Constantin Catrina – a life in the service of the Romanian music

Abstract

A complex personality, with multifarious concerns in research as well as in composition, Constantin Catrina (1933-2013) was active as a folklorist, historian, musicologist, Byzantinologist, composer; he dedicated his entire life to the research of the Romanian music, viewed in all its manifold manifestations: folklore music, Orthodox church music of the Byzantine tradition as well as lay music. His investigations were directed mainly towards the area of Brasov and its surroundings. He diligently studied documents about the musical life of the city in archives and libraries, discovered interesting information about the cultural personalities of this old Transylvanian city, with rich cultural traditions and diverse influences. He also managed to reveal their connections with other cultural centres in Romania. He was a pioneer in the field of Byzantinology, filling a space left empty in the history of Byzantine music by emphasizing the activity of an important centre of church music teaching and education in central Transylvania – the School of “Saint Nicholas” Church in Scheii Brasovului between the 15th and 20th centuries. In terms of folklore research, he investigated the areas related to Brasov and collected a rich ethnographic, literary and musical material which he published in reputable collections. In all three lines of activity, he wrote and published an impressive number of articles in the local and specialised national press, thus proving to have a genuine passion for research and for the dissemination of its results to the specialists and the general public.