Gramatica muzicii psaltice [The Grammar of Psaltic Music] (Lungu, Costea, Croitoru, 1951)40. The structure of its content was entrusted to a commission formed by Professor Nicolae Lungu41, Priest Professor Grigore Costea42 and Professor Ion Croitoru43. The textbook opens with an extended preface containing the findings of the commission based on the analysis of the repertoire and of the existing theoretical works and emphasizing the need for a theoretical work to serve as a basis for a unique handbook of chants, designed to ensure a uniform chant in all the churches. As can be seen in the titles of the books published in 1951, the commission proposed a different approach to the neumatic musical notation, which could be assimilated with the help of the Western staff notation, which is a peculiarity in the field of psaltic music theory, then found only in the Romanian space44. This orientation is also highlighted in the subtitle of the new grammar – “Studiu comparativ cu notația liniară” [Comparative Study with the Linear Notation” – and is justified by the authors as follows: “… The

39 The colophon of the book is preceded by a text belonging to the Publishing House of the Bible and Mission Institute of the Romanian Orthodox Church, in which this specification is made along with the fact that the textbook was published on June 6, 1951, thus marking three years of office of His Beatitude the Patriarch (Lungu, Costea, Croitoru, 1951, p. 207). 40 The book was republished in 1969 and an English version was printed in Canada (Lungu & Costea & Croitoru, 1984). 41 Nicolae Lungu (1900-1993) was a teacher, conductor and composer who carried out his activity in București. Between 1949 and 1976 he was an associate professor of Church Music, Ritual and Typikon at the University Theological Institute. He was the conductor of the Choir of the Romanian Patriarchate (1947-1985) and a member of the Union of Romanian Composers. He published textbooks, wrote studies and articles and composed religious and secular psaltic and choral music works. 42 Grigore Costea (1882-1963) was a priest and teacher at theological seminaries in Galați (at the Cernica Monastery) and in București (at the “Central” Seminary, after Ion Popescu- Pasărea's retirement, in 1936). He contributed to the transcription of the standardized repertoire on staff. 43 Ion Croitoru (1884-1972) was a teacher, conductor and composer. A student of Neagu Ionescu at the school of church singers in Buzău (1896-1899), he then attended the courses of the Conservatory of Music in București and later earned his undergraduate degree from the Department of Law in București (1921). He was a teacher at various high schools and at the Academy of Religious Music in București (1932-1939), and a conductor of numerous choral groups and church choirs. He wrote music textbooks, as well as articles, chronicles and reviews for various newspapers and journals. He composed religious and secular choral music. 44 Fr. Nicu Moldoveanu, Ph.D. states that this was a unique initiative in the whole Orthodoxy and that simultaneous notation was introduced in Greece only after 1990 (Lungu & Costea & Croitoru et al., 2013, p. 14). 285 Artes. Revistă de muzicologie entire semiography, from the first to the last chapter of this grammar, as well as all the theoretical notions, exercises and applicative psaltic chants were transcribed and explained through linear music, a music so well known today by the great mass of the people (our emphasis). We are confident that this grammar, which, through the comparative study, enables anyone to easily and accurately learn the chant that accompanies the church service, will be of real use.” (Lungu, Costea, Croitoru, 1951, p. 8). Thus, staff notation was seen as an adjuvant designed only to facilitate the learning of neumatic notation and to contribute to the preservation of the traditional church music, i. e. of psaltic music, as the authors further state: “...our effort does not aim, therefore, to change or replace psaltic music, as, perhaps, it is believed by those who are not familiar with the topic, but, on the contrary, to save and secure it, like an asset that is an integral part of our spiritual heritage. [...] What really counts is that the unparalleled beauty and charm of the psaltic chants be not distorted by misinterpretation and faulty performance, as is happening today at every step, because of the intricate and confusing psaltic grammars that are in existence” [...] ... we will be spared of what must in no way happen, namely the disappearance of the psaltic chant and its replacement with another type of chant, as has happened in other Orthodox Churches” (our emphasis) (Lungu & Costea & Croitoru, 1951, p. 8). For the elaboration of this textbook, the commission appointed by the Romanian Patriarchate relied on the two 19th century theoretical works written in the Romanian language – Hieromonk Macarie’s Theoriticon [Theoretikon] and Anton Pann’s Bazul teoretic [Theoretical Basis] –, but also on works from the Western bibliography, among which the book of French Musicologist L. A. Bourgault Ducoudray, Études sur la Musique Ecclesiastique Grecque (Lungu & Costea & Croitoru, 1951, p. 9). The work carried out by the three authors was fruitful and resulted in a 208-page volume with an exhaustive and well-structured content, with a clear text and eloquent explanations, far superior to the brief booklets written in the previous decades. Apart from the large number of pages, the comparison of the content of this book with that of the old grammars shows a more judicious distribution of the semiographic concepts throughout the successive chapters, as well as the fact that each theoretical problem is immediately followed by exercises and musical examples in which the theoretical notions are applied. The first section of the book, however, preserves the usual introductory character, containing Noțiuni generale asupra muzicii [General Notions of Music], though with a more consistent text than in the previous grammars, which also includes notions of the musical scale (including its schematic representation), the names of the scale steps and exercises for their practice. We generally notice a better teaching training of the authors, who knew how to combine the learning of the categories of neumes in such a way that the

286 Studies exercises lead the student gradually and naturally to the psaltic monody. For example, the assimilation of all the combinations of vocal signs is done in stages. After practising the simple vocal signs, two temporal signs are approached (clasma and gorgon) and only then the combined and supported vocal signs, other temporal signs, rests, consonant signs, alteration signs and martyrias. In all the other grammars the signs from the two categories are not mixed, which limits the content of the applicative exercises and gives them a mechanical character. Other notions, taken from the Western theory, are also included in these chapters: apart from the beat and the musical scale, one learns about the tone, semitone, tetrachord and nuances, the last two terms being introduced for the first time in a psaltic music grammar, along with the notion of interval. We find that the three types of tones from the traditional theory are abandoned with the transition to the equal tempered system of Western music, which was also facilitated by the system of division of the octave into 22 sections, previously adopted by Anton Pann and then perpetuated by most of the authors who followed him. In this system, the small tone (2 sections) represents half of the great tone (4 sections), the relationship between a semitone and tone being thus foreshadowed in the old grammars, which also had a tone of 3 sections. With the new system of octave division, the quarter tone (characteristic of the enharmonic genre) was abandoned, being considered “a ballast, as burdensome as it is useless and harmful", which caused confusion on the theoretical level, while on the practical one, “… exasperating fakes for the listener and compromising ones for the unsurpassed beauty and charm of the psaltic melody.” (Lungu & Costea & Croitoru, 1951, p. 6). Through the adoption of the equal tempered system, the quality of the intervals used in psaltic music was (theoretically) transformed: the quarter tone became semitone and the difference between the augmented second intervals of the chromatic modes disappeared (according to Macarie’s Theoreticon [Theoretikon], the augmented second had 14 sections in the 2nd mode, and 18 sections in the 6th mode). The influence of the Western theory can also be noticed in other aspects related to the church modes, which, according to the book’s preface, can be major and minor, like the tonalities, although no classification is provided based on this criterion, but only the explanation of this new characterization, which is related to the possibility of harmonizing the psaltic melodies (Lungu & Costea & Croitoru, 1951, p. 7). In fact, in all the chapters dwelling on modes, the authors do not deviate from the traditional theory and evoke the division into authentic and plagal modes, and, respectively, diatonic, chromatic and enharmonic ones (their names were preserved, even if they lost their main feature, i. e. the quarter tone) (Lungu & Costea & Croitoru, 1951, p. 64). Apart from the 8th mode, compared to the C major scale, the major or minor character is not specified for any other mode.

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Regarding the modes, we also notice the types of cadences, including the imperfect, perfect and final ones, along with the semicadence, explained as “… the stop or pause on the fifth step of the scale in which the chant is written” (Lungu & Costea & Croitoru, 1951, p. 65) – a notion that is foreign to the psaltic monody; however, it is not mentioned in the chapters dedicated to each mode, except for the 8th and 6th sticheraric modes. We can see, therefore, how difficult this approach through the Western theory was, and the impossibility of overcoming certain incompatibilities. The new notions, which appear in the preface to the work and in the musical examples with simultaneous notation, also include the terms of movement and nuances, borrowed from the Western theory for two reasons: to create an expressive chant and because they are known by everyone (Lungu & Costea & Croitoru, 1951, p. 8). In the final part of the book we find some general remarks on the semiography, from which it results that in the transcription of the psaltic chants on staff, the authors opted for a simple variant, accusing an abuse of the use of consonant signs in the previously published volumes. Through the manner of rendition of the text (with repeated/extended kratima), without repeating the vowels in the melismata, the commission also influenced the traditional manner interpretation (marking the sound corresponding to each neume) by introducing the expressive legato (Lungu & Costea & Croitoru, 1951, pp. 158- 159). The 1951 grammar also stands out among all the books of this kind by the initiative of the commission to add a valuable appendix at the end (Ortografia psaltică după Macarie și Anton Pann [Psaltic Orthography According to Macarie and Anton Pann], in which the rules of sign combination in the neumatic semiography are explained. The authors believe that this study “… can be of great use to those who would like to deepen their knowledge of or even write psaltic music ” (Lungu & Costea & Croitoru, 1951, p.163). Although the contents of the book have often been criticized in recent decades, the work published in the mid-20th century was for decades the basic textbook used in the theological schools and an important source of documentation for the musicians who wanted to get closer to psaltic music. The permanent reference to linear notation and to the tonal-functional system was useful at the time and in the context in which the textbook was published. In the meantime, a number of aspects have been clarified that differentiate the two sound worlds, i. e. tonal-functional and psaltic, so that in the wake of the third millennium, the servants of the Church were requesting the return to the traditional chant. We quote, in this respect, the opinion of Archd. Sebastian Barbu-Bucur, Ph.D. and of Priest Prof. Alexie Buzera, Ph.D., expressed on the occasion of the republication of Victor Ojog’s Anastasimatar [Anastasimatarion]: “Between 1950 and 1990, this “standardization” of psaltic

288 Studies music was welcomed and in part achieved its purpose, especially with the chants of the Holy Liturgy in which many believers participate actively, a good gain that will be with us for a long time. On the other hand, the completely uneducated believer in this respect could not assimilate the psaltic chant for Vespers and Matins. Now that theological education has been reconfigured, it is necessary to reintroduce the authentic chant as it was promoted by the classics of psaltic music” (Ojog, 1999, p. V). Two decades after the publication of the grammar compiled by the committee appointed by the Romanian Patriarchate for the transcription of the repertoire needed for the standardization of the church chant, a second book containing theoretical notions was published at Editura Muzicală [Musical Publishing House]. Entitled Notația și ehurile muzicii bizantine [Byzantine Music Notation and Modes], the volume signed by Deacon Grigore Panțiru45 is intended, in particular, for researchers or for those who wish to become acquainted with the neumatic musical notation, as is clear from the brief Introducere [Introduction] signed by the author, who states: “In order to enable those interested to learn and extend their knowledge in the field of reading and transcribing the Byzantine musical notation, I have compiled this work of a theoretical and practical nature. It is addressed to all musicians and connoisseurs of Western music, to whom the Byzantine chant is presented in the notation of different epochs, as it emerged and developed over time, up to the church music of today” (Panțiru, 1971, p. 5). As intended, in the two parts of the work, the author presents the characteristic features of the notation used in each period. From the ecphonetic notation to that of the 15th to 18th centuries, the historical and theoretical information is accompanied by examples and transcription exercises extracted from musical manuscripts, all of which facilitate any musician’s approach to Byzantine music. In fact, the purpose of the 308-page volume was to stimulate the young people’s interest in musical palaeography, given that at that time there were few people who were familiar with both notations, had a complex training and were able to contribute to the solving of the many problems contained in the Byzantine musical manuscripts: “We do not claim to offer a work with original theories on Byzantine music, but rather to provide a synthesis of the research conducted in this field so far, in order to facilitate and attract as many people as possible to the research of these issues, in order to bring to light the treasures found in manuscripts” (Panțiru, 1971, p. 5).

45 Grigore Panțiru (1905-1981) was a teacher, musicologist and composer with a rich research work in the field of Byzantine music, materialized in studies and articles and in the two volumes: Notația și ehurile muzicii bizantine [Byzantine Music Notation and Modes] and Lecționarul evanghelic de la Iași (Ms. 160/IV-34, sec. XI) [Evangelical Lectionary from Iași (Ms. 160/IV-34, 11th c.], published in 1982. Through his research work he made an important and original contribution to the interpretation of ecphonetic notation. 289 Artes. Revistă de muzicologie

The notation of the New Method is addressed in the second part of the paper, which has nineteen chapters and also includes numerous examples and transcription exercises, allowing the immediate application of the theoretical knowledge, i. e. the reading of the musical texts rendered in psaltic notation. The neumes and the notions of psaltic music theory are explained by means of the Western notation, with staff equivalents for each case. Compared to the 1951 Grammar, we notice a few differences in the interpretation of certain signs such as petasti, clasma and the consonant signs, but each time Gr. Panțiru provides clarifications in the text or in the footnotes46. For example, clasma is interpreted as an extension of duration by one beat, but in the footnote it is specified: “Anton Pann ornaments the clasma as if he had written an omalon under the oligon. (See Bazul teoretic și practic [Theoretical and Practical Basis], p. 195). In this paper, the clasma is transcribed without ornament, as it was in the old music and as it is performed in Moldavia” (Panțiru, 1971, p. 185). Such comments and references to the studied bibliography appear on many pages of the book and reveal the author’s concern for clarifying certain variants of interpretation and for providing documented explanations of his own manner of transcription. Church modes are presented in detail, in the order of their numbers, with each being treated in a special chapter that includes, in addition to the presentation of the characteristic traits, examples of chants. The scale of the mode is rendered in psaltic style and on the staff, with the specification that “in order to have a complete picture of the cadences in each mode, we will mark the cadences on the staff with the following values: perfect, with a whole note, and imperfect, with half notes” (Panțiru, 1971, p. 210). The terminology used is the traditional one, combined with Western terminology; for example, although the chapters are entitled Semne de durată [Duration Signs] (Chapter IV) or Ornamentele [Ornaments] (Chapter VIII), the first sentence of each chapter contains the term/phrase used in the traditional theory. The book is thus useful both to the musicians with musical training and to the theologians who learned the theory from Gramatica muzicii psaltice [Psaltic Music Grammar] in seminaries and university departments. Given that two decades after its publication, the number of copies of that grammar was insufficient, the volume published by Deacon Gr. Panțiru was an important bibliographic source for many generations. Well structured, with clear explanations and illustrative examples, the book is based on a rich bibliography, capitalizing on the works then available

46 His transcriptions are based on the oral tradition from eastern Romania (Moldavia), which was well known to him as a graduate of the “Veniamin Costache” Theological Seminary in Iași – where he had studied with Theodor Stupcanu (1861-1936) – and as a teacher at the Monastic Seminary from the Neamț Monastery (1927-1928, 1932-1940). Many examples in the book are taken from the Anastasimatar [Anastasimatarion] published in 1926 by his teacher from Iași. 290 Studies in Romania on the Byzantine neumatic notation, written in Bulgarian, English, French, German, Greek, Italian and Romanian, with half of the titles being taken from foreign bibliography. Many footnotes show that the author compared various bibliographic sources, but also took into account the oral tradition when interpreting and transcribing the psaltic neumes on the staff47. In addition to the books printed in the 19th and 20th centuries, there are also 27 manuscripts, which were consulted directly or, in some cases, through photocopies. Thus, even though it is not an actual musical grammar, the book served as an important source of information during the communist years. In fact, the book was published at a time when there was a period of relaxation in society, after the death of Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (1953) and after the gradual detachment from Moscow, especially after Nicolae Ceaușescu became head of the Romanian Communist Party (1965). As we have seen on another occasion, all those who had studied in seminaries and theological departments or knew church music from the practice at the kliros were able to capitalize on their knowledge and get involved in research work or even compose choral religious works in the 8th and 9th decades of the last century (Chircev, 2019). This explains how the publication of the book was possible, having met the conditions imposed by the communist censorship with a title that avoids forbidden phrases such as “church music” and dealing with an issue related to our musical heritage 48. During the same period, another volume was published, which, however, exceeds in content and complexity the usual musical grammars understood as textbooks for the learning of psaltic theory and chant. We are referring here to Professor Victor Giuleanu’s extensive work entitled Melodica bizantină. Studiu teoretic și morfologic al stilului modern (neo-bizantin) [Byzantine Melody. Theoretical and Morphological Study of the Modern (neo-Byzantine) Style], published by Editura Muzicală [Musical Publishing House] in București, in 1981. In fact, the author himself (indirectly) emphasizes this aspect in Prefață [Preface], putting forward three objectives of his approach. The first objective of his monographic study is related to music composition, his intention being “to pave the way for today’s creator to the expressive subtleties of the Byzantine musical art.” A second objective is musicological, i. e. “… on the one hand, the identification, formulation and systematization of the fundamental principles and techniques of Byzantine melodic composition, and,

47 The examples provided in the books are numerous, but we will mention only one: in explaining the function fulfilled by the dotted antichenoma, Gr. Panțiru opts for a different interpretation than that provided in Gramatica muzicii psaltice [Grammar of Psaltic Music], comparing it with a grupetto. It is a variant heard from a singer from Syria, a good keeper of Byzantine tradition (1971, p. 198). 48 See details about the functioning of censorship in Gheorghiță, 2015. 291 Artes. Revistă de muzicologie on the other hand, their integration in the general arsenal of musical devices, as a component part of the universal musical science” (1981, p. 5). The third objective of his research “… takes into consideration the interference of the musical art with the Romanian folk and high art of the past centuries and of today, about which special considerations are made in homage to all the earlier and contemporary composers for having created in music such an original and attractive compositional style in the world of universal arts, consisting of the symbios is between the Byzantine and the Romanian…” (1981, p. 6). Concerned with the “supremacy of the concept of melody” and with the “modal variety” of the Byzantine musical structures, V. Giuleanu conducts a 400-page detailed study of the Byzantine monody, treated more as a musical art and less as a component part of the Orthodox cult. Therefore, his book – based on an extensive bibliography and sprinkled with numerous musical examples (staff-notated) –, despite also including the presentation of the church notation and modes, is addressed mainly to composers and musicologists, urging them to exploit the Byzantine melody in the large-scale vocal- symphonic musical works. The thorough study conducted by V. Giuleanu made his book into an important bibliographical source, in which the reconsiderations and re-evaluations of the specific notions and terms proposed by the author managed to “facilitate their two-way circulation: from the Western music to the Eastern one, and vice versa” (Giuleanu, 1981, p. 5), allowing music ia ns to get closer to church music. The last decade of the 20th century was one of recovery and revival of the psaltic tradition, in the context created after the establishment of democracy, in December 1989. In addition to the re-establishment of the seminaries and departments of theology (dissolved by the 1948 decree), special sections of Religious Music began to operate in the three institutions of higher music education in București, Cluj-Napoca and Iași (since the fall of 1990) – an attempt to revive the Academy of Religious Music that had operated in București in the interwar period, under the leadership of priest Ioan D. Petrescu (1884-1970). For the students enrolled in this specialization, a specialized bibliography was needed; therefore, in 1993, Archd. Sebastian Barbu-Bucur printed multiple copies of a course book entitled Teoria, practica și metodica muzicii psaltice. Exerciții de paralaghie [Theory, Practice and Methodology of Psaltic Music. Parallage Exercises]. In the same year, a book was prepared that included photocopies of the two important works of the 20th century: Gramatica muzicii psaltice [The Grammar of Psaltic Music] and the 1939 edition of I. Popescu-Pasărea’s Principiile [Principles]. This certainly was a saving solution for that period of revival of psaltic music and of the research of this tradition, an initiative that enabled the initiation of many young people in this field. A large volume of church chants in simultaneous notation had already been published a year earlier, but which had been prepared before

292 Studies

199049. A new theoretical work would be printed only in 2006, by Fr. Prof. Stelian Ionașcu, Ph.D., from the Department of Orthodox Theology of the University of București: Teoria muzicii psaltice pentru seminariile teologice și școlile de cântăreți [Psaltic Music Theory for the Theological Seminaries and Schools of Church Singers] (2006); we only mention it, because it exceeds the time allotted for this paper. However, we note that in this new grammar, simultaneous notation is no longer used, but only the non-pneumatic one.

4. Conclusions Our retrospective look highlights several important aspects related to the presence of music theory in the area of interests of the Romanian chanters and musicians of the 20 th century. First, we have found that this discipline aroused the interest of many chanters and musicians who served as teachers in theological schools of different levels of learning and who strove to provide high-quality training to pupils and students, even in the harsh conditions of the communist period. On the other hand, we notice that the number of works, along with their originality and structure, the terminology used and the didactic solutions used in the treatment of the neumatic musical notation were influenced by the transformations that took place in the Romanian society. This is the reason why, although the evolution of the theoretical works represents a continuous process, it was necessary to treat them in separate stages, according to the demarcation line set up by the establishment of the atheist state in Romania. The change of the political regime interrupted the natural course of evolution of this field and generated the contrast between the prolificacy registered in the first half of the century and the reduced number of psaltic music theory books from the second part of the century. At the same time, this is also the reason why the second half of the 20th century was marked by the use of simultaneous notation, where the neumes were accompanied by their transcription on staff, both in the theoretical books and in the collections containing the standardized repertoire published after the middle of the last century, which is a peculiarity of psaltic music theory in 20 th century Romania. The comparison of the content of the psaltic music theory books reveals the clumsiness of some of the texts published in the first decades of the century as compared to the thoroughness of the studies undertaken later. However, there are also similarities between the two stages, because each half of the century was marked by a dominant work: Principiile [Principles] by Ion Popescu-Pasărea and Gramatica [The Grammar] published in 1951. Not coincidentally, after 1990, these two books were the first ones made available

49 See the Preface to Cântările Sf. Liturghii, 1992 [The Chants of the Holy Liturgy].

293 Artes. Revistă de muzicologie to those who studied church music, being combined into a single volume that was multiplied rapidly with the means available at the time. Despite the criticism brought in the last twenty years to the way in which certain chapters of the theory are treated in the ‘Grammar’, the book continues to be a reference manual in the Romanian bibliography, if we consider the fact that in 2013 it was republished by Fr. Prof. Nicu Moldoveanu, Ph.D. from the Faculty of Orthodox Theology in București, being presented in Nota editorială [Editorial Note] as “the only official textbook used in seminaries and university theological education”, which is accessible and useful to all those who want to learn the music of Byzantine origin, but imbued “with an authentic Romanian flavour” (Lungu & Costea & Croitoru et al., 2013, p. 5). Another conclusion is that Anton Pann’s grammar remains the most important bibliographic source in the field of psaltic theory in the Romanian language throughout the 20th century. In the first decades it was often compiled, then the important ideas, the terminology, the way of rendering the musical scale, etc. were retained. This finding is another argument that attests to the permanent connection of the Romanian Orthodox church music with the Byzantine tradition (present in works in simultaneous notation), given that, as Father Alexie Buzera demonstrated decades ago, the text of the 19th century chanter is a translation and adaptation of a Greek theoretical text. After 1990, this connection was also emphasized by the publication of a new translation from Greek, in 2010. The book in question belongs to professor Georgios Konstantinou and is entitled Teoria și practica muzicii bisericești [Theory and Practice of Church Music], regarded by its translator, Adrian Sârbu, Ph.D., as “a synthesis based on the most important psaltic music books, such as that of the reformer Chrysanthos of Madytos, or of the famous contemporary theorist, Byzantinologist and ethnomusicologist Simon Karas” (Konstantinou, 2012, p.15). Psaltic music theory in the Romanian language had a meandering course in the 20th century, during which successive authors managed to develop a specialized terminology and to transmit the notional content passed down for centuries by chanters and teachers, heirs of Byzantine music, through manuscripts and old musical prints.

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295 Artes. Revistă de muzicologie

Lungu, N. & Costea, Gr. & Croitoru, I. (1951). Gramatica muzicii psaltice. Studiu comparat cu notația liniară [The Grammar of Psaltic Music. Comparative Study with the Linear Notation]. București: Editura Institutului Biblic și de Misiune al B.O.R. Lungu, N. & Costea, Gr. & Croitoru, I. et al. (2013). Gramatica muzicii psaltice. Studiu comparativ cu notația liniară [The Grammar of Psaltic Music. Comparative Study with the Linear Notation]. București: Editura Institutului Biblic și de Misiune Ortodoxă al B.O.R. Macarie Ieromonahul (1976). Opere I. Theoriticon [Works I. Theoretikon], Ediţie îngrijită şi prefaţată de Titus Moisescu. Bucureşti: Editura Academiei R.S.R. Moisescu, T. (1976). Dascălul de cântări Macarie Ieromonahul [The Music Teacher Macarie the Hieromonk]. În Macarie Ieromonahul. Opere I. Theoriticon [Works I. Theoretikon], ediţie îngrijită şi prefaţată de Titus Moisescu (pp. 7-27). Bucureşti: Editura Academiei R.S.R. Moisescu, T. (1985). Începuturile tiparului românesc în notație bizantină. Petru Efesiu – Macarie Ieromonahul – Anton Pann. În Moisescu, T., Prolegomene bizantine. Muzică bizantină în manuscrise și carte veche românească. București: Editura Muzicală. Ojog, V. (1999). Anastasimatar, ediția a II-a. Iași: Trinitas. Pann, A. (1845). Bazul teoretic și practic al muzicii bisericești sau Gramatica melodică. București: „În a sa tipografie”. Panțiru, Gr. (1971). Notația și ehurile muzicii bizantine [Byzantine Music Notation and Modes]. București: Editura Muzicală. Ploeșteanu, N. (1902). Carte de muzică bisericească pe psaltichie și note liniare pentru trei voci [Book of Church Music with psaltic and linear notation, on three voices]. București: Tipografia Carl Göbl. Popescu-Pasărea, I. (1939). Principii de muzică bisericească orientală [Principles of Oriental Church Music]. București: Tipografia Cărților Bisericești. Raasted, J. (1983). The Hagiopolites. A Byzantine Treatise on Musical Theory (preliminary edition)”. Cahiers de l' Institut du Moyen-Age Grec et Latin, 45. Copenhague. Severeanu, N. (1900). Curs elementar de muzică orientală [Elementary Course in Oriental Music]. Buzău: Tipografia Alessandru Georgescu. Ștefănescu, L. (1897). Teoria principiilor elementare de Muzică Bisericească şi Anastasimatarul teoretic şi foarte practic [The Theory of the Basic Principles of Church Music and the Theoretical and Very Practical Anastasimatarion]. București: Tipo-Litografia „Cărților bisericești”. Stathis, G. (1975). Manuscrisele de muzică bizantină. Muntele Athos. Catalog descriptiv al manuscriselor de muzică bizantină păstrate în bibliotecile mănăstirilor și schiturilor din Muntele Athos, I [Byzantine music manuscripts. Athos mountain.

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Descriptive catalog of Byzantine music manuscripts preserved in the libraries of the monasteries and hermitages of Mount, I] (traducere din limba greacă de / translated from Greek by Adrian Sîrbu). Atena. Retrieved from https://ftp.byzantion.ro/byzantion/editoriale/categoriile-de-manuscrise-muzicale- ii.html. Tardo, L. (1938). L’antica melurgia bizantina nell’intepretazione della scuola monastica di Grottaferrata (Parte II, Testi teoretici di melurgia bizantina). Grottaferrata. Zmeu, I. (1903). Extract din teoria musicei ecclesiastice pentru usul şcolelor de cântăreţi din ţară [Extract from the Theory of Ecclesiastical Music]. Bucureşti: Tipografia cărților bisericești. *** (1992). Cântările Sf. Liturghii [The Chants of the Holy Liturgy]. București: Editura Institutului Biblic și de Misiune al B.O.R. *** Decretul nr. 177/1948. Retrieved from http://legislatie.just.ro/Public/DetaliiDocumentAfis/47. *** (1952). Lucrările Sfântului Sinod al Bisericii Ortodoxe Române. Importante hotărâri luate de Sfântul Sinod în sesiunea din iunie 1952 [Meeting of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church. Important decisions taken by the Holy Synod in the session of June 1952]. Biserica Ortodoxă Română, 9-10. București.

Appendix 1 Theoretical works printed in the 19th century

1823 – Macarie Ieromonahul, Theoriticon, f.e. Vienna. 1845 – Anton Pann, Bazul teoretic și practic al muzicii bisericești sau Gramatica melodică, Întru a sa tipografie de muzică bisericească, Bucureşti. 1847 – Anton Pann, Prescurtare din Bazul muzicii bisericești și din Anastasimatar, Întru a sa tipografie de muzică bisericească, Bucureşti. 1848 – Macarie Ieromonahul / Dimitrie Suceveanul, Theoreticon, Iaşi. 1854 – Anton Pann, Mica gramatică muzicală, Întru a sa tipografie de muzică bisericească Bucureşti. 1856 – Macarie Ieromonahul/ Serafim Ieromonahul, Theoriticon, În tipografia Sfintei Episcopii, Buzău. 1859 – Oprea Demetrescu, Principii elementare ale muzicii bisericești și prescurtare din Anastasimatar, București. 1872 – Oprea Demetrescu, Principii elementare ale muzicii bisericeşti și prescurtare din Anastasimatar, ed. a II-a Oprea Demetrescu, Râmnicu Vâlcea. 1875 – Oprea Demetrescu, Principii elementare ale muzicii bisericeşti și prescurtare din –Anastasimatar, ed. a III-a Oprea Demetrescu, Râmnicu Vâlcea. 1875 – Neagu Ionescu, J.B. Sburlan, Gramatică, Anastasimatar, Irmologhion și Doxologii retipărte întocmai cu celle tipărit în Episcopia Buzeului în anul 1856, București.

297 Artes. Revistă de muzicologie

1875 – Neagu Ionescu, Gramatica musicei bisericești coprinzătoare de toate regulile, semnele și scările necesare la învățământul acestei arte, culeasă și aranjată după ale repausatului Anton Pann…, Buzău. 1892 – Gheorghe Ionescu Manualul celor opt glasuri bisericești precedat de o scurtă teorie elementară, Partea I, București. 1897 – Neagu Ionescu şi Nae Severeanu Anastasimatarul, irmologhionul şi gramatica musiciì bisericescì, ed. a II-a, Buzău. 1897 – Lazăr Ştefănescu Teoria principiilor elementare de Muzică Bisericească şi Anastasimatarul teoretic şi foarte practic, Bucureşti. 1897 – Neagu Ionescu, Gramatica muzicii bisericeşti aranjată după a răposatului Anton Pann, a treia oară tipărită și modificată, Bucureşti. 1897 – Gheorghe Ionescu Manualul celor opt glasuri bisericești precedat de o scurtă teorie elementară, Partea I, Ediția a II-a, Bucureşti. 1897 – Ion Popescu-Pasărea, Principii de muzică bisericească orientală, Tipografia Cărților Bisericești, Bucureşti. 1900 – Nicolae Severeanu, Curs elementar de muzică orientală, Buzău.

Appendix 2 Theoretical works of the 20th century

1902 – Nifon Ploeșteanu, Carte de muzică bisericească pe psaltichie și note liniare pentru trei voci, Tipografia Carl Göbl, București. 1903 – Ioan Zmeu, Extract din teoria musicei ecclesiastice pentru usul şcolelor de cântăreţi din ţară, Bucureşti. 1906 – Ion Popescu-Pasărea, Principii de muzică bisericească orientală, Tipografia Cărților Bisericești, Bucureşti. 1910 – Ion Popescu-Pasărea, Principii de muzică bisericească orientală, Tipografia Cărților Bisericești, Bucureşti 1911 – Theodor V. Stupcanu, Metodă pentru a învăţa psaltichia după vechea notaţiune orientală, Iași. 1923 – Ion Popescu-Pasărea, Principii de muzică bisericească orientală, Tipografia Cărților Bisericești, Bucureşti. 1926 – Curs elementar de muzică orientală, ediția a II-a Nicolae Severeanu, Buzău. 1928 – Ion Popescu-Pasărea, Principii de muzică bisericească orientală, Tipografia Cărților Bisericești, Bucureşti. 1932 – Theodor V. Stupcanu, Metodă pentru a învăţa psaltichia după vechea notaţiune orientală, ed. a II-a, București. 1936 – Ion Popescu-Pasărea, Principii de muzică bisericească orientală, I. Tipografia Cărților Bisericești, Bucureşti. 1933 – Amfilohie Iordănescu, Buchet de muzică (psaltichii), Tipografia Cărților Bisericești, Bucureşti. 1942 – Ion Popescu-Pasărea, Principii de muzică bisericească orientală, I. Tipografia Cărților Bisericești, Bucureşti. 1951 – Nicolae Lungu, Grigore Costea, Ion Croitoru, Gramatica muzicii psaltice. Studiu comparat cu notația liniară, Editura Institutului Biblic și de Misiune al B.O.R.

298 Studies

1969 – Nicolae Lungu, Grigore Costea, Ion Croitoru, Gramatica muzicii psaltice. Studiu comparat cu notația liniară, ediția a II-a, Editura Institutului Biblic și de Misiune al B.O.R. 1971 – Grigore Panțiru, Notația și ehurile muzicii bizantine, Editura Muzicală, București. 1981 – Victor Giuleanu, Melodica bizantină. Studiu teoretic și morfologic al stilului modern (neo-bizantin), Editura Muzicală, București.

299 DOI: 10.2478/ajm-2021-0018

Artes. Journal of Musicology

Romanian-Greek manuscript inventory number 27 Anthology – An Account of the activity of the copyist Chiril Monahul from Bisericani Monastery (Neamt County)

IRINA ZAMFIRA DĂNILĂ, Associate Professor, PhD “George Enescu” National University of Arts Iași ROMANIA ∗

Abstract: This paper is a fraction of an ampler project aimed at classifying and studying the entire collection of musical manuscripts from the “Dumitru Stăniloae” Ecumenical Library of the Metropolitan Church of Moldavia and Bukovina of Iasi. This documentary collection consists of a number of 32 musical manuscripts, in Chrysantine notation mainly originating from the 19th century. Manuscript 27 was created in 1846 by Cyril the Monk from the Bisericani Monastery (Neamt county) – he was a psalter, composer and copyist of great talent. He wrote other two manuscripts, ms. inventory numbers 23 and 31/49, which are in the “Dumitru Stăniloae” Ecumenical Library of the Metropolitan Church of Moldavia and Bukovina of Iasi. His own creation (with the mention “by the writer”) in Ms. 27 contains the first psalm, Blessed is the man in the plagal of the 4th mode, the troparia God is with us in the plagal of the 4th mode, the polyeleos Good word in the 4th mode legetos, the doxastikon of the Easter, The day of Ressurection, the plagal of the 1st mode and two heirmoi of the Holy Week. These are chants that are remarkable through their fluidity and expressiveness, as they retain the specific psaltic melodic formulas and reveal a balanced analytical musical writing. The liturgical music in Manuscript 27 consists of various chants, from those performed during the Vespers to the Matin and the Liturgy. Following analysis of the manuscript’s repertoire, I discovered that the main source of Ms. 27 is the first three volumes of the Anthology by Nektarios Frimu, published in Neamț (3rd volume, 1840) and Iași (1st and 2nd volume, 1846). Cyril the Monk, the copyist of Ms. 27, selected works from these sources, and introduced along the self- authored chants mentioned earlier, chants by other lesser-known authors, such as Nechifor (The Blessings of the Ressurection, the plagal of 1st mode in Greek) and Calinic (troparia from the chant Lord is with us, the plagal of the 4th mode in Romanian and the polyeleos The Lord’s servants, the plagal of the 2nd mode, in Greek). Besides, among the chants in Romanian, the manuscript records chants in Greek (by established Greek authors), which are proof of the continuous practice of the Greek chanting in Moldavia, long with that in Romanian, in the period before the Reforms (1863-1864) introduced by Alexandru Ioan Cuza, the ruler of the Romanian Principalities.

∗ [email protected] 300 Studies

Keywords: Romanian Greek anthology of Orthodox chants, the “Dumitru Stăniloae” Ecumenical Library of the Metropolitan Church of Moldavia and Bukovina – Iași, 19th century, Cyril the Monk from the Bisericani Monastery.

1. Introduction Manuscripts with neumatic musical notation are important documentary sources, both for the study of church music, whose evolution it illustrates in various periods, but also for the history of old Romanian music, because their pages contain information about authors and copyists who were often unknown; they had their role in creating a repertoire specific to church chant, in Romanian or Greek. On studying the records of those who collated these codices, musicologists and historiographers revealed new data, places, names of creators, monastic centres in the field of Orthodox Church Music, information that filled a gap in the literature.

1.1. Purpose of research The present study aims at highlighting a few musical creations of a Romanian psalter, Chiril Monahul / Cyril the Monk from the Monastery of Bisericani, included in manuscript no. 27 (reffered to below as Ms. 27 LMCMB), written by this cantor. The Codex in question is kept in the holdings of the “Dumitru Stăniloae” Ecumenical Library of Moldova and Bucovina in Iași.

2.1 Repertoire and authors of chants from Ms. 27 LMCMB Ms. 27 LMCMB is of the Anthologion /Anthology type, so it is a collection of church music that focuses on chants selected from the psaltic repertoire of the main Orthodox religious services: the Holy Liturgy, the Vespers and Matins. The languages used are Romanian written in the Cyrillic alphabet and liturgical Greek (especially in the second part of manuscript). The first part of the musical-liturgical document (pages 9-95) contains religious hymns selected from the Vespers and Matins, in the order indicated by the typical liturgical ritual. The title page (on leaf 8), carefully written by the copyist in red ink, and orderly and neatly copied, outlines the basic information about the manuscript: it was written in 1847 by the monk Chiril / Cyril from the Bisericani Monastery, for the monk Gherman / Germanos in the same monastery, and paid for with three golden coins. After the title page, leaf 9 presents a group of chants from the beginning of the Great Vespers service, namely a variant of the Moldavian Anixandaria in 24 stichoi:

301 Artes. Journal of Musicology

Musical example no. 1- Ms. 27 LMCMB - Moldavian Anixandaria in 24 stichoi. The plagal of the 4th [mode] on Ni, Deschizând Tu mâna Ta / “When You open Your hand”

The anixandaria compositions were intensely circulated in the Moldavian manuscripts of the 18th-19th centuries, in variants in Romanian belonging to psalt composers such as Iosif Monahul / the Monk, Visarion Duhovnicul / the Confessor, Calinic Ieromonahul / the Hieromonk (all three worked at the Neamț Monastery), Nektarios Frimu, D. Suceveanu a. o. The author of these first anixandaria is not specified in the manuscript presented in this paper. Trying to discover it, I compared this version with printed sources (musical anthologies) or manuscripts (for example, with the version belonging to the composer Calinic the Hieromonk of Neamț), but I found no similarities except in terms of the modal scale used, that of the plagal of the 4th mode on Ni. Next, on leaf 18V, I found another version of the Anixandaria, better known and circulated than the previous one, namely that signed by the Greek composer Georgios Paraskiadis1. This was taken over by Cyril the Monk, the copyist of Ms. 27 LMCMB, from Volumes 1 and 2 of Nektarios Frimu's Anthology, published at Neamt Monastery in 1846, one year before the codex under analysis was created. On leaves 15 to18 there is another variant of Anixandaria, also in Romanian; unfortunately, this is incomplete: it can be seen that a leaf was torn from the shelf-back; the title and author are therefore impossible to identify. From the vespers service, Ms. 27 May also includes the hymn Lumină lină / “Gladsome light”, in the 2nd mode on Di/Sol (from the Anthology by

1 Georgios Paraskiadis (†1844?) was a teacher and composer of psaltic music of Greek origin, of whom no detailed biographical data are known (in the Romanian literature, at least), but who became known to us as he performed as a psalter and teacher in Iași between 1835 and 1844 (when he supposedly subsided). He was called to Iasi by Veniamin Costache, the Metropolitan Bishop of Moldavia, a supporter of church chanting and of Orthodox culture in general. Gheorghe Paraschiade bequeathed a rather limited number of chants, the most famous of which are Anixandaria in the plagal of the 4th mode on Ni, published by Nektarios Frimu in Volumes I-II of his Anthology (Ionescu, 2003, p. 190). 302 Studies

Nektarios Frimu, cited above) and Psalm 1, Fericit bărbatul / “Blessed is the man” presented as an original version belonging to Cyril the Monk; his authorship is captured by the phrase “by the writer” (leaf 23). As stated in a previous study, this version is Cyril’s own, quite different from that in Nektarios Frimu’s collection (Dănilă, 2020, p. 409) Next, from leaf 25 to 95v, Ms. 27 contains a large group of chants (25 in all), most of which come from either the service of the Vespers, or the Sunday service or from the service of “Denia”, that is, the combined Vespers and Matins of the Holy Week. I studied them and found that 15 chants, that is, 60% of the chants discussed are taken from Volumes 1 and 2 by Nektarios Frimu’s Anthology (Frimu, 1846)2. It is interesting that some of the remaining 40%, such as the Blessings of the Resurrection in the plagal of the 1st mode tetraphonic (on leaf 12) or the group of Sticheron Ușile pocăinței / “The doorway into repentance” (on leaves 25-26), specific to the morning service

2 Below are the titles of the chants of the Vespers (the incipits are written in cursive italics) taken from Nektarios Frimu's Anthology, volumes 1 and 2, as well as their location in Ms. 27 LMCMB: The troparia to be chanted on Sundays after the canon of the troicinik / the threefold chant, the 2nd mode on Di, Cade-să cu adevărat a lăuda pre Treimea cea mai presus de dumnezeire/ “It is truly right to praise the Holy Trinity, higher than God” (l. 26); The ritual of the Holy and The Great Fast. Starting from the Saturday of the Akathist. The plagal of the 4th mode on Ni, Dumnezeu iaste Domnul / “God is the Lord” (l. 29); Another, shorter one. The plagal of the 4th mode on Ni, Dumnezeu iaste Domnul / God is the Lord; Porunca cea cu taină / “The mysterious Commandment” (l. 30); Another, shorter one. The plagal of the 4th mode on Ni, Porunca cea cu taină / “The mysterious Commandment” (l. 31); Our Lady the Protectress Kontakion. The plagal of the 4th mode on Ni, Apărătoare Doamnă / “Our Lady the Protectress” (l. 31v); In the Holy and Great Week of Christ's Passions. The plagal of the 4th mode on Ni, Aliluia.... Iată, Mirele / “Hallelujah… Behold the bridegroom” (l. 34); Another, shorter one. The plagal of the 4th mode on Ni, Aliluia.... Iată, Mirele / “Hallelujah… Behold the bridegroom” (l. 34v); Another, shorter one. The plagal of the 4th mode on Ni, Iată, Mirele / “Behold the bridegroom” (l. 35v); On the Holy and the Great Thursday. The plagal of the 4th mode on Ni as from Ga, Când slăviții ucenici / “When all the blessed disciples” (l. 36); Another shorter one. As from Ni, Când slăviții ucenici / “When all the blessed disciples” (l. 37); Another polyeleos in 20 stichoi. Legetos [mode]Vu, Robii, robii Domnului / “The Lord’s Servants” (l. 50); By Gregorios Protopsaltis in 20 stichoi. The 3rd Mode on Ga, Robii Domnului / “The Lord’s Servants” (l. 53v); This is by Daniil Protopsalt. The 4th mode on Di, Robii Domnului / “The Lord’s Servants” (l. 57v); Doxology of Gregorios Protopsaltis. The plagal of the 4th mode on Ni, Slavă Ție, Celui ce ne-ai arătat nouă Lumina / “Praised be You, Who have shown us the Light” (l. 90v); doxastikon from Aposticha of the Great Wednesday abridged by Bishop Nektarios Tripoleos. The plagal of the 4th mode on Ni, Doamne, femeia ce căzuse / “Lord, the fallen women” (l. 94v). 303 Artes. Journal of Musicology during the Triode, were not taken from Nektarios Frimu’s Anthology (as already mentioned), and neither from another important collection, Volume 2 of the Anthology by Makarios the Hieromonk, printed at Bucharest in 1827, i.e. before 1847 (the year when Ms. 27 LMCMB was created). We also found that, surprisingly, these valuable chants did not have as a model those of the School of the Neamt monastery, as it may well have happened, considering that the monastery Bisericani was under the influence of the tradition of the famous monastic and teaching center of Neamt3. It is quite possible that these melodic variants represent original creations, possibly by some local author. This general hypothesis regarding the creative contribution of local copyists, most of whom were little known, is also supported and endorsed by the Byzantine researcher priest Florin Bucescu, who studied the entire set of manuscripts of 19th century Moldavia in his doctoral thesis (Bucescu, 2009). On the other hand, other chants from the remaining 40% of Vespers service, namely four Polyeleoi Robii Domnului / “The Lord’s Servants” (the 1st mode) by Ioannis Protopsaltis – leaf 45, the plagal of the 1st mode – leaf 63 and varis mode, both by Petros Lampadarios – leaf 75v and mode IV legetos by Hourmouzios – leaf 80v) were taken from the second volume of Makarios’s Anthology, which proves that Cyril knew and used that collection in the drafting of his manuscripts 4. A special mention should be made of the creations of another local composer from Neamt Monastery, priest Calinic, quoted in Ms. 27 LMCMB with the stichoi of the threefold chant Cu noi este Dumnezeu / God is with Us, the plagal of the 4th mode on Ni (l. 38v) and the polyeleos Δούλοι Κύριον / “The Lord’s Servants”, the plagal of the 2nd mode on Pa (l. 68v). Calinic the Hieromonk was a completely unknown author, but following the careful cataloguing of the manuscripts from Moldavia by Byzantinologists Florin Bucescu and Vasile Vasile, some of his creations were discovered, that belonged to the school of Neamt Monastery5. Some of these creations were

3 To compare the scores, see Bălan, 2005, pp. 697-208. 4 The Byzantinologist priest Alexie Buzera published the first information about the copyist Cyril the Monk and showed that he produced five manuscripts of the Anthologion type: Ms. 23, 27 and 31 from the Metropolitan Library of Moldova and Bucovina of Iași, Ms. 642 from Varatic Monastery and Ms. II-158 from the library of the Holy Synod, in Bucharest. Buzera also integrates the main titles of the creation of the Psalter from the Monastery of Bisericani. (Buzera, 1998, pp. 20-31) 5 Here are the titles and the circulation area of the chants by Calinic: Anixandaria, the plagal of the 4th mode Ni, in: Ms. 111 BMN The Library of the Neamț Monastery (Bucescu, II, p. 114), Ms. 642 BMV (Library of the Varatic Monastery) (Bucescu, 2009, p. 314), Ms. III 173 BCUME (“Mihai Eminescu” Central University Library – Iași) (Bucescu, II, p. 68) but also Ms. BSchPr 16/116 (Prodromu Hermitage Library) (Bucescu, II, p. 596); Slava de la scoaterea Sf. Aer Pe Tine Cela ce Te îmbraci cu lumina / The Doxastikon [on the Holy Friday, ο.n.] 304 Studies also introduced by Cyril the Monk in the codices that he made, which shows that the psalt of the Bisericani Monastery was aware of and appreciated the chants composed by Priest Calinic of Neamt Monastery. From leaf 95 to the end (leaf 245v), Ms. 27 includes mainly religious chants from the service of the Holy Liturgy, arranged according to the typical liturgical order. In this part of Ms. 27 texts in liturgical Greek predominate, in a much higher proportion than those in Romanian. The incipit of the section under analysis presents the antiphons I and II (both of them in Romanian, the plagal of the 4th mode, leaf 95v and the varis mode, leaf 98v, respectively), with a script “σύντομον” (“abridged style”), whose source I have not found (please note that these antiphons are, certainly, different from those in Volume III of the Nectarios Frimu’s Anthology; they could have been included here as the first print of the chants of the Divine Liturgy in Romanian, first published in 1840 at Neamt). Next, on the leaves 99v-101v some shorter Greek chants are inserted, such as Puternic și Sfinte Dumnezeule / Loudly and Holy God in the 2nd mode by Georgios Kritos, the feast antiphons and the Hallelujah of the Gospel, which precede a large section of various series of cherouvika, also in Greek (leaves 101v-150). First, there are the weekly cherouvika on modes, by Petros Lampadarios, as mentioned in the title, followed by two different series of cherouvika by Gregorios Protopsaltis and, finally, another set of eight cherouvikon hymns, composed by Hourmouzios Hartophilakos. The series of cherouvika by Petros Lampadarios from Ms. 27 is not complete, since some pages are missing from the codex (for this reason, the cherouvika in the plagal of 2nd mode and varis mode are missing from the series of eight). The source of the latter, as well as the source of the first series of cherouvika, of the two such works by Gregorios Protopsaltis included in Ms. 27, is the famous collection Ταμείον Ανθολογίας (“Anthology treasure”), initiated by Hourmouzios Hartophilakos, one of the teachers and composers of the Chrysantine Reform, and continued later by Theodor Fokaefs and others. The first volume of this collection (edited by Hartophilakos in 1824, at Constantinople) includes the rendition in Chrysantine notation of the chants from the Matins and the Divine Liturgy, written by authors who were well-established in the period before the Reform of 1814, such as Ioannis Protopsaltis, Petros Lampadarios, and Iakovos Protopsaltis. Thus, it can be surmised that Cyril the Monk made a selection of the cherouvika in the style of “σύντομον” (“short”) from the Greek collection mentioned above, as they were more concise; thus, they were very useful for the daily Liturgy services during the week, which is why they are referred to as the “χερουβικά της εβδομάδας σύντομα κατ'ήχον”, which means “the cherouvika of

when the Epitaph is taken out of the church, You, who cover Yourself with light as with a garment – Ms. II-158 BSS (The Library of Synod – București) (Bucescu, p. 540 ).

305 Artes. Journal of Musicology the week on modes” (leaf 101v). Even at present, these cherouvika in Nektarios Frimu’s musical adaptation are performed during the services because they were included in the collection Buchet muzical athonit. Dumnezeiasca Liturghie / “Athonite Musical Florilege. The Divine Liturgy” (Lacoschitiotul, 2009) used mainly in the Romanian cult space in the past two decades. The following series of cherouvika by Gregorios Protopsaltis (leaves 107-123 in Ms. 27) is complete and its source is the same Greek anthology cited above. The specific nature of these hymns is the “αργά” writing (“broadly”), which uses ample melismas, but also the insertion of a short kratima 6 (or “terirem”) in the second part of the cherubic hymn. After a large melisma (made up of 46 prime time units / “hronos protos”) on an “έ” in the word “βασιλέα” (emperor/king), created with “anagramatismos” (i.e., paused and then repeated in fragments), on resuming the words “the βασιλέ” (“As the emperor”), the terirem is introduced; it is performed in a fast tempo (the note on the scores mentions the change in the tempo by indicating the agogic symbol “Tact irmologic” / heirmologic tempo – see the parts underlined in red in the music example); that lends a dynamic quality to the musical discourse and thus creates a spirited festive atmosphere. Of course, such cherouvika were suitable for Sunday or holiday services.

Musical example no. 2 – Ms. 27 LMCMB, leaf 109 – Cherouvikon in the 1st mode on Pa/Re by Gregorios Protopsaltis – fragment) – the second section, with a tererem

6 The ‘kratima’ style was founded and developed mainly through the kalophonic heirmos creation by the composer Petros Bereketis (active creation period about 1680-1710/15). (Cf. http://www.e-kere.gr/βιογραφικα/ΠΕΤΡΟΣ ΜΠΕΡΕΚΕΤΙΣ) 306 Studies

The source of the other two sets of cherouvika by Gregorios Protopsaltis (leaves 123v-138), and Hourmouzios Hartophilakos (leaves138-150v) is no longer Volume B of the Ταμείον Ανθολογίας (“Anthology treasure”) by Hartophilakos (1824), but most likely they were selected from a previous Greek collection. They are characterized by the same papadic melodic structure, but the tererem is not present in the second part of the cherubic hymn with the text “Ca pe împăratul tuturor” (“As to the emperor”). It is noteworthy that large melismas are present, both in the beginning of the cherouvika and in the second part, in the same manner as that previously presented (on the vowel “έ” from the word “βασιλέα”/emperor). A short selection of axions for the Sunday service are next on leaves 150v-153, according to the service of the divine Liturgy; two of them are in Greek and one in Romanian (the latter in varis mode of Zo, whose author is Makarios the Hieromonk), and is taken from Volume III of Nektarios Frimu’s Anthology; the next leaf is 160v, including a couple of notable songs which are not introduced by a special title; they are important both for the Great Lent (the axion In you, O Lady full of grace, rejoices all creation, the 1st mode tetraphonic on Ke in Greek, and two koinonika with the text Gustați și vedeți / Taste and see in Greek and Romanian, respectively), as well as for the Holy Week. The latter are of particular interest, as they also contain the musical contribution of Cyril the Monk, the copyist of Ms. 27 LMCMB; for this reason, in the next subsection of the present study I will comment on them from the point of view of the writing and of the musical sources. Next, leaves 161-215 of Ms. 27 LMCMB include various versions of koinonika in Greek. As is known, the koinonikon is a large religious piece performed towards the end of the Liturgy during the communion of the priests. As early as the time of the manuscripts in medio-byzantine notation, the koinonikon held a place of importance in the works of the composers – both of the early ones – Ioan Kladas, Manouil Chrysaphes the Old, Evstatie Protopsaltis of Putna Monastery (early 15th century), as well as those of the “middle period” – Panagiotis Chrysaphes the New, Germanos of the New Patra, Balasis the Priest, Petros Bereketis (16th century); its peak is represented by the works of the composers that preceded the reform – Daniil Protopsaltis, Ioannis Protopsaltis, Petros Lampadarios, Iakovos Protopsaltis (18th century). The tradition of koinonikon was continued in the first half of the 19th century; it took the form of the Chrysantine musical notation, introduced along with the reform of 1814, through the theoretical works and transcription activity of its teachers, Chrysantos of Madyt, Gregorios Protopsaltis and Hourmouzios Hartophilakos. So, in Ms. 27 we find three series of koinonika. The first group (leaves 161-166v) consists of six koinonika, intended for each working day of the week (which are entitled “weekly” for this reason). This series is not complete because the title leaf is torn and therefore the Monday koinonikon is missing

307 Artes. Journal of Musicology and the author of the whole series is not noted; however, it could be attributed to Petros Lampadarios, by comparing the manuscript score with the printed one. The Sunday koinonika of the Αινείτε τον Κύριον / “Praise the Lord” type follow (leaves 166v – 176v); the author, Daniil Protopsaltis, is stated in the title and then a broader section of koinonika for holidays throughout the year (leaves 176v-215); the authors are listed in the title: Daniil Protopsaltis, Petros Lampadarios, Gregorios Protopsaltis, Iakovos Protopsaltis, Hourmouzios Hartophilakos. With minor exceptions (such as the case of two of the four series of cherubic hymns included in Ms. 27 LMCMB), their source is the second volume of the Greek collection Ταμείον Ανθολογίας (Hartophilakos, B, 1824)7. I emphasize again that these large Eucharistic hymns use the papadic melodic construction, like the cherubic hymns, with ample melismas (up to 60 prime time units per syllable in certain passages); in the final part, most of them are accompanied by short terirems. After the koinonika, a few heirmoi follow „ce să cântă la masă unde este hramul bisericilor” [“to be sung at the table when the church feast is” (leaves 215v-221). These are in fact three polychronions8 dedicated to the prince, the Archbishop (both in Greek) and the hegumen (in Romanian) respectively, and two kalophonic heirmoi, for the guests and for the deceased (the text in Romanian). So far, I have discovered only the source of the polychronion for the Archbishop (“Τον δεσπότοιν και αρχιέρεα ημών” / Our Master and Archer, varis mode on Zo, leaves 216v-217v); these sources are tome B of the Thesaurus of the Anthology by Hourmouzios Hartophilakos (page 564). It is quite possible that the Romanian variants of the heirmoi are local, since we have not detected them among the printed collections of that period. In the same papadic style several other calophonic irmoses in Greek are inserted on leaves 230-240, some of which are Τὴν σὴν εἰρήνην δoς ημίν / “Give us Your Peace” by Petros Bereketis and another one by composer Panagiotis Halatzoglu, Ἔφριξε γῆ, απέστραφη ήλιος / “The ground shook, the Sun hid”, the plagal of the 1st mode on Pa, with a terirem, performed on Good Friday9. Kalophonic heirmoi, which are a class of

7 The source of the weekly koinonika (Hartophilakos, B, 1824): -pp. 161-170; on Sundays-pp. 170-188; of the holidays over the year-pp. 212-285. 8 The polychronion or cheretismos is a song of greeting or wishing one that they may live for “many years” addressed to secular or church official personalities. It is very old genre, being performed since the time of the Byzantine emperors. According to the opinion of various Romanian Byzantinologists, the polychronion is also common in the manuscripts compiled on the territory of our country. For example, in the Moldavian manuscripts such songs composed by Makarios the Hieromonk, Visarion Duhovnicul/the Confessor, Calinic the Hieromonk, Dorothei Iordachiu and others, but also by Greek composers. (Bucescu, 2009, II, pp. 96, 162, 163, 252, 263, 266, 279, 290, 294, 297, 318 etc.) 9 The source of kalophonic heirmoi in Ms. 27 LMCMB is the aforementioned collection, Ταμείον Ανθολογίας (Hartophilakos, 1823, B). The heirmos mentioned in the text are located at pp. 367-371 and 388-393 respectively. 308 Studies paraliturgical chants in the papadic compositional style, of ample size and requiring vocal virtuosity, have also known variants in the Romanian language; some of them, translations and creations by Macarie the Hieromonk, are particularly refined. He drafted Ms.1685 BAR, classified as an Kalophonic- Heirmologion10, which he completed in 1833 at the Neamt Monastery, where for a while he taught the monastic community the “New Method” (the Chrysantine “New System” of notation, introduced to the church by the reform of 1814). (Bucescu, 2009, II, p. 435) The explanation why many of the chants of the Holy Liturgy in Ms. 27 were selected from those in Greek is suggested below (although variants of these types of songs, musically adapted to Romanian, by Makarios the Hieromonk or Nektarios Frimu already existed). The explanation is that, until the reforms introduced by ruler Alexandru Ioan Cuza (1863-64), church chanting continued to be performed in Greek, as a legacy of the Phanariot period, when Greek culture was predominant. Also, great teachers and psalters such as Petros Ephesios, Petros Vyzantios, Georgios Paraskiadis were called to the Romanian Principalities to teach or perform psaltic chant; they were undoubtedly a model and an incentive for young disciples in the art of Orthodox church chanting, in studying and practicing the Greek repertoire as masterfully as possible. It must be remembered that, unfortunately, in the first half of the 19th century, chanting in Romanian was not yet appreciated and performed enough, as the Greek interpreters were still in large number in Romania, and held key positions; they claimed that Greek was the only language able to correctly convey the meaning and content of the services. For these reasons, most of the manuscripts compiled in the first half of the 19th century by the Romanian psalters still contain a large percentage of chants in Greek, to the detriment of those in the “mother tongue”. Towards the end of Ms. 27 LMCMB some liturgical chants in Romanian appear again after a section where those in Greek prevailed, namely the axions called “praznicale” (performed on the titular saint’s feast) by Makarios the Hieromonk, the first founder of Chrysantine music in the Romanian principalities; these axions were extensively performed and circulated through the 19th century manuscripts. Their source is certainly the Heirmologion- Katavasia collection published by Makarios the Hieromonk in Vienna in 1823, together with the Theoretikon and Anastasimatarion, the other two reference works of the Romanian teacher; they served him for the introduction of the new Chrysantine system of notation to the Romanian countries. Starting with leaf 240, the last section of the codex, made by another “hand” (another less experienced copyist than Cyril) includes a number of additional chants consisting of the extensive / papadic heirmos at the

10 Ms. 1685 is preserved at the Romanian Academy Library in Bucharest. 309 Artes. Journal of Musicology

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Makarios the Hieromonk, Neamurile toate / “All generations call you blessed”, another axion Cuvine-să cu adevărat / “It is truly right” in the 1st mode, the doxastikon performed on the Holy Thursday “when the Epitaph is taken out of the church” Înfricoșatu-s-a pământul /“The earth was frightened” and the monastic chant, the plagal of the 1st mode on Pa, Brațele părintești / “The Father’s arms”; they are all well established pieces which, however, do not bring anything new or essential to the repertoire to in Ms. 27 LMCMB, mostly compiled by the copyist and psalter Cyril the Monk.

2.2 The creations of Cyril the Monk included in Ms. 27 LMCMB As Alexie Buzera summed up in his study (Buzera, 1999), Cyril the Psalter’s activity at the Bisericani Monastery is valuable in that he produced a number of five Anthologion manuscripts. Three of them are kept at the library of the Metropolitan Library of Moldavia and Bukovina (Ms. 23, 27 and 31), one is at Varatec Monastery (Ms. 642) and another one at the library of the Holy Synod (Ms. II 158). Byzantinologist priest Florin Bucescu, who investigated the entire stockings of 19th century Moldavian manuscripts or coming from this area (Bucescu, 2009, I, II) found that the anthologies compiled by Cyril have a varied musical content, similar, but not identical. Also, all five codexes concerned bear the title “Anthologhie or Floare-alegire” / “Anthology or Florilege” (similar to the collection made up by Nektarios Frimu); the main data related to the place and date of writing, the recipient of the manuscript and the price paid by it to Cyril the Monk for the preparation of this collection are specified by the composer on the title page. (Bucescu, 2009, II, p. 314) Six chants in this collection, Ms. 27, bear the mention “by the writer”; these chants are: Psalm I, Fericit bărbatul / “Blessed is the man”, the plagal of the 4th mode on Ni/Do, the troparia from the collection of chants performed after the evening service (at the Pavecernița / the Compline) Cu noi este Dumnezeu / “God is with us”, the plagal of the 4th mode on Ni/Do, the polyeleos Cuvânt bun / “Good word”, the 4th mode legetos on Vu/Mi, the doxastikon on the Easter Day, Ziua Învierii / “The day of Ressurection”, the plagal of the 1st mode on Pa/Re, the heirmos of the Holy Saturday Nu te tângui pentru mine, Maică / “Weep not for Me, O Mother” – the 2nd mode on Vu/Mi and the heirmos performed on the Holy Thursday, Din ospățul stăpânului / “From the feast table of the Lord”, the plagal of the 2nd mode on Pa/Re. In addition to those already mentioned, the number of the chants created and signed by Cyril include the koinonikon sung at the Nativity of the Lord Izbăvire au trimis Domnul / “The Lord sent Redemption”, the plagal of the 4th mode on Ni (found in Ms. 23 LMCMB on leaves 55v-57v, for example), the axion Cuvine-să cu adevărat / “It is truly right”, the 3rd

310 Studies mode on Ga/Fa and the chant De înţelepciunea / “For the wisdom”, the plagal of the 4th mode on Ni/Do, both in Ms. II-158 from the Library of the Holy Synod of Bucharest (on leaves 31 138v, respectively) (Bucescu, 2009, II, p. 540). The creation of the copyist at the Bisericani Monastery, according to the religious service for which it is intended, consists, therefore, of three chants for the Vespers, three for Matins, and four for the Holy Liturgy; this amounts to a total of ten chants, spread over five autograph manuscripts.

2.2.1. Analytical aspects In the following section I will refer to the two chants dedicated to the Holy Week composed by Cyril the Monk, namely the axions for the Great Thursday and the Great Saturday. The axion of the Holy Thursday is actually the heirmos of the 9th chant of the Canon11 dedicated to the Holy Thursday, Din ospățul Stăpânului / “From the feast table of the Lord”. In addition to the Matins, it is also performed during the Holy Liturgy, “instead of the axion”, as indicated in the repertoire books; it has the text “Din ospățul Stăpânului și din masa cea nemuritoare, veniți credincioșilor la loc înalt, cu gânduri înalte să ne îndulcim. Pre Cuvântul cel Preaînalt, din cuvântul Lui cunoscându-L, pre Carele îl mărim” / “From the feast of the Lord and the undying nourishment, come to the higher place, ye faithful, and let us partake of it. We praise The Word of the Highest that we have known from His Word”. We compared the version by Cyril the Monk with the homonymous one, created by Makarios the Hieromonk and published not in the Heirmologion-Katavasia collection (since it contains only the heirmoi of the kingly feasts and of the Mother of God), but in Nektarios Frimu’s 3rd volume of the Anthology (Frimu, 1840, p. 342). In Table 1 we can see the similarities and differences between the two variants of the first kolon, with the text „Din ospățul” (“From the Feast”) (with the notation I on the musical examples in Table I); it was divided into segments: 1, 2 and 3. The identity of the 1st kolon (e.g. segment 1) can be noticed in both variants; there are minor differences in the case of the second segment and more significant differences in the case of the third segment, due primarily to the writing – more synthetic in Cyril’s version (without anagrammatism, that is, without interruption and then with the repetition of the syllables from the word “ospățul”/“feast”), and more “broadly” in Makarios’s version (with anagrammatism and repetition of the word “ospățul”/“feast”). In the case of the second kolon (noted as II in the music examples shown in Table 2), with

11 The canon is a broad hymnographic genre that is sung at the service of Matins, either fully (especially in monasteries) or only the main heirmoi (also called katavasia), in secular churches. 311 Artes. Journal of Musicology the words “Stăpânul” [the Lord], it is noted that the melody uses a similar thesis in both versions under examination; however, there is a difference between the size of the two versions of the second kolon: 33 prime time units, and a short anagrammatism in the Cyril’s version and 39 prime time units, and a more extensive anagrammatism in the Makarios’s case, respectively. The conclusion regarding the variant made by Cyril the Monk is that this copyist either used the Greek source used by Makarios to translate the heirmos Din ospățul Stăpânului /“From the feast table of the Lord”, or even “abbreviated” the former’s Romanian version.

“Axion/heirmos in the Holy Thursday abbreviated by the writer” (Cyril the Monk), the plagal of the 2nd mode on Pa / Re, in Ms. 27 LMCMB, leaf 156 – the 1st kolon, with the text “Din ospățul”/ “From the feast”

Axion/heirmos of Makarios the Hieromonk, the plagal of the 2nd mode on Pa / Re – the 1st kolon, “Din ospățul”/“From the feast table”

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Axion/heirmos of Cyril the Monk – Ms. 27 LMCMB – the 2nd kolon, “Stăpânului”/“To the Lord”

Axion/heirmos of Makarios the Hieromonk – the 2nd kolon, with the text “Stăpânului”/“To the Lord” Table 1 – A comparison between the first kolon of the versions of the heirmos “Din ospățul Stăpânului”/“From the feast table of the Lord” by Cyril the Monk and Makarios the Hieromonk

In the Moldavian manuscripts of the 19th century other variants of the heirmos “Din ospățul Stăpânului” / “From the feast of the Lord” were also circulated. Thus, an “abbreviated” variant is also that by Visarion the Hieromonk in the plagal of the 2nd mode modulated in 2nd mode, authentic, based on Vu / Mi (middle mode II) (musical example no. 3). In this compositional version of Neamt Monastery, the first kolon consists of 16 first prime time units (related to the 4 syllables of the phrase “Din ospățul” / “From the feast table”), and the second consists of 20 prime time units (related to six syllables, instead of four, due to the agrammatism of the phrase “Stăpânului”/“To the Lord”).

Musical example no. 3 – The heirmos “Din ospățul Stăpânului” / “From the feast of the Lord” the plagal of the 2nd mode on Vu / Mi by Visarion the Hieromonk

Another version of the irmos of the 9th chant, Nu te tângui pentru mine, Maică / “Do not weep for me, Mother” in the plagal of the 2nd mode on Pa/Re was composed by Valeriu Gâdei, a Psalter who worked as a teacher at the 313 Artes. Journal of Musicology

Seminary in Huși. This was written in the manuscript Ms. 6 (110) kept at the Golia Monastery in Iași12. As seen in example 4, the writing in the case is “σύντομον” (“slightly abbreviated”), in comparison to the versions discussed above, both in the 1st kolon (which is made up of 12 prime time units related to the four syllables of the phrase “Din ospățul”/ “From the feast table”), and in the 2nd kolon, which is accompanied by an anagrammatism, but it is based only on the 28 prime time units (as compared to 33 prime time units in Cyril’s version and 39 prime time units in Makarios’, respectively).

Musical example no. 4 – The heirmos “Din ospățul Stăpânului” / “From the fast table of the Lord” the plagal of the 2nd mode on Pa / Re by Valeriu Gâdei, from Ms. 6 (110), The Book Fund of the Golia Monastery (Iași)

The second heirmos, “on Holy Saturday, created by the writer” (by Cyril the Monk), has the text “Nu te tângui pentru mine, Maică, văzându-mă în groapă pre Mine, Fiul tău, pre Carele M-ai zămislit fără sămânță, că Mă voi scula și Mă voi proslăvi și voi înălța întru slavă ca un Dumnezeu pre cei ce cu credință și cu dragoste pre tine neîncetat te măresc.” / "Weep not for Me, O Mother, on seeing Me, your only Son, in the tomb, that you immaculately conceived, for I will rise and I ascend again in glory and I will be exalted as a God, and will raise all those who, in faith and love, exalt you ceaselessly." From a modal point of view, it uses a branch of the soft chromatic second voice scale, that on Vu/Mi (also called the “median” second mode), less commonly used in “broad” chanting (example 5). We compared three more homonymous variants, that by Makarios the Hieromonk (example 6), by Visarion the Hieromonk 13 (example 7) and by Ioan Zmeu (example 8); we separated all four

12 Ms. 6 (106) was written between 1872-1879 in Huși; the copyist was Ioan V. Tufescu (Bucescu, II, p. 141). The manuscript is a musical-liturgical collection of the Anthology type and is in the Book Fund at the Golia Monastery in Iași. 13 Visarion the Hieromonk (the Confessor), contemporary of Cyril the Monk from the Bisericani Monastery, was a famous copyist, composer and psalter who worked at the Neamt 314 Studies examples, with “|” the first kolon, with the text “Nu te tângui” / “Weep not”, so that we can draw a comparison between them. On comparing the four variants mentioned above we found that, in this case, Cyril the Monk used a different musical source, compared to Makarios the Hieromonk, as the two composers’ melodic lines are different, first of all as they belong to different modal scales, which is the median soft chromatic 2nd mode, based on Vu/Mi in the case of the copyist psalt from the Bisericani Monastery, and the hard chromatic plagal of the 2nd mode on Pa/Re, in Makarios’ case. Major differences also occur in the cadence system of the first kolon (a perfect cadence on Vu/Mi in Cyril’s version, a perfect cadence on Pa/Re in Makarios’) and in the melody construction, in terms of the melody- text ratio. Thus, in both versions of the “broad” style is used: 63 prime time units related to 10 syllables of text in Cyril’s version and 86 prime time units related to 17 syllables in Makarios’, respectively. It can be noticed, however, that the expression “nu te tângui”/”Weep not”] is repeated three times in Cyril’s version, using the technique of “anagrammatismoi” (interruption and then resumption), compared to four times in Makarios’ version, so the musical writing of the latter is ampler, “broader”.

Musical example no. 5 – The heirmos Nu te tângui pentru mine, Maică / “Weep not for Me, O Mother”, the 2nd mode on Vu / Mi, by Cyril the Monk (Ms. 27 LMCMB, leaf 156)

Monastery in the first half of the 19th century. He was a disciple and follower of Iosif the Monk, the founder of the School of music in the “old system” at Neamt Monastery, but also of Makarios the Hieromonk; however, in terms of the “new system” (Chrysantine notation). 315 Artes. Journal of Musicology

Musical example no. 6 – The heirmos Nu te tângui pentru mine, Maică / “Weep not for Me, O, Mother”, the plagal of the 2nd mode on Pa, by Makarios the Hieromonk (Nektarios Frimu, 1840, III, p. 346)

Examples 6 and 7 contain incipits of the heirmos in the versions by Visarion the Hieromonk and Ioan Zmeu. They have in common the scale, e. g. the plagal of the 2nd mode, but its base is triphonic (at a fourth) on Di/Sol in Visarion’s version and on Pa/Re in Zmeu’s; the type of melodic construction belongs to the style “αργόν” in Visarion’s version and “αργο-σύντομον” in Zmeu’s. The melodic lines obviously come from different sources, as both the melodic profile and the cadences differ. Interestingly, the cadence of the first kolon in Zmeu’s version, with diatonic modulation in protovaris on Zo/Si in the low register. Anagrammatismoi are present only in Visarion’s version, while they are not used in Zmeu’s, which is natural, as there is a gradual move towards a less melismatized writing in psaltic music, both Greek and Romanian, towards the end of the nineteenth century. In example 9 the first kolon “Μη εποδυρου”/ “Weep not” of the Greek heirmos is illustrated in Petros Lampadarios’ version and in the Chrysantine transposition by Hourmouzios Hartophilakos (Hartophilakos, 1825, p. 207). It can be noted that the musical style is “σύντομον”, i. e. “abbreviated”, in a syllabic style or containing a small number of melismas (two or three sounds for each syllable).

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Musical example no. 7 – The heirmos Nu te tângui pentru mine, Maică / “Weep not for Me, O Mother”, the plagal of the 2nd mode modulated in the authentic 2nd mode on Di/Sol, by Visarion the Hieromonk (Balan, 2005, p. 630)

Musical example no. 8 – The heirmos Nu te tângui pentru mine, Maică / “Weep not for Me, O Mother”, the plagal of the 2nd mode on Pa/Re, by Ioan Zmeu (Lacoschitiotul, 2009, p. 558)

Musical example no. 9 – “Μη εποδυρου μου Μητερ” / “Weep not for Me, O Mother” – by Petros Lampadarios, in Chrysantine notation – the 1st kolon, “Μη εποδυρου” (Hartophilakos, 1825, p. 207)

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As a brief conclusion following the analysis of Cyril the Monk’s compositional style, it can be stated that they are characterized, generally, by fluency and musical expressiveness, as well as the preservation of the specific melodic psaltic formulas, within a musical writing of the analytical type, characteristic of the period, predominantly “broad”, however, without any exaggerations. Although he composed a small number of chants, their quality demonstrates that Cyril the Monk fully mastered the techniques of “musical translation”, as he adapted pre-existing models to the specific needs of the Romanian language; at the same time, he was a highly skilled calligrapher, judging by both the remarkable graphic aspect of his manuscripts, and especially by the accuracy of his musical transcriptions.

3. Conclusions 3.1. Ms. 27 LMCMB, an Anthologion in Romanian and Greek, was written in 1847 by Cyril the Monk from the Bisericani Monastery, Neamt County. 3.2. The content of chants in Ms. 27 is very rich, which is mainly part of the Matins and the Holy Liturgy. The main sources of the repertory of Ms. 27 are the following collections: Antologhie sau Floare-alegire by Nektarios Frimu (volumes I-II – 1846 and III – 1840), Antologia (the 2nd volume) by Makarios the Hieromonk (1824) and Ταμείον Ανθολογίας, volume B, by Hourmouzios Hartophilakos (1824). 3.3. Ms. 27 LMCMB also contains a number of six chants by Psalter and copyist Cyril, out of the total of ten chants that have been discovered in the five autograph manuscripts compiled by him. 3.4. Cyril the Monk’s compositional style is generally characterized by fluency, musical expressiveness and the preservation of melodic formulas specific of psaltic music, within a musical writing of the analytical type, characteristic of the period; this was predominantly “broad”, but without exaggerations. Cyril’s creations are proof of the high level of professional performance of Moldavian psalters – 19th century creators and copyists.

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References Bălan, F. (2005). Antologhion paisian. Tomul I. Perioada Triodului [Paisian Anthologion. Tome I. The Period of Triodion]. București: Editura Sophia. Bucescu, F. (2009). Cântarea psaltică în manuscrisele din Moldova – sec. XIX. Ghidul manuscriselor moldovenești – sec. XIX XIX [Psaltic chant in manuscripts from Moldavia – 19th century. The Guide of Moldavian manuscripts], I, II. Iași: Artes. Buzera, A. (1998). Chiril Monahul de la Mănăstirea Bisericani, copist şi compozitor [Cyril the Monk from the Bisericani Monastery, copyist and composer]. Byzantion romanicon, IV, 20-31. Iași: Artes. Dănilă. I. Z. (2020). Repertoriu psaltic, autori și copiști ai Ms.rom.-gr. 23 – Antologhion din Biblioteca Ecumenică “Dumitru Stăniloae” a Mitropoliei Moldovei și Bucovinei din Iași. [Psaltic repertoire, authors and transcribers of Ms. Rom. – Greek 23 Anthologion from the “Dumitru Stăniloae” Ecumenical Library of the Metropolitan Church of Moldova and Bukovina in Iasi]. Artes. Revista de muzicologie, no. 21-22, pp. 400-423. Iași: Artes. Frimu, N. (1840). Antologhie sau floarealegire [Αnthology or Florilege], III. Tipografia Mănăstirii Neamț. Frimu, N. (1846). Antologhie sau floarealegire [Αnthology or Florilege], I, II. Tipografia Mănăstirii Neamț. Χαρτοφίλακος, Χ. (1824). Ταμείον Ανθολογίας [Αnthology or Florilege], A, B. Κονσταντινούπολη. Χαρτοφίλακος, Χ. (1825). Ειρμολόγιον των καταβάσιων Πέτρου του Πελοποννησίου. Μετά του σύντομου Ειρμολόγιον Πέτρου Προτοψάλτου του Βυζαντίου (Irmologhion-Catavasier de Petru Peloponisie. Apoi Irmologhionul pe scurt de Petru Protopsaltul Bizantinul) [Heirmologion-Katavasia collection by Petros Peloponnisios. Following Syntomon Heirmologion by Petros Protopsaltis Vyzantios]. Κονσταντινούπολη. Ionescu, Gh. C. (2002). Muzica bizantină în România. Dicționar cronologic [Byzantine music in Romania. Chroşnological dictionary]. București, Editura Sagittarius. Lacoschitiotul, I. (2009). Buchet muzical athonit – Dumnezeiasca Liturghie [Athonite Musical Florilege – The Divine Liturgy], 3. București: Editura Evanghelismos. Macarie Ieromonahul [the Hieromonk] (1827). Tomul al doilea al Antologhiei după așezământului sistemii cei nouă a musichiei bisericești [Volume 2 of the Anthology according to the new system of church chant]. București: Sfânta Mitropolie.

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Hatzigiakoumis, M. K. (general Ed.). Παναγιότης Χαλατζόγλου (ακμή περ. 1708-†1748) [Panagiotis Halatzoglu (peak of the creative period1708, †1748)], retrieved from http://www.e-kere.gr/βιογραφικα/ ΠΑΝΑΓΙΟΤΗΣ- ΧΑΛΑΤΖΟΓΛΟΥ

320 DOI: 10.2478/ajm-2021-0019 Studies

“Style” or “yphos” in Psaltic Art?

ADRIAN SÎRBU, Lecturer, PhD “George Enescu” National University of Arts Iași ROMANIA ∗

Abstract: The term style is used in the philosophy of culture, in aesthetics, art theory and art criticism, in literary languages, in the plastic and monumental arts, in the way of life and behavior of people to characterize cultures, eras, creative individuals or works, so as we learn from philosophy dictionaries. If in Greek there is this duality of the terms style and yphos, the Romanian language uses only the former, while yphos appears to be used with completely different meanings, over time. Unlike the meanings in Greek, in the current dictionaries of the Romanian language the word yphos has a more pejorative meaning, suffering over time semantic changes. However, it seems that the old meaning of the term yphos reveals much deeper and richer valences than the term style and helps us to understand in a better way the conditions of an authentic musical-spiritual interpretation, in the "right spirit".

Keywords: yphos, style, Psaltic Art, byzantine music.

1. Introduction The Psaltic Art or Byzantine-based ecclesiastical chant is the music of worship of the Eastern Orthodox Church, transmitted as a legacy by the Holy Hymnographer and Melodist Fathers from the early Christian times. In their writings, some of these Fathers left us advice and exhortations as to how ecclesiastical chant should be approached (see also Gérold, 1931 and Paris, 2018). Other historical, liturgical and musical documents produced later on give us, for example, valuable information about the organisation of the choir or the church in a certain place or period, about the lessons taught in music schools1, repertoires, customs etc. There are also some relatively newer musical writings (especially from the nineteenth century on2) that develop even further various themes related to the types of chanting specific to a particular region, school, period, etc. All this written tradition therefore confirms and enhances, from a spiritual, historical, and liturgical perspective, the living tradition that has been perpetuated from master to disciple in the Church of Christ until today. This accumulation of information from the written and oral tradition offers us the defining coordinates that outline a certain style of interpretation of

∗ [email protected], http://www.byzantion.ro 1 See, as an example, the teaching methods used by Pann, 1846, pp. 211-222. 2 See, as an example, the romanian musical writings for the 1st half of the 19th century in Sîrbu, 2020. 321 Artes. Journal of Musicology ecclesiastical hymns, which, in turn, is subject to very clear spiritual, liturgical and musical rules, as we can see in various writings. We can identify two types of information: one that defines the spiritual coordinates of a style, common to the concept in its entirety, and one that sketches a technical, musical side and that is different from person to person. The spiritual side refers to all the spiritual advice meant to describe the state of mind that one must attain while chanting, the life that a chanter should have 3, and, in general, the spiritual approach to the interpretive act. This side is a permanent one, all the ideas being complementary and unitary in meaning. The technical side of style is also unitary, but through its diversity. It refers to interpretive and more personalized information. It describes chanting styles, local or even choir practices, teaching methods etc.4 It is important to mention here that the spiritual side has always had precedence over the technical, musical one, but it has never made it relative, but on the contrary, it has enhanced it. In other words, byzantine music is at the same time prayer and art; it is the prayer that gives meaning, depth, direction to the art, which retains its theocentric role unaltered, but we must not relativize the technical role and the high level attained by the melodists in this music that manages, to this day, to combine the simplicity and austerity of monody with the inexhaustible richness of hymnography, melopieia (composition), Octoechos (the system of the eight modes) etc. This fine relationship between the spiritual and the technical element in the interpretation of byzantine music requires a nuancing of the concept of style, an adaptation to the broader meaning that includes this influencing factor of spirituality. Even if there is no theoretical treatise in the Psaltic Art that exhaustively analyzes the concept of style, the written tradition and, especially, the oral one gives us enough information to be able to talk about style in the chanting of liturgical hymns in the Eastern Church.

2. Meanings of the terms First of all, we propose a definition of the terms yphos and style. Before analyzing the different definitions provided by linguistic, philosophical, and aesthetic dictionaries, etc. or by musical terms, it should be noted from the outset that the universal Western language of areas such as aesthetics, philosophy, architecture, music, etc. use the term style, not yphos. Style is a basic element for defining the originality of cultural creations. The trends, the spiritual traits common to all areas of a particular culture, ethnicity, nation that bear the stylistic mark of a historical moment define the style of an age. The external factors that determine a style may be material or

3 Regarding the live of the psaltes as members of the inferior clergy, see also Ramsey, 2020. 4 See, for instance, the work by Αγγελινάρας, 2008. 322 Studies spiritual conditions, or they may relate to economic, historical, national, class, geographical, ethnographic factors, etc. Various artistic styles may pertain to several fields (for example: classical, baroque, romantic, realistic, etc.) or to a single field (for example: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian in architecture). We may talk of lifestyles as unique sets of concepts and behaviors, particular ways of living pertaining to a person or a human community. A lifestyle expresses the inner unity and the degree of evolution of one’s personality 5. An artist’s lifestyle leaves a direct mark on their artistic style but, all the more so in the field of the sacred arts, this interference lays the foundation of the creative act’s spiritual authenticity. In linguistics there is a tendency to consider style an individual deviation from the norm, from a “degree zero” which, in turn, is difficult to define. On the other hand, in traditional cultures – including the Christian one – style appears to be more related to a collective set of traits, unanimously accepted and unaffected by the trends of a particular age. Thus, in this context, individuality appears as a fine “negotiation” with this set – broadly called tradition – so as to strike a balance between “preserving tradition” and “preserving one’s personality.” At least from a musical perspective, style is seen as the sum of the choices (Sandu-Dediu, 2010) that a person consistently makes when exploiting the various means of using a language. This definition may also be successfully applied to the psaltic style. The interpretive act is the sum of all the choices that a psaltis makes every second while performing a chant, appealing to “echoes” from his memory (Khalil). Definitions of yphos. The explanatory dictionary of the neo-Greek language (Μπαμπινιώτης, 2002) provides the following three definitions:

“ύφος (το) = 1. (a) a person’s expression and/or manner of speaking which bears the mark of that person’s moods 6: = 2. ling. (b) the particular, individualized way in which a person uses the language that he or she speaks. 7

Sometimes a synonym is used, ρυθμός (hence, rhythm), which can also be used in contexts like architectural rhythm, modern rythm, renaissance rhythm etc. (Μπαμπινιώτης, 2002, p. 1861). Thus, style (στυλ) or, depending on the meaning, rhythm (ρυθμός) or expression (έκφραση) are used as synonyms, but, despite this, it seems that

5 We can talk about lifestyles, as unique sets of concepts and behaviors, particular ways of living of a person or a human community. 6 „H έκφραση του προσώπου ή/και ο τρόπος ομιλίας, στα οποία αποτυπώνονται οι ψυχικές διαθέσεις του ατόμου”. 7 „O ιδιαίτερος, εξατομικευμένος τρόπος με τον οποίο χρησιμοποιεί καθένας τη γλώσσα”. 323 Artes. Journal of Musicology yphos has a more profound meaning, linked directly to the ancient greek concept, while style is used in Greek language as a fashion, a contemporary type of expression (Μπαμπινιώτης, 2002, p. 1861). In Romanian modern dictionaries, one can notice a dramatic change of the basic meaning:

“1. An attitude of unjustified superiority towards others; arrogance; haughtiness; pride; hubris; condescension; immodesty; greatness. ◊ A-și da ifose [literally, to give oneself yphoses] = to believe oneself superior to others without any reason. /

Despite these definitions, romanian dictionaries that were edited in the first decades of the previous century contain also other meanings of the term yphos, which reveal the same meaning with the greek one.

“yphos – 1. dignity, social situation: nu cred să-i poți ținea ifosul și ighemoniconul cu un venit de cinci sute galbeni [I don’t think you can keep his yphos and hegemonicon with an income of five hundred goldens]; 2. air (more often pretentious): the yphos of a diplomat”. (Șăineanu, 1929).

Today, unfortunately, the meaning of the word yphos in Romanian is reduced to a pejorative one, contrary to the nuances and semantic depths with which it was invested in the literature of Greek antiquity. However, in recent years, some articles of Byzantine musicology translated from Greek have chosen to preserve the word yphos, as they probably intended to reactivate this term frequently used in old Romanian writings.

3. The concept of yphos Universal musicology reveals an overwhelming preoccupation for the stylistic analysis of various musical creations from different times; thus, there have emerged very diverse and complex personal views of musical style. As for byzantine music, the bibliography does not abound in writings that theorize, define or systematize the term style or yphos. One of the few substantial papers that approach our subject is Alexander Khalil’s doctoral dissertation (Khalil, 2009), which treats with obvious interest the issue of yphos in the oral tradition.

324 Studies

Both the writings consulted and the interviews conducted with various personalities 8 mainly from Greece have shown how generous in meanings and possibilities of definition the term yphos can be. Each interviewee revealed new and very interesting ideas. The fact that the performer’s state of mind is directly reflected in his own interpretive vision may be confirmed by any musician. „Le style est l’homme même”, Buffon said in his famous 1753 speech at the French Academy. As for the Psaltic Art, this interdependence between the chanter’s inner state and his style of chanting seems to mark the boundary between the authentic and the non-authentic. In Psaltic Art, the interpretive act is directly related to the spiritual state of the psaltis both at the time of chanting and as a general way of life. Father Antipas Mikragiannanites from the Holy Mount Athos analyzes the issue from a strictly spiritual perspective, denying the existence of any yphos, of any kind, when there is no inner spiritual harmony: “What yphos could the immoral, the corrupt, the greedy, the secularized, or the selfish have? What yphos can someone who is not imbued with the fear of God and does not take part in the holy and eternal mysteries of the Service have?” (Αντίπας, 2011, p. 17) Father Antipas’ words seem to have been taken out of the “Psaltis’ Gospel”, as the notion of yphos is directly connected not only to the cantor’s momentary spiritual state, but also to his whole life. For Saint Basil the Great, the sacred chant can be sung only in a state of humility and purity of the soul: “Clean your hearts, so that you reach spiritual goods and become devout. Only thus you can chant to the Lord” (Grigorie, 2010, p. 179). This connection is so strongly emphasized that vocal virtuosity becomes less important in the case of an inadequate spiritual life. In fact, for Father Antipas style or yphos is not about voice, but about ethos (understood as morality): “Yphos is directly related to ethos […] There is no doubt that yphos is shaped by the musical experiences that each of us has lived. But ethos or, in other words, the psaltis’ spiritual state, transpires in his chanting.” (Αντίπας, 2011, p. 17) Protopsaltis Ilias Stathis is also of the opinion that yphos represents a power that is transmitted through chants, provided that our state of mind reflects our relationship with God: “If we live spiritually, humbly, mysteriously, if we confess, receive the Communion and fear God, everything is transmitted along, and this is the ethos we are talking about.” (Στάθης, 2015) The ideas represent the same repeated “spiritual warnings” of the Holy Fathers of the Church, in one form or another. They help us to be aware of the deep spiritual implications of the concept of psaltic yphos and, at the same time, to re-evaluate the meanings of this term. If yphos, this imprint of the spirit through chanting, is so conditioned by the cantor’s spiritual state, if it

8 See the interviews for the doctoral dissertation (Sîrbu, 2020). 325 Artes. Journal of Musicology exists only when this state has been reached, then the so-called styles of the various truly authentic psaltes will have a common denominator, they will be so close to each other that someone with the same spiritual concern will be able to recognize some common stylistic traits guided by the spiritual factor, rather than the vocal or the interpretive one. A good example in this respect is Father Dionysios the Blind, the abbot of the Kellion Colciu, at the Holy Mount Athos. He used to be held in high regard by the monks, being considered a great chanter, a true representative and carrier of the Athonite psaltic yphos. Before listening to Father Dionysios’ records, I was prepared to hear a virtuous voice, in the style of the great soloists. However, I was extremely surprised to hear the fragile, brittle voice of an elderly man. But it nevertheless hid an unusually calm state of mind, composed and at the same time pleading and insistent. This “composure” came from that inner peace and tranquility that the monks covet incessantly and manage to acquire only after many years of prayer. Like all the people living in a monastery, the monks chanting in choirs are constantly striving to acquire and maintain inner peace and humility (modesty). Psaltic yphos is conditioned by some defining elements such as silence, patience, obedience, or modesty, all of them based on a long apprenticeship with the spiritual master and afterwards with the musical master traditionally called daskalos. Without having acquired these virtues, the famous Greek psaltes Panagiotis Neochoritis 9 warns us, the young chanter will not be able to turn a hymn into a prayer: “Teach your apprentices ever since their youth to manage their moods (ethoses) because otherwise the music they will chant will hurt them more than it will benefit them”. 10 In this context, psaltic yphos seems to be more than a mere association of words, and the word style does not seem to be able to compensate enough for the weight with which the word yphos has been semantically loaded. The latter represents an initiatory path for the disciple who, wishing to become not only an interpreter but a man of prayer, must be formed first as a spiritual man. The temptation to form his own stylistic mark from the years of his apprenticeship makes him stray from this initiatory path. Determining to remain submissive, in silence and patience, does not annul his personality, but on the contrary: it gradually polishes his spiritual senses, so that he can later learn how to put his own moods in the service of hymns and their messages. True yphos does not emerge even when the disciple has matured long enough from a musical viewpoint, because in the Psaltic Art, the chanter does not see himself as an interpreter who is supposed to bring his own original

9 Archbishop Protopsaltis of the Great Church of Christ (Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople). 10 Conference held at the Byzantine Singing Masterclass in Iași, 13th edition (July 2020). 326 Studies vision into a composition. First of all, the psaltis prays for himself, and this attitude makes any interpretation the internalized expression of a personal prayer. The psaltis sees himself as an insignificant, underserving intermediary who uses the vocal talent he is endowed with to render, through liturgical and musical texts, the moods that the hymnographer and the composer transmitted through their works.

4. Conclusions To conclude, using an association between two words that are only seemingly synonymous, we could say that style becomes yphos, a phenomenon of revelation, of spiritual enlightenment that touches the soul and implicitly the human voice only during the phase of “kenosis”, i.e. the emptying of the self which makes the psaltis an empty vessel that lets Divinity fill it in and manifest itself. Inspiration can only be divine and it appears only when the psaltis chants his own shortcomings and inabilities, seeks to see his sown sins, deplores his own failures with the joy of the Resurrection, considers himself unworthy of this profound call to chant to God and asks Him for help, because all the power and understanding are not in his human hands.

References Αγγελινάρας, Γ. (2008). Έκφρασις της Ψαλτικής Τέχνης [Expression in Psaltic Art]. Samos: Athos. Αντίπας, Αγιορείτης, Hieromonk (2011), Prologue. In Αθονική Μουσική Πανδεκτή [Athonite Musical Pandekte]. Άγιον Όρος: Τὸ Ἱερὸν Ἰβηριτικὸν Κελλίον τῆς Ἁγίας Ἄννης. Μπαμπινιώτης, Γ. Δ. (2002). Λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Dictionary of the Neogreek language], 2nd edition. Αθήνα: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας. Gérold, Th. (1931). Les Pères de l'Église et la musique [The Church Father and the Music]. Strasbourg: Librairie Félix Alcan. Grigorie The Hiermonk (2010). Explicarea Dumnezeieștii Liturghii [The explanation of the Divine]. Bacău: Bunavestire. Khalil, Al. (2009): Echoes of Constantinople: oral and written tradition of the psaltes of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Doctoral dissertation. San Diego: University of California. Noul Dicționar Explicativ al Limbii Române [The New Explanatory Dictionary of the Romanian Language] (2002). București: Litera Internațional. Pann, A. (1846), Bazul teoretic și practic al muzicii bisericești [Theoretical and practical manual of the Eccelsiastical Music]. București.

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Paris, N. Archim. (2018), Tὸ ἐκκλεστιαστκὸ άσμα [The ecclesiastical chant], doctoral dissertation. Thessaloniki: Stamoulis Antonios. Ramsey, J. (2020). Clerul inferior în Biserica Ortodoxă [The inferior clergy in the Orthodox Church]. Cluj: Renașterea. Sandu-Dediu, V. (2010). Alegeri, atitudini, afecte. Despre stil si retorica în muzică [Choises, Attitudes, Affects. On Style and Retorics in Music]. București: Editura Didactică și Pedagogică. Sîrbu, A. (2020), Ύφος και υφή στην ψαλτική παράδοση της Μολδαβίας, με έμφαση στο 18ο αιώνα έως σήμερα [Yphos and musical texture of psaltic art tradition in Moldavia, from the 18th century until nowadays] (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Retrieved from http://ikee.lib.auth.gr/record/314976 Șăineanu, L. (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române [Universal Dictionary of the Romanian Language], 6th ed. București: Scrisul Românesc. Στάθης, H (2015). Ύφος και ήθος στην διακονία του Ιεροψάλτη [Style and Ethos in the Chanter’s Minister]. Retrieved from http://www.pemptousia.gr/video/ifos-ke- ithos-stin-diakonia-tou-ieropsalt i/ *** (1998). Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory Dictionary of the Romanian Language], 2nd ed. București: Univers Enciclopedic, Romanian Academy.

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BOOK REVIEWS

DOI: 10.2478/ajm-2021-0020

Book reviews

Noi istorii ale muzicilor românești [New histories of Romanian types of music] – The most important editorial publication in the Romanian musicology of recent years

LAURA-OTILIA VASILIU, Professor, PhD “George Enescu” National University of Arts Iași ROMANIA ∗

Abstract: The vast work Noi istorii ale muzicilor românești [New histories of Romanian types of music] 1 (816 pages), published by Editura Muzicală in 2020 was a project of the Romanian Composers and Musicologists’ Union, represented by composer and university professor Adrian Iorgulescu, a project meant to mark the celebration of a century of activity of the organisation. The two volumes of the New histories, coordinated by Valentina Sandu-Dediu and Nicolae Gheorghiță, reflect the fulfilment of a long research project, begun in the 1990s, with a view to reassessing the musical past of Romania, expressing ideas verified in time through repeated analyses. The coordinators’ vision is edified through the following directions: 1. the joining of all musical genres – Byzantine, folkloric, military, academic, jazz, entertainment – and creating a modern perspective on the types of Romanian music; 2. using the tools of modern musicology – interdisciplinary relating, archival and recent bibliography, an objective, critical, accessible style, efficient and orderly elaboration; 3. removing all influences of the communist ideology reflected by the writings about music in the second half of the 20th century by assimilating the ideas formulated by historians after 1990; 4. capitalising on foreign authors’ writings about Romania and about Romanian music, but also on last-minute research on international music for the synchronisation with the contemporary manner of historical research.

Keywords: Phanariote music, church music, oral-tradition music, military music, compositional directions.

1. Introduction The reassessment of the cultural past of Romania was configured as a priority research direction after 1990. The freedom of expression of the post- totalitarian era, the desecretisation of archives, the access to the international

∗ [email protected] 1 Sandu-Dediu, Valentina; Gheorghiță, Nicolae (coord.) (2020). Noi istorii ale muzicilor românești. I. De la vechi manuscrise la perioada modernă a muzicii românești; II. Ideologii, instituții și direcții componistice în muzica românească din secolele XX-XXI [New histories of Romanian types of mus ic. I. From old manuscripts to the modern period of Romanian music; II. Ideologies, institutions and compositional directions in the Romanian music from the 20th- 21st centuries]. București: Editura Muzicală 329 Artes. Journal of Musicology scientific and philosophical literature directed the study in the integrative political-social-cultural-artistic universe. The writings about Romanian music also outlined this observation channel, going through distinct stages beginning with 1995, once the uncensored history of the Romanian Composers and Musicologists’ Union, signed by Octavian Lazăr Cosma (Cosma, 1995), was published. The research continued through two volumes of great national and international reverberation, published in 2002 – Muzica românească între 1944-2000 [Romanian music between 1944 and 2000] by Valentina Sandu- Dediu 2 and Peisaje muzicale în România secolului XX [Musical landscapes in the Romania of the 20th century] by Speranța Rădulescu, writings which discuss, analitically and punctually, the influence of the communist politics in determining compositional styles and musical practices. The process of rethinking and reassessing our musical history evolved on uneven ground, with amazing discoveries and revelations but also with the resistance of the supporters of the so-called autonomy of art or those left in the channel of sentimentally promoting national values. So that as late as eight years later was a reinterpretation of the history of the Orthodox religious music published, initiated by Costin Moisil through a series of volumes which debuts with the study Românirea cântărilor: un meșteșug și multe controverse [The Romanianisation of Byzantine chants: a craft and many controversies], continued by other novel works of fundamental scientific research.3 The integration of the Romanian theme with international research has channeled musicologists’ interest in recent years. The conferences organised by the National University of Music Bucharest and by New Europe College – Music in Dark Times, Europe East and West, 1930-1950 (in 2014)4, The Music of Power. Music and Musicians in Totalitarian Regimes in 20th Century Europe (in 2018)5 were followed by pieces of research and reinterpretations of the musical phenomena in older eras6, also capitalised on by the special issue

2 See also the German-language volume, Sandu-Dediu, Valentina (2006). Rumänische Musik nach 1944 [Muzica românească după 1944]. Saarbrücken: Pfau. 3 Moisil, Costin (2012). Românirea cântărilor: un meșteșug și multe controverse [The Romanianization of Byzantine chants: a craft and many controverses]. București: Editura Muzicală – followed by other volumes by the author: (2016). Geniu românesc vs. tradiție bizantină [Romanian genius vs. Byzantine tradition]. București: Editura Muzicală și (2018). Construcția unei identități românești în muzica bisericească [The construction of a Romanian identity in church music]. București: Editura Universității de Muzică București. 4 Sandu-Dediu, Valentina (editor) (2016). Music in Dark Times. Europe East and West 1930- 1950. București: Editura UNMB. 5 An international conference organised by the National University of Music Bucharest and by New Europe College in October 2018. Some of the conference papers are published in the magazine Musicology Today, vol. 9, issues 3, 4/ 2018; vol. 10, issues 1, 2/ 2019. 6 Gheorghiță, Nicolae (2015). Musical Crossroads: Church Chants and Brass Bands at the Gates of the Orient. București: Editura Muzicală. 330 Book reviews of the magazine Nineteenth-Century Music Review dedicated to the Romanian musical phenomenon (Music in Nineteenth-Century Romania)7. Beside its informative mission, the detailing of the process of rethinking and rewriting of the history of Romanian music aims to argue the scientific value of the research featured in the vast work Noi istorii ale muzicilor românești [New histories of Romanian types of music], a project initiated by the Romanian Composers and Musicologists’ Union on the occasion of celebrating a century of existence of the organisation. The two volumes of the Noi istorii [New histories], coordinated by Valentina Sandu-Dediu and Nicolae Gheorghiță, reflect the fulfilment of a long research process, begun in the 1990s, expressing ideas verified through recursions and repeated analyses – a line supported by the main group of authors. Beside the mentioned editors, who signed several chapters, we also mention Costin Moisil, Speranța Rădulescu, Florinela Popa, Haiganuș Preda-Schimek, Antigona Rădulescu, active musicologists in the process of previous research. The coordinators’ vision expressed in the Foreword edifies the main directions: 1. joining all musical genres – Byzantine, folkloric, military, academic, jazz, entertainment – and creating a modern perspective on the Romanian types of music; 2. using the tools of modern musicology – interdisciplinary relating, archival and last-minute bibliography, an objective, critical, accessible style, efficient and orderly elaboration; 3. removing all influences of communist ideology, reflected by the writings about music from the second half of the 20th century, by assimilating the ideas formulated by historians Neagu Djuvara, Vlad Georgescu, Șerban Papacostea, Lucian Boia a. o.; 4. capitalising on some foreign writers’ writings about Romania and about Romanian music but also on the last-minute research on international music (signed by Herman Danuser, Jimm Samson, Richard Taruskin) for the synchronisation with the contemporary manner of historical research. The conceptual plan and the diversity of the envisioned contents determined the coordinators to also approach authors outside of the initial research nucleus, marked specialists in their fields of work – Dan Dediu, Mihai Cosma, Alex Vasiliu – and young authors, formed in the requirements of modern musicology and/or open towards the new style of historical approach: Irina Boga, Vlad Văidean, Alice Tacu, Andrei Tudor.

Vol. I. From old manuscripts to the modern period of Romanian music The first volume opens with Costin Moisil’s study – În loc de istorie a muzicii vechi românești [In place of a history of old Romanian music]. The

7 Nineteenth-Century Music Review, vol. 14, Special issue 3 (December 2017), Cambridge University Press features articles signed by Haiganus Preda-Schimek (coordinator and author), Valentina Sandu-Dediu, Nicolae Gheorghiță, Florinela Popa. 331 Artes. Journal of Musicology ideas supported and proved with documents by the author are novel and especially brave. It is a parallel reassessment of the writings about old music and of the extant documents with musical notation, the author underlining that “history is made on documents and where these lack it is best to be silent” (p. 18). Ascertaining the relative antiquity of the manuscripts and of the prints with musical notation (extremely rarely attested before 1500), Costin Moisil comments upon the writings of each of the eight canonical authors 8, phenomenologically retracing the make-up and the aims of the works (anthologies of personal works and adaptations, made for one’s own use, commercialisation or distribution in the specific environment) and bringing new specifications on the contents, on their influence in the musical practice from the Romanian territories. For instance, the reverberation of the Manuscripts from Putna, especially of Evstatie’s chants is underlined, due to their multiplication through copies and reintegration in the subsequent anthologies from the Romanian Principalities; at the same time, the author reduces the importance of the collection Codex Caioni, which, in the light of new research only features two dances, that are explicitly named Wallachian, next to the famous Song of Voivode Lupu, when the work features over 200 pieces (religious and lay from the early German and Italian Baroque, a few local compositions in this style). The richness of the explanations in the footnotes and the novel titles of the bibliography participate in shedding light on many overshadowed areas of the Romanian musical past but also in debunking the concepts of antiquity and continuity. The beginning chapter of the work Noi istorii ale muzicii românești [New histories of Romanian music] is a strict exercise in reformulating the discourse about old Romanian music through the relativisation of the established discourse and the imposition of the historian’s dwelling on proved data. “And the rest (…) is silence” (p. 31). The next section – Practici muzicale laice la curțile domnești și boierești din Valahia și Moldova în epoca fanariotă (1711-1821) [Lay musical practices at the princely and boyar courts from Wallachia and Moldavia in the Phanariote era (1711-1821)] – is elaborated by Nicolae Gheorghiță. The ideas of this study are also challenging: the rulers and the chief boyars are not the ones who prevented the development of national culture and its contact with Europe, as the Phanariote princes were cultivated in the West and interested in art; court music was very varied, from Turkish music and love or party songs of Oriental influence to Italian opera airs and urban romances, enjoying a wide

8 Evs tatie Protopsaltul from Putna (15th-16th centuries), Johannes Honterus from Brașov (16th century); Valentin Bakfark – a lute player born in Brașov – (the 16th century); Gabriel Reilich – organist, Sibiu (17th century); Ioan Caioni, Franciscan organist and monk from Transylvania (17th century); Filotei sin Agăi Jipei, hieromonk at the Metropolitan Seat of Bucharest (17th- 18th centuries); Daniel Croner – organist from Brașov (17th-18th centuries); Dimitrie Cantemir, composer of Ottoman music (17th-18th centuries) (p. 20). 332 Book reviews audience among the aristocracy; in the Romanian Principalities there activated great composers of Byzantine, lay and religious formation, who imposed a style successfully taken over by Romanian singers, tightly connected to the poetry of Greek influence cultivated by the Levantine intelligentsia. Of great interest is the information about Nikifor Kantuniaris – a composer of religious and lay music, settled in 1814 at the Golia Monastery in Iași – and the revelation of his contribution to the music of the time. Upon reading Nicolae Gheorghiță’s study, one changes one’s view of the Phanariote era: it was a period of intense musical practice – military, lay, religious – different from that of Europe. The historical and political determination is obvious but the presentation of the artistic phenomenon – as it was before – removes the traditional inferiority complex in relation to the European practices of the 18th century or to the future self-assertion of Romanian music. The new discourse on Phanariote music is supported by a special bibliography, formed out of archives and document collections, old books and recently published works, few studies of history and musicology from the communist period. If the authors of the commented chapters, Costin Moisil and Nicolae Gheorghiță, much like most of the authors, underlay their work on previous research and publications, Vlad Văidean (a very young Ph.D. candidate- musicologist, born in 1992) debuts with great succes in this thematic area with the study Între cosmopolitism și localism – Etape premoderne ale culturii muzicale profesioniste în Transilvania (Secolele XVI-XVIII) [Between cosmopolitanism and localism – Premodern stages of the professional musical culture in Transylvania (16th – 18th centuries)]. It is a problem-raising musicological text, which capitalises on authentic sources and top research without avoiding the formulation of hypotheses/suppositions, in the tradition of historiographic writings. The presentation evinces the role of the Saxons’ Lutheran church in developing the European-type music (the subchapter Meșteșug și consistență locală – cultura muzicală enclavizată a sașilor luterani [Local craft and consistency – the enclave musical culture of the Lutheran Saxons]), at the same time ascertaining the inexistence of a Romanian music author. Vlad Văidean insists on the lack of documents (scores, comments) and the partial retracing of history – especially of the old one, from Alba-Iulia (1542-1690), but also in the case of the organists attested in the archives, from Brașov and Sibiu, whose extant scores he presents. Thus he brings arguments against the exaggerations in the previous Romanian writings, pleading for the reassessment of the contributions. The documentation sources were the key of this special study: a European (in the English and German languages) or, with very few exceptions, contemporary Romanian bibliography, doctoral theses in which recent research was integrated, tightly connected to the profile of the stable or transitory musicians, who had come from the countries of Central and Western Europe.

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The next chapters – Muzica în principatele române de-a lungul secolului al XIX-lea [Music in the Romanian Principalities across the 19th century] by Costin Moisil and Începuturile compoziției românești, între naționalism și obsesia sincronizării cu Occidentul [The beginnings of Romanian composition, between nationalism and the obsession of synchronising with the West] by Valentina Sandu-Dediu can be seen through complementarity. Costin Moisil retraces the era through the initial sources – the writings of Teodor T. Burada, Constantin Bobulescu, Mihail Poslușnicu, Gavril Galinescu – through useful excerpts from the subsequent Romanian musicology, signed by George Breazul, Octavian Lazăr Cosma a. o. and realises a selection of the events, authors, scores produced. The study treats the beginnings and spread of European (learned) music in the Romanian Principalities, assessing its effects on the other genres – military and church music. The author also updates the debates regarding national music, presented in the literature and publications of the time by offering “expressive” examples on an objective, documented, neutral tone. Valentina Sandu-Dediu realises an op-ed, reflecting a convincing personal synthesis on the Romanian music from the 19th century. Underlining the main information on the history of Romanian sonic art, the author resizes the picture of the beginnings by describing the process of amalgamation of styles, sources, cultures, the process of accumulation of compositional experience, through interrogations of the national premieres (“the first Romanian symphony”, “the first Romanian opera”, etc.). The real contributions but also the semi-professional level of most scores written until after 1900 are underlined. We conclude with the author: the composers of the 19th century, “amateurs rather than professionals (…) managed to reach a critical mass for the appearance of a truly significant figure – George Enescu” (p. 190). Muzica și publicul Bucureștiului prin prisma literaturii de călătorie din secolul al XIX-lea: un spațiu al absorbției multiculturale [The music and the audience of Bucharest seen through the travel literature from the 19th century: a space of multicultural absorbtion] by Haiganuș Preda-Schime k is a new history chapter of Romanian music, an original study. Using recent treatises of the history of Romania but also classical writings (Nicolae Iorga), research of social history, travel memoirs in original versions, the author brings a significant contribution to the knowledge of the relationship between social classes, ethnic categories and the cultivation of music in the Bucharest of the 19th century. We extract a few sequences from the richness of information and ideas of the study. The Romanian or Romanianness in the German authors’ vision results from a mix of ethnic streaks, which produced “an absolutely remarkable human type […]; as a consequence of the foreign contribution, what was already […] beautiful and strong in the Romanian type often acquired truly ideal forms” (p. 193). The Bucharest of the 19th century was culturally, linguistically and musically cosmopolitan through the coexistence of

334 Book reviews the “folkloric, Levantine, Byzantine, European” styles (p. 196) and around the year 1900 it was a city with a great bourgeoisie and a middle class interested in Western music. The description of the environment of picking up works and artists is a feature of the classical works of music history, neglected for a while in favour of creation, it is also resumed through Haiganuș Preda-Schimek’s research, happily completing the picture of the 19th century. Florinela Popa’s study – Aspecte ale propagandei naționaliste în presa muzicală românească de la finele secolului al XIX-lea [Aspects of nationalist propaganda in the Romanian musical press in the late 19th century] brings new arguments and details on an idea previously debated on – the problem of national music. Departing from the ascertainment that the musical press – found at a beginning stage – reflects the direction of the young Romanian state of developing through the assertion of its own values and the assimilation of the European musical culture, the author identifies two attitudes: 1. the idealisation of the national spirit which must be extracted from the folklore and supported through mobilising discourses; 2. the vehement criticism brought against the Romanian musical life, compared to the European music produced by the foreign artists found on tour in Bucharest. The author claims that these two directions stimulated one another, determining an expectation horizon within the public. The conclusion results from the critical recursion to original documents (articles from the periodicals Lyra română – foaie muzicală și literară [The Romanian lyre – musical and literary sheet] and România musicală [Musical Romania]). Muzicile militare moderne în Țara Românească și Moldova în secolul al XIX-lea [Modern military types of music in Wallachia and Moldavia in the 19th century] by Nicolae Gheorghiță constitutes another new topic in the Romanian historical musicology, based on archival research in Iași and Bucharest. The founding of the first European-type military orchestras, the role of military music within the armed conflicts of the century – 1848, 1959, 1877; instrumental and choral repertoires; the cultural function of the military types of music and the function of stimulating Romanian composers’ works – are ideas developed and supported in documentary fashion. The first volume closes with a contemporary picture of George Enescu, the perception of a very young musicologist, avid of perusals and (re)meanings, endowed with all the skills of thinking about music: Vlad Văidean – George Enescu – Recitiri, reascultări, repoziționări [George Enescu – Rereading, relistening, repositioning]. In the first part of the study – Muzician total, simbol national, om exemplar [A complete musician, a national symbol, an exemplary human being] – the author follows the moulding of George Enescu’s personality cult in Romania – from its debut until posthumously – through consensus in admiration, without an ideological direction, defending the composer against the accusations of collaboration with the democratic-

335 Artes. Journal of Musicology popular regime and criticising the capitalisation on Enescu’s image out of nationalist interests. In the second section, Geniu al sintezei pan-europene [A genius of the pan-European synthesis], the author argues the composer’s universal musical conscience through a synopsis of compositional strategies – a personal hermeneutics of the information in the top Enescu bibliography (Bentoiu, Niculescu, Olah, Clemansa Liliana Firca, Țăranu a.o.). Also consulting works of history, aesthetics, books about Enescu signed by foreign musicologists, Vlad Văidean creates an essay of a high intellectual, musicological, literary level.

Vol. II. Ideologies, institutions and compositional directions in the Romanian music from the 20th-21st centuries The 2nd volume continues the succession of thematic chapters with an implicit chronology of events, stressing and proving the influence and/or the restraint of political ideologies on the artistic environment. The first chapter, Ideologii muzicale în România secolului XX [Musical ideologies in the Romania of the 20th century], signed by Valentina Sandu-Dediu, is emblematic for this perspective. The author configures a panorama of the socio-political media, which influenced the musical life and the contents of creation through the 20th century, formulating the terms of the politically-fed aesthetic tensions: synchronicity and localism (in the interwar period), avant- garde and nationalism, opportunism and the technique of avoiding censorship (during communism). The study offers an ample development of the ideas which dominated the century, stressing dramatic periods: the right-wing extreme nationalistic dictatorships (1938-1941), the rough Stalinism in the era of socialist realism (1944-1953), the re-ideologisation of sonic art after the “July theses”, 1971. The section Studiu de caz: tensiunea dintre „național” și „universal” [A case study: the tension between “national” and “universal”] explains the phenomenon of imposing an ideology through the multiplication of an idea, which becomes a clishé and a trap in the writings about music. Reread today, the articles reveal strata of content which need to be dismantled in order to remove the conventional formulae that were meant to manipulate political censorship. A reader unacquainted with the ideological ambience of the time will not manage to read “between the lines” in order to perceive the core of truth. Period publications, new archival documents, the previous Romanian studies in the theme profile, inspiring literature next to historical works, foreign authors’ cultural studies about Romania 9, in which the author

9 Verdery, Katherine (1994). Compromis și rezistență. Cultura română sub Ceaușescu [Compromise and resistance. Romanian culture under Ceaușescu]. București: Editura Humanitas (transl. Mona Antohi and Sorin Antohi); Deletant, Dennis (2014). România sub regim comunist [Romania under the communist regime]. In Bărbulescu, M., Deletant, D., 336 Book reviews found departure points, models of approach, form a consistent bibliography, which underlies the topic. There remains, however, the doubt formulated in the study motto: There are many things in history which one had better leave in the dark. Knowledge does not make man richer. Objectivity does not always surpass subjectivity. And the concrete fact does not always dissipate illusion (Haruki Murakami). There follows a series of studies, which summarises the histories of cultural and musical education institutions. Construind instituții și o viață muzicală modernă [Building institutions and a modern musical life] by Antigona Rădulescu and Alice Tacu features an especially ample research area, dealing with the activity of the conservatoires from Bucharest, Iași, Cluj, of the Bucharest Philharmonic, of the Composers and Musicologists’ Union, of the Radio and of international festivals. Documenting themselves in detailed monographs, Antigona Rădulescu and Alice Tacu edify syntheses and objective selections of musical facts, tightly connected with the unravelling of historical events and the influence of political factors. The authors own up to the resposability of selecting the most important names of professors, artists, journalists, managers, repertorial and broadcast policies. Mihai Cosma (Opera în România secolului XX [The opera in 20th century Romania]) also writes a history full of data, following the evolution of the genre from the first opera performances to the activity of the institutions from Bucharest and the country, offering countless examples of premieres, lyrical artists in the succession of generations, conductors, directors, choreographers a. o. Delicate problems are not avoided, such as the emigration of great artists in the West, the repertorial constraints regarding Romanian titles, the closed door to contemporary opera, the internal and external difficulties of institutional management. The latter aspect is completed by a picture of the succession of the general managers of the National Opera Bucharest, from 1921 to the present day. Completing the history of the main performance institutions, Irina Boga signs the chapter Teatrul muzical românesc: cazul operetei bucureștene [The Romanian musical theatre: the case of the Bucharest Operetta]. Following with predilection the typology and the evolution of the works staged, the author embarks on a long journey, from the vaudeville of the 19th century to the variety revue in the interwar period, subsequently to the operetta of folkloric inspiration in the period of socialist realism, to performances for children and the musical in the contemporary period. The author argues in detail the double role played by this genre through its entire history – that of delighting the public through accessibility, vivaciousness and humour, as the valuable scores

Hitchins, K., Papacostea, Ș., & Teodor, P. (2014). Istoria României [The history of Romania]. București: Editura Corint Educational. 337 Artes. Journal of Musicology remained or returned to the repertoire after decades – but also that of promoting an ideology among the wide masses. Speranța Rădulescu elaborates the chapter Prefacerea muzicilor orale de-a lungul secolului XX [The change of oral types of music across the 20th century] capitalising on and refining her previous research. The architecture of the study itself, edified through the alternation of the sections presenting folkloric genres and practices and academic pages targeting the configuration of a dictionary of ideas and mandatory information in the research area, creates an edifying picture of the phenomenology of the oral types of music and the evolution of its study, an explicit demonstration for every type of reader – man of culture, professional musician, student. Speranța Rădulescu’s study evinces the richness, originality and variety of Romanian folkore in parallel with its extensive research, represented by great specialists in ethnomusicology. But the conclusions are dramatic: the modernisation of social structures and the way of life, the folklorisation imposed by the power and assumed by the people, the globalisation through media channels and the migration of the population has led to the disappearance of rural types of music and the blossoming of new urban types of music. Thus, the folklore collections and studies have become archival pieces, sometimes used in the contemporary industry of folkloric performances, but especially in the reportorial orientation of the few ensembles of traditional music founded by music departments or research institutes. The following chapter – Construind o muzică bisericească națională [Building a national church music] – is also elaborated by a specialist in this theme, asserted through consistent research – doctoral thesis, published books and studies: Costin Moisil. Aware of the niche character of the writings of Byzantinology, accessible with difficulty even to generalist musicologists, the author conceives an essay, which claims a wider audience, a presentation of Orthodox music for all musicians and men of culture. Starting his demonstration from the historical moment produced by Macarie Ieromonahul through the adaptation in the Romanian language of the traditional chants of the Orthodox Church, Costin Moisil traces the gradual change of mentality in the direction of imagining the church music in Romania as a particular version with national features, identified in “piety, simplicity, sweetness, the absence of external figures” (p. 221). The author insists on the role of the state in the transformation of Byzantine music in Romania, stressing the main moments: 1. the opening towards Europe through the introduction of harmonic choirs, beginning with the 1830s and continuing the cultivation of the new genre in musical and general education, 2. “the banning of singing in churches in a language different from Romanian” (in 1863), 3. stressing the national direction by printing and distributing chant collections to be executed in a monodic or harmonised version in as many churches as possible, 4. the

338 Book reviews founding in 1928 of the Academy of Religious Music, which set out to “create a single genre of church singing proper to the Romanian Orthodox church”, as Ion Popescu-Pasărea specified at inauguration (p. 231), 5. the standardisation of the chants through the decision of the Holy Sinod of 1950 and the imposition of a unique repertoire for the entire country. The effect of this century and a half of direction Orthodox music towards the formation of national specificity through the adaptation, confinement, the replacing of the traditional repertoire is also expressed through the rejection of the old styles revived after 1990. The new wave of Byzantine singing inspired by the Greek style in which “psaltic chant has been preserved better” is liked neither at the official level, nor by ordinary people. “Virtuosity has become a vice and simplistic execution a virtue” – concludes the author (p. 235). I would clear this sceptic finale a bit by adding that the psaltic ensembles who have regenerated old Romanian chant through concert repertoires, interpretations, voices of great value, have created a new audience and a new state of mind. The have produced and/or given renewed birth to the joy of religious experience through music. The study Muzicile militare românești în secolul XX [The military types of music in the 20 th century] by Nicolae Gheorghiță is an original piece of research and a new topic in the treatises of music history. The difficult access to documents found in archives, the ban on the study of the works dedicated to the royal house in communism, musicologists’ decreased interest for this topic – exceptions being Octavian Lazăr Cosma and Viorel Cosma, who insert informative samples in the general historical context – are factors that have led to fragmentary knowledge. By studying the meanwhile desecretised military archives, the new histories of the Romanian army, old writings from the 19th and 20th centuries but also propaganda articles from the 1950s, Nicolae Gheorghiță documents musicologically a history dense with information and interpretations. By retracing the past of the military types of music from the period 1900-1944, the author underlines the construction of a special professional line supported by the state through the foundation of an increasing number of brass bands, semi-simphonic orchestras, choirs, through the appointment to the leadership of military types of music of very well educated musicians (composers, arrangers, conductors) – Josif Ivanovici, Mihai Mărgăritescu, Ion Vlăduță, Egizio Massini –, by organising resounding musical events: the monarchy jubilee – Carol I’s 40 years of reign (1906), the coronation concert from Alba-Iulia (1922), the tour of the military bands abroad (1934), the foundation of the School of Military Musician Students (1936), etc. Naturally, the political changes had an immediate effect on soldierly music, the author emphasising the repertoire changes during Carol II’s dictatorship (1938-1940), the legionary one (1940-1941) and the military dictatorship (1941-1944). More dramatic changes happened during tough

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Stalinism (1944-1953): the purge and the political subjugation of the Romanian army, reducing the brass bands to less than 50%, new propaganda types of music – marches of Soviet influence or excerpts of “revolutionary” music from the international symphonic repertoire. The author argues for the reconstruction of military types of music in the service of national-communist politics through: the foundation of the brass-band subsection with the Romanian Composers and Musicologists’ Union (1957) and the composition of a great number of new works, including easy-listening music, the establishment of a unique repertoire, the publication of scores and records, the organisation of the Contest-festival of soldierly songs: Te apăr și te cânt, Patria mea! [I defend and sing you, my motherland!] (1972), etc. The fact that military music continues to exist in the free contemporary society in a reduced form justifies the utility, the necessity of the genre: its wide audience owed to the popular repertoire belonging to all musical genres (symphonic, folkloric, entertainment). Upon reading Nicolae Gheorghiță’s study, we realise that military music constituted a powerful segment of musical life in Romania. In the following chapter – Istoria jazzului românesc în documente inedite [The history of Romanian jazz in novel documents] – Alex Vasiliu treats the genre in the spirit of the central idea of the volume, following the correspondence between the succession of historical, cultural, political events and the evolution of artistic practice. At the same time, the author regards jazz as a multifaceted cultural phenomenon: the performing musicians or performing composers; the broadcasting through radio, records, television, festivals; the education for jazz owed to publications, musicology, training, etc. Retracing the history of jazz through a documented piece of research (in interwar periodicals, in those of the years 1950-1965 and subsequently), Alex Vasiliu completes the picture of the practice of jazz in Romania with novel information, identifying a coherent journey marked by three beginnings: 1. the wide audience of American jazz and the proliferation of performing practices, determined by the foundation of the station Radio București (1928), 2. “the offensive of jazz” in the period of political thawing, 1962-1971 (top artistic individualities, modern styles). 3. the mature stage of Romanian jazz after 1974 (along with the creation of the International jazz festival from Sibiu). Following the waves of historic evolution, the author also documents musicologically the most difficult period of jazz – the two decades of ideological pressure of socialist realism (1945-1963) – during which the musical practice of performing, broadcasting, recording is maintained through various subterfuges and means of avoiding censorship. Even if the editorial space of this chapter does not offer him the possibility of commenting upon all styles, all important artists, all events of contemporary jazz, Alex Vasiliu creates a clear picture of the evolution of this genre in Romania, reflected by the works of top-tier musicians such as Jancy Körössy, Richard Oschanitzky, Eugen Ciceu, Johnny Răducanu, Ștefan Berindei, Marius

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Popp, Adrian Enescu a. o., by the Romanian jazzology: Mihai Berindei, Cornel Chiriac, Florian Lungu, Octavian Ursulescu, Alex Vasiliu a. o. Accesibilitate și popularitate: o privire panoramică asupra muzicii ușoare românești [Accessibility and popularity: a panoramic view of the Romanian easy-listening music] represents the contribution of a young artist, Andrei Tudor (b. 1983), faculty member at UNMB, known as a pianist, composer, arranger in the current genres of entertainment music. A synthesis of information and ideas, this approach of the history of the easy-listening genre follows a few guiding lines – from terminological specifications, information regarding sources, influences, musical features, to representative ensembles, festivals and competitions. The analysis is exemplified with names of successful composers, from Ion Vasilescu to Florin Bogardo, with titles of songs entered into the anthology of national memory. The annex Compozitori reprezentativi și cântecele lor de muzică ușoară (selecție) [Representative composers and their easy-listening songs (selection)] happily completes this “panoramic view”, useful for general knowledge and education in the history of the genre. The last chapter of the volume – Contribuții componistice românești după 1960 [Romanian compositional contributions after 1960] – is elaborated by Dan Dediu. This study reflects the ample experience of the composer, situated for many years in the leadership collective of the Romanian Composers and Musicologists’ Union and thus in direct contact with the most diverse scores, and of the composition professor exercised in the analysis and systematisation of contemporary music. Also, of the aesthetician with novel studies about the new meanings of current art. The study benefits from an original conception and content, meant to identify, systematise, describe Romanian composers’ novel ideas, “the musical-ideational contribution of post-1960 Romania to world culture” (p. 353). The author’s conception capitalises on both the genealogies, the families of compositional thought (the tree series) and the horizontal correspondences – the spread of aesthetic techniques/ideas in different composers’ works (the rhizome series). The systematisation criteria target writing techniques and aesthetic ideas, each category being found through novel and adapted aspects. A mere enumeration of the categories as they appear in the two synoptic chapters at the end is also relevant: Novel techniques (Heterophony and the theory of musical syntax; Tuning systems and morphogenesis); Adapted techniques (Modal organisations; Spectralism; Serialism; Electronic music; Polystylism and metastylism); Novel aesthetic directions (Archetypal minimalism; The Vernacular – the poetics of Romanian ethos; Onirism); Adapted aesthetic directions (Maximalism or postmodern integralism; Improvisation and indeterminacy; Retro – Mixture/Transgenres). The organisation conceived and applied by Dan Dediu, with perfect systematic thinking, offers solutions for the integration of the works of a large number of authors. The coldness of rational

341 Artes. Journal of Musicology systematisation is “warmed up” and “coloured” by memorable aesthetic and stylistic appreciations: Ștefan Niculescu – “tectonics of the soul, a prayer in stone floating between heaven and earth” (p. 359); Liviu Dănceanu – “diversity, humour and absurdity” (p. 361); Tiberiu Olah – “the prodigious melodic talent, the orchestral sense and the imaginative ease, the powerful constructive vein, the masterful management of discourse breaking, the outstanding combinatorial and developing capacity” (p. 363); Adrian Iorgulescu – “the draconic economy of technical means and musical material […] the incisive gesturing of the melodic-rhythmic trajectories […] the complete mastery of extended formal arches” (p. 364); Doina Rotaru – “gradual processuality and homogeneity of the sonic material […] unwinding of the flickering and whining from an imaginary limbo, come from the depths of ancestral memory” (pp. 364-365), etc. The self-reflection of the vision – “a subjective offcut”, “an interesting, instructive and, of course, in the end utopian exercise” (p. 406) – marks a correspondence over time with Anatol Vieru: “the movement of ideas does in no way replace the musical production […]. Composers cannot be classified according to currents of ideas. A reasonably important artist cannot fit into a current.” (Vieru, 2001, p. 233). In this case also, philosophical doubt sheds even more light on Dan Dediu’s constructive idea of identifying techniques and aesthetics which assert themselves and influence the contemporariness of the idea and, at the same time, perpetuate themselves across generations, directing compositional thought. A new approach in contemporary musicology!

Conclusions We express our hope that, through the extended format of the review of the two volumes Noi istorii ale muzicilor românești [New histories of Romanian types of music], we have managed to underline the novelty of information, the rigour of documentation, the critical and/or detached style of the approach, the coverage of all musical genres. At the same time, we set out to emphasise the identity of every thematic chapter, each author’s stylistic nuance – aspects which resonate with the manner of international research through collective volumes, like the ones in the series The Cambridge Companion to Music or Musiques – Une encyclopédie pour le XXIe siècle (edited by Jean-Jacques Nattiez). Here, therefore, is a first Romanian analogous title, a history which deserves and has to be revealed, also because it does not offer a definitive ready-made like a classical textbook/treatise, but a series of original approaches connected to a whole which stimulates reflection and the continuation of research.

References

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Cosma, O. L (1995). Universul muzicii românești. Uniunea Compozitorilor și muzicologilor din România (1920-1995). [The universe of Romanian music. The Romanian Composers and Musicologists’ Union (1920-1995)]. București: Editura Muzicală. Sandu-Dediu, V. & Gheorghiță, N. (editors) (2020). Noi istorii ale muzicii românești. I. De la vechi manuscrise la perioada modernă a muzicii românești. [New histories of Romanian types of music. I. From old manuscripts to the modern period of Romanian music]. București: Editura Muzicală. Sandu-Dediu, V. & Gheorghiță, N. (editors) (2020). Noi istorii ale muzicii românești II. Ideologii, instituții și direcții componistice în muzica românească din secolele XX- XXI. [New histories of Romanian types of music. II. Ideologies, institutions and compositional directions in the Romanian music from the 20th-21st centuries]. București: Editura muzicală. Vieru, A. (2001). O dezvoltare substanțială [A substantial development]. In Vieru, A. (2001). Ordinea în turnul Babel: însemnări despre muzică [Order in the tower of Babel: notes on music], București: Editura Hasefer. Vieru, A. (2001). O dezvoltare substanțială. În Vieru, A., Ordinea în turnul Babel: însemnări despre muzică. București: Editura Hasefer.

343 DOI: 10.2478/ajm-2021-0021 Artes. Journal of Musicology

Impressions after reading a fascinating book: Bayreuth – Oraș al Festivalurilor. Prezențe românești [Bayreuth – City of Festivals. Romanian presences]

LOREDANA IAŢEŞEN, Associate Professor, PhD “George Enescu” National University of Arts Iaşi ROMANIA ∗

Abstract: Published in 2019 by Ecou Transilvan Publishing House, the volume Bayreuth – Oraș al Festivalurilor. Prezențe românești [Bayreuth – City of Festivals. Romanian Presences], signed by the musicologist Gheorghe Mușat has an immeasurable documentary value. From the challenge launched by the title, which is accentuated with the discovery of the differentiated perspectives for approaching the complex issue – Bayreuther-Festspiele and Internationales Jugend – Festspieltreffen – to the precious details regarding the sessions, courses, seminars, concerts, conferences of artists from East and West, who had the extraordinary chance to collaborate in the last decades of the last century. In essence, the book focuses on the generation of musicians confident in the nobility of ideals to perfect themselves in the performing arts, to sing unique pieces from various stylistic repertoires and, especially, to listen, to learn from each other, to communicate at a high level about the multiple manifestation hypostases of the sound phenomenon.

Keywords: Wagner, Bayreuth, festivals, creators, musicians, concerts, universal and Romanian opuses.

The volume opens in the sensitive atmosphere of the author’s confessions, based on which we get acquainted with his activity as a trumpeter and guest professor at several editions of the International Youth Festival. The image of the artist with multiple interests materializes in the suggestive commentary of the writer Hans Bergel, related to the surprising intertwining of the features of “seriousness and humor in the personality of the musician, pedagogue and writer Gheorghe Mușat” (Mușat, 2019, p. 11). Although the table of contents is conceived in a memoir style, the reader sometimes feeling overwhelmed by the richness of the ideas to be debated, after careful reading, we find, nevertheless, a possible segmentation of the volume on several issues: “Founding the Richard Wagner Festival”; “Founding the International Youth Festival”; “On the Romanian music bands that shone in the world of the International Youth Festival of Bayreuth” and “What did the national or international newspapers write about the participating of the young Romanian musicians at Bayreuth”.

∗ [email protected] 344 Book reviews

The first part is dedicated to the Richard Wagner Festival, where the author systematizes older and newer data about the foundation of this large event, about conductors or soloists who have asserted themselves on the big stage with Movila Verde, about traditional and innovative productions but especially about the “succession to the Festspielhaus and the Wagner family’s connections with personalities of the Nazi regime” (Mușat, 2019 p. 54). A familiar, yet hardly accepted subject in the consciousness of the contemporary public. Aware of the gravity of these realities, which for a time overshadowed the legend woven around Bayreuth, the author has the courage to update the ideas of another book, L’heritage Wagner written by Gottfried, a great- grandson of the composer, whose importance was vehemently challenged at the time of its publishing in 2001. What does this descendant of the legendary family say? “Wagner belongs to art, Hitler to the file of criminals, said Gottfried, who rejected both Wagner’s cult in Bayreuth from 1872 to 1945 and the repression of the Nazi period in the New Bayreuth era” (Mușat, 2019, p. 61). The culmination of the musicological approach, focused on the affirmation and development of the festival, is the portrait dedicated to the Romanian baritone of the late nineteenth century, Dimitrie Popovici-Bayreuth, who sang under the baton of Hans Richter and Richard Strauss, and enjoyed the admiration of the Wagner family. For example, in a letter from Cosima to Gustav Mahler, we find the following: “Today, for the role of Telramund – for whom Wagner regretted all his life that he did not meet a worthy performer, as he imagined – there is no artist in the music world that can compare to Dimitrie Popovici” (Mușat, 2019, p. 70). The dense content of the ideas has a deep impact, by continuously emphasizing the significant moments of the speech with the help of conclusive documents (photos with performers or conductors, with family members from different generations, posters of shows, images from various productions). The reader is really absorbed by the vastness of the information, by the rigor of the documentation or by the dynamic style of the construction of the sentences full of meaning. There are only a few peculiarities that contribute to the creation of a coherent and provocative image of the introductory section. In part II, focused on detailing the event Internationales Jugend – Festspieltreffen, we are at the heart of the problem. We learn that at the initiative of the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, the International Youth Festival of Bayreuth was established in 1950, held in parallel with the Richard Wagner Opera Festival (Mușat, 2019, p. 75). Thus, personalities from the international music world, assistants or professors specialized in chamber, orchestral, or opera music are invited during the three weeks, the aim being for the young musicians enrolled to participate in the concerts that mark the ending of the courses. The author reveals step by step different information about the leadership of the Youth Festival taken over by the distinguished family Herbert

345 Artes. Journal of Musicology and Grete Barth, about the participants in this prestigious event at different times, about the orchestra course given by the famous conductor Erich Bergel between 1974-1980, about the programming as soloists of some musicians from Romania, about the program of concerts conducted by Erich Bergel with the International Youth Orchestra, about the delicate relationship between Erich Bergel and Cristian Mandeal. In the author’s view, according to a statistic conducted at the end of the festival, we are amazed to discover that “since 1950 there have been 10459 students from 60 countries on all five continents” (Mușat, 2019, p. 85). Relevant for understanding the importance of the festival are the pages (97-130), in which Gheorghe Mușat presents all the participants from the years 1975-1980 (the share of Romanian musicians being obvious). He does not limit himself only to the successive presentation of some concert programs, of some lists of names of the instrumentalists, but focuses on the commentary of the event from all perspectives. We appreciate the portraits dedicated to some performers, conductors, associated with personal observations or with extracts from musical chronicles on the proposed repertoires. For example, on the occasion of the Inaugural Concert of the Annecy – Bayreuth International Sessions, it was commented in the newspaper Le Progres, published on September 4, 1976, that together with two chamber ensembles from the Superior Conservatory of Music in Cluj, “I listened to the chamber orchestra of the Superior Conservatory of Music in Iași, conducted by Ion Baciu” (Mușat, 2019, p. 188). The next section of the volume focuses on the “Romanian bands that shone in the world of the International Youth Festival of Bayreuth: Chamber Orchestra ʻCamerata’ of the Music Conservatory ʻCiprian Porumbescu’ of Bucharest (conductor – Paul Staicu); Chamber orchestra ʻConcerto’ of the Conservatory of Bucharest (conductor – Dorel Pașcu-Rădulescu); Ensemble of wind instruments of the Conservatory ʻCiprian Porumbescu’ of Bucharest (conductor – Emil Bâclea); Chamber orchestra ʻDinu Lipatti’ of the Music Conservatory ʻGheorghe Dima’ of Cluj-Napoca (conductor – Casiu Barbu); Chamber choir of the Symphony Hall and Conservatory of Cluj-Napoca (conductor – Florentin Mihăescu); Ensemble of wind instruments and percussion ʻAulodia’ (conductor – Constantin Arcu); Music Conservatory ʻGeorge Enescu’ of Iași, Chamber orchestra (conductors – Ion Baciu and Sabin Păutza); Choral ʻAnimosi’ (conductor – Sabin Păutza); Ensemble ʻMusica Viva’ (conductor – Vincente Țușcă); Chamber orchestra ʻTescana’ of the Symphony Hall ʻMihail Jora’ of Bacău (conductor – Ovidiu Bălan)” (Mușat, 2019, pp. 193-244). According to the author, “the first participation of the Chamber orchestra of the Conservatory of Iasi in the International Youth Festival of Bayreuth took place in August 1973, in the opening concert performing the opus Infinite Melody by Theodor Grigoriu” (Mușat, 2019, p. 226). In 1976, also under the

346 Book reviews conductor Ion Baciu, the opus Jocuri by Sabin Păutza was performed, and “on August 8, 1978, the Chamber Orchestra of the Music Conservatory of Iași performed the piece Vision for string orchestra by Serghei Prokofiev, conducted by Sabin Păutza in the concert at the beginning of the International Youth Festival” (Mușat, 2019, p. 227). Each presentation of the ensembles that took part in the Youth Festival of Bayreuth is also accompanied by posters with the programs of the concerts held, from which we note the diversity of repertoires approached from a stylistic and chronological point of view. Moreover, we find that Romanian music occupied a central place in the repertoires of these bands, some opuses being played for their first audition. Another surprise offered by the author Gheorghe Mușat is related to the systematization of the ensembles that participated in the “opening concerts of the International Youth Festival in 1973, 1975, 1978, 1980” (Mușat, 2019, p. 284). We are surprised to see that “Romania was represented by 14 bands, followed by Poland with 11 bands, Hungary with 5, Czechoslovakia with 3, Bulgaria with 3, France with 2, Finland with 2 and Norway with one band” (Mușat, 2019, p. 285). How could this phenomenon be explained? In the usual direct way, the author comments on the preponderance of musicians from the East over those from the West, from the perspective of obvious social differences, which also psychologically influenced differences in motivation “(...) From the West came those who wanted to learn and had money to pay meals, accommodation and classes. Those who came from the East did not pay for anything, they had secure accommodation, meals and also received 200 DM in order to buy the cheapest tickets to the Festspielhaus ...” (Mușat, 2019, p. 278). Next we read about Other guests from Romania at the International Youth Festival of Bayreuth and we recognize the importance of the Chamber Music Course for brass wind instruments, held several editions by professor Gheorghe Mușat, guest of honor for this event; of professors Uzi Wiesel and Robert Hinze or the special professional relationship between Uzi Wiesel and the Voces Quartet. In this context, the author makes a special portrait of the prestigious chamber ensemble, emphasizing that during the years 1973-1974, the four members were part of the chamber orchestra of the Conservatory of Iasi invited to Bayreuth (Mușat, 2019, p. 321) and between 1978 and 1979, the Voces Quartet attended classes held in Bayreuth by Professor Uzi Wiesel. Master Uzi Wiesel’s appreciation of the Voces quartet is also an emotional one: “They are dedicated musicians and wonderful performers. The Voces quartet has the appropriate talent, quality and professional attitude...” (Mușat, 2019, p. 322). Their exceptional interpretive manner in approaching the Romanian creation did not remain without echo in the international press, so that the newspaper Nordbayerischer Kurier of August 10, 1979 recorded: “at the

347 Artes. Journal of Musicology opening concert of the Youth Festival, where ensembles from Poland, Romania and Czechoslovakia participated, ... Voces performed the Quartet no. 3 by Sabin Păutza, of such seductive perfection...” (Mușat, 2019, p. 322). It should be noted that between 1976 and 1978, Professor Mihail Cozmei was also invited from Iași, but unfortunately could not be present, “due to some approvals that came too late...” (Mușat, 2019, p. 296). The last part focuses on the impact that young musicians had on the Romanian and international press. In this context we have the opportunity to reflect comparatively on the development of the event in the succession of several editions, based on the opinions of the authors who sign consistent articles in national (Făclia, România literară, Steaua, Săptămâna) or international dailies (The Times, London; Frankfurter Allgemeine, Frankfurt; Generalanzeiger, Bonn; National-Zeitung, Basel; Musik und Bildung, Mainz, Times International, Nigeria, Le Monde, Paris; Libres Belgique, Brussels). In this section of the volume, which includes other documents (posters, photos with famous performers, letters, statements of the musicians involved in the festival), we also discover some admirable pages dedicated to a providential meeting between musician Gheorghe Mușat and trumpeter Adolf Scherbaum. The reader’s emotion becomes more and more intense, when he goes through the excerpts from the correspondence between the author and Adolf Scherbaum’s wife, upon his death; or with Herbert Barth, following the death of Mrs. Grete Barth. There are moments of unique sensitivity, given the special context in which the musician Gheorghe Mușat found himself at that time. After the 43rd edition of the Festival in 1983, one of the author’s brothers remained in the West, so that, since 1984, the leadership of the State Security in Cluj-Napoca did not allow him to leave the country for several years. Here is one of the reasons why the perception of this artist becomes nuanced. We understand his enthusiasm when the distinguished Mrs. Sissy Thammer, in her position as general manager of the Youth Festival, extended a new invitation to participate in 1995. What have we discovered after the 2000s? The author brings to our attention an article published in the periodical Adevărul of Cluj, under the signature of Michaela Bocu, which is a retrospective of the International Festival of Young Artists, held in Bayreuth in 2002. After being informed about a large participation of artists from 47 countries, including Romania, represented by two important chamber ensembles from the “Gheorghe Dima” Academy of Music, we are surprised by the following words: “Mrs. Thammer is a sympathizer and a sincere supporter of young musicians from Cluj, whom she prefers before others in our country...” (Mușat, 2019, p. 315). After such a subjective statement, the following question arises: how was it possible before 1989, in a political context of extreme harshness, when one of the forms of personality annihilation was the interdiction (there are many examples of artists

348 Book reviews who did not get the so-called approvals in time, missing significant international events), to include Romanian performers from Bucharest, Cluj- Napoca and Iași in the programs of the International Festival of Bayreuth, while today, when the political system no longer imposes restrictions, the access of Romanian musicians in the world becomes limited? A question whose answer is not immediately clear. We only assume that careful information and, especially, a constant collaboration of all professional music institutions, would contribute to the inclusion in the Festival programs of the Romanian representative bands from all university centers. In conclusion, after reading this book, some ideas emerged: The volume Bayreuth – Oraș al festivalurilor. Prezențe românești [Bayreuth City of Festivals Romanian presences] draws attention through the extensive documentation, the richness of information and the dynamism of the comments, through the direct style in the elaboration and construction of the discourse, which is fulfilled by constantly reporting to the evidence, to the testimonies of the author’s analysis. Undoubtedly, the present research has the value of a reference monograph, with an encyclopedic opening of a fascinating music center, the old Bayreuth and its echoes in contemporaneity. The author, Gheorghe Mușat, a great personality in the national and international performing sphere, proves that he is a complex musician, successfully adding to the qualities of a recognized instrumentalist or professor, that of a talented and attentive musicologist in handling all parameters of the critical apparatus (references, bibliography). We note that Romanian musicians, performers, conductors, musicologists, who had the chance to participate in the sessions of the International Festival of Bayreuth, specialized in various courses and seminars, later capitalizing, from various perspectives, on the knowledge gained and experiences wonderful lived. We can only congratulate Mr. Gheorghe Mușat for the effort to complete such a volume of documentary value, especially necessary in the specialized literature. We are convinced that it will become a favorite book for musicians and music lovers alike, each of the potential readers discovering fascinating ideas about the impressive work of artists admired and recognized in Bayreuth.