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

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.