ARTES. JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY publishes research studies in major fields of musicology: Music History, Music Theory, Music Analysis, Musical Aesthetics, Ethnomusicology, Musical Byzantinology, Theory of musical performance. Conceived as a volume of studies in the theory of art (music, theatre, fine arts), the 1st issue of ARTES magazine was published by the "George Enescu" University of Arts in Iaşi in 1996. Starting with the 4th issue, the thematic profile of the magazine has become exclusively musical. Its contents and frequency of appearance have been closely related to the National Musicology Symposium "The Science of Music" (organised, beginning with 1997, by the "George Enescu" University of Arts), to the National Musicology Symposium "Identity and stylistic contexts in Romanian musical works" (initiated by the same institution in 2007), to the International Byzantinology Symposium initiated in 2008 and to the objectives of Research centre "The science of music", accreditted by CNCSIS in 2004. Beginning with the 11th issue, magazine ARTES has become bilingual and published in the languages of Romanian and English. The topic areas have extended to research in Byzantinology, while beginning with the 15th issue the magazine was renamed to Artes. Journal of Musicology. Artes. Journal of musicology has been indexed in CEEOL (Central and Eastern European Online Library) and ERIHPLUS (European Reference Index for The Humanities and Social Sciences)
ARTES publishing house – "George Enescu" University of Arts Iaşi
On the Sunday Axion and on The Athonite Axionar
A valuable volume of psaltic music is about to be printed soon. It is a new collection of Axions, elaborated in the “St. Gheorghe” Romanian cell - Kapsala in the Holy Mountain. The collection contains works by older (19th century) or contemporary Greek composers. Most of the Greek axions belong to an Athonite monk who wished to remain anonymous and who entrusted Father Gheorghe from the “St. Gheorghe - Livadogheni” Romanian cell on Holy Mount Athos with a valuable collection of personal axions, to be adapted and printed. It is so that these axions are now being printed for the first time directly in Romanian. These anonymous compositions are a pleasant surprise by their carefully maintained balance between originality and classic features, which is not at all easy to achieve. This important collection of Axions will be the subject of this article, through a historical presentation of the genre of axion and the meaning and importance of this genre in the liturgical framework of the Orthodox Liturgy.
Copyright (c) 2024 ARTES. JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Manuscript 110 from the “Dumitru Stăniloae” Ecumenical Library of the Metropolitan Church of Moldavia and Bukovina in Iași
The aim of the present work is to study the repertoire and to discover the possible musical sources used by the copyist to write Ms. 110, starting from its cataloguing. The codex uses Greek (predominantly) and Romanian languages and chrysanthine notation. The copyists (at least two) of the manuscript are anonymous, of Romanian origin. The codex was originally thought of as a collection of cheroubika-koinonika psaltic repertoire, but was later supplemented by another copyist with the festal axions in Romanian translated by Makarios the Hieromonk and prosomia in Greek. The repertoire in Greek includes a series of cheroubika and koinonika for Sundays and great holidays all over the year. The authors are Greek classical composers: Petros Lampadarios, Daniil Protopsaltis, Ioannis Protopsaltis, Chourmouzios Chartophylakos, Gregorios Protopsaltis, Petros Byzantios. The source of the Greek repertoire is most likely the set of volumes entitled Tαμείον Ανθολογίας / The Treasury of Anthology, which certainly represents one of the main musical collections through which the Chrysantine reform was implemented in the Hellenic area. The inclusion of the festal axions (of the great holidays of the year) in the manuscript is proof of the circulation and importance of this category of chants in the Romanian Principalities, after the introduction of the Chrysantine Reform through the significant contribution of their author, Makarios the Hieromonk.
Stylistic Reflections on Soprano Maria Slătinaru Nistor's Vocal Interpretation of the Lieder by Robert Schumann and Richard Wagner
The article aims to highlight the artistic personality of soprano Maria Slătinaru Nistor, born in Iași on May 25, 1938. A student of the distinguished opera and lied professor and soloist Arta Florescu, Maria Slătinaru Nistor shone on the world's greatest lyrical stages, both in Italian repertoire (as an incomparable Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore, earning accolades from audiences and music critics in Verdi's Aida, later portraying an impetuous and striking Floria Tosca in Puccini's opera, a role played over 250 times, as well as taking on Mimi in La Bohème, Liu and Turandot in Puccini's eponymous opera, La Wally in Catalani's opera, and Gioconda in Ponchielli's creation) and in German repertoire, interpreting roles in operas like The Flying Dutchman, Lohengrin and Die Walküre by Wagner with distinguished elegance. Additionally, the study aims to highlight the stylistic and vocal differences in Mrs. Slătinaru Nistor's art by delving into the world of German vocal miniatures, based on the Electrecord recordings for Robert Schumann's op. 42 Frauenliebe und leben (orchestrated by Theodor Rogalski) and Richard Wagner's Five Songs on Verses by Mathilde Wesendonck (orchestrated by Felix Mottl). The Electrecord recordings forming the basis of the analysis were performed by soprano Maria Slătinaru Nistor in collaboration with the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation's Studio Orchestra, conducted by Carol Litvin, in 1981. This project dates back to the peak of the distinguished performer and professor's creative activity, whose artistic destiny began in Iași.
Opera Singing Models in the Second Half of the 20th Century. Leontyne Price and Maria Slătinaru-Nistor
Considering that one of the artists with an exceptional national and international career, Maria Slătinaru-Nistor, celebrates her 85th birthday this year, we intend to celebrate this event in a special way, by reminding the already known biography or singing career information and at the same time by focusing on her opera singing career through a comparative approach with the distinguished figure of another contemporary singer, Leontyne Price, in a commentary on a representative score from the verismo repertoire, namely Floria Tosca’s aria in Act II (Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca). Therefore, in this paper we will sketch the portraits of the two sopranos, Leontyne Price and Maria Slătinaru-Nistor, in order to identify similarities and differences in their approach to the aria in question, with the aim of demonstrating one particular critical approach, according to which Maria Slătinaru-Nistor’s artistic personality is a natural continuation of Leontyne Price’s.
Sabin Pautza, 80 years of life: “We understand from music what we are”
Sabin Pautza turned 80 on February 8, 2023. Known to the Romanian musical world, and not only, through his stylistically diverse works, the musician dedicated his life especially to composition. His creation is included on vinyl discs and CDs, it has tempted various performers who are passionate about academic music, as well as entertainment music, and has been approached musicologically over time, in studies, such as those signed by: Liliana Gherman (1978 - Cantata „Columne” pentru cor și orchestră pe versuri de Vasile Filip [Cantata "Columne" for choir and orchestra with lyrics by Vasile Filip]), Anca Sîrbu (2012 - Syntaxes and Sonorous Systems in Five Pieces for Orchestra by Sabin Pautza), Gheorghe Duțică (2012 - Archetypal Polysemies in Jocuri II by Sabin Pautza), Ciprian Ion (2019 - „Canti prophani” de Sabin Pautza: joaca inocentă a copiilor ilustrată printr-un joc componistic elaborat [“Canti prophani” by Sabin Pautza: the innocent play of children illustrated through an elaborate compositional game]), Daniel Paicu (2021 - Stylistic and interpretative issues in Two preludes for clarinet and piano by Sabin Păutza). The present research aims to reveal nuances of the musician's personality, found in his works, his musical dialogues, his ways of communication, all this starting from the interview he gave me in 2020. Music is art, and Sabin Pautza believes that art is the one who brings him closer to people.
Being part of the group of Transylvanian and Banat musicians who started their activity in Iasi, Sabin Pautza stood out as a complex, original, spectacular personality. The “engine” of his creativity was innovation – as a teacher at the “George Enescu” Conservatory, conductor and composer. A powerful “engine”, assembled from the “model pieces” of the whole European musical culture and of the young but original North American musical culture. Sabin Pautza has attracted students with his original, direct, integrative way of teaching knowledge in the harmony course, bringing together academic and pop-rock-jazz works; he founded one of the most valuable choral ensembles in the country – Animosi –, he has adapted his culture and inventiveness to an astonishing variety of compositional techniques and genres: the choral piece in classical and modern styles, the light music song, the musical, the quartet, the concerto, the symphony. In his youth, he enjoyed public success, the appreciation of the musical profession (including the Romanian Academy Prize), and had his works published on record. His creative adaptation allowed him to establish himself as composer and conductor of the Plainfield Philharmonic, USA. He acclimatized to the American musical environment also as a teacher, orchestrator, conductor. Sabin Pautza has succeeded in transposing famous poems by Mihai Eminescu into music, and his pieces for choir are among the Romanian masterpieces. His music, regardless of genre, has passed all the tests of time with flying colours and is still listened to today with surprise, interest and delight.
The Oriental classical music in the Romanian Principalities during the time of Dimitrie Cantemir. The tanbûr on the Romanian territory
The Oriental classical music represents a cultured music specific to the Oriental area and encountered at the Court of different political rulers. It appears as a “salon” music at the princely and noble Courts and it is intended for the political and social elite. Its emergence and development corresponds to the Western symphonic music. In the Romanian Principalities the Oriental classical music – Ottoman and Persian – appears as guided by the same coordinates, being taken from Constantinople by the Romanian political rulers. Thus, it represents not just another kind of music which can be listened at the princely court on special occasions, but also a manifesto of political power. The connection between this type of music, Dimitrie Cantemir and the Romanian Principalities resides in the fact that the Moldavian ruler and writer has had a very important role in the development of Ottoman classical music in a time when it was emerging from Persian ‘guardianship’. Dimitrie Cantemir was not only an excellent performer of the tanbûr, one of the instruments specific to this music, but also a composer, collector and a theoretician of Oriental classical music. Through the present material, we will try to show how the Oriental classical music developed in the Romanian Principalities and to observe the presence, circulation and importance of the tanbûr in these territories.
Prince Dimitrie Cantemir remains in international historiography a prominent promoter of universal culture, generating specialized research on his works. Humanist by polymath profile, Cantemir ranks in the panoply of illustrious personalities in human history, who contributed to the evolution of human culture through relevant studies in various scientific fields of his time. He becomes one of the masters of oriental musical art, writes a treatise on theory with the help of which his disciples and later those interested in this field can deepen their knowledge. To the same end, he invents a graphic system of musical writing used in the notation of his own compositions, those of some of his contemporaries and predecessors. He crowned this work with a collection of sound creations specific to the music of the cult of the time. With his treatise on music and the collection appended to it, the Moldavian prince succeeded in establishing himself in a cultural space prolific in professionals in the art of sound. This personal development projected him as a guarantor of quality. It is for this reason that works attributed to him appeared after his departure from Constantinople, a phenomenon that was also common some time after his death. For this reason, works appear after his departure from Constantinople, which are attributed to him, a phenomenon also found some time after his death. Researchers in various branches of science, such as geography, political science, musicology, history, history, philosophy and so on, continue to seek to delve deeper into the works of Cantemius, and this is still a promising field of work.
Report on teaching deformities in the study of the discipline of Musical Forms
Do composers produce cells, figures, motifs, or periods? Does the concept of form only mean a string of capital letters in music? How interested can a singer be in the form of instrumental music? What could the word composition mean after all? And why would compositional analysis be different from simple form analysis? There are just as many questions that produce logical and legitimate anxiety. And all this because of the form of music which is synonymous with the form of water. With only one difference: water is liquid and formless, and music’s only sense of form is acoustic and invisible. Because the form of music cannot be and is not musical. The discipline of musical forms teaches nothing about form, only compositional scheme. Which has nothing to do with music. Do composers produce articulations or perhaps ideas, melodies, meanings, and themes? Which in turn can assume various compositional schemes. After so many questions, it would be appropriate to formulate a final query: given so many distortions, what exactly does the discipline Analyses of musical forms teach students?
Experimental perspectives on artificial intelligence in music composition
The article is a musicological treatment of new opportunities to analyse, research, create music, etc., from the perspective of new discoveries and experiments that take place today in the virtual world, exposed in open access sources. The aim of the article is to explore the process of the dynamic evolution of artificial intelligence and its impact on academic music. Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, different companies worked on developing various versions of artificial intelligence technologies capable of composing music. One of the most important start-ups in the field of creating musical compositions with the help of artificial intelligence is Aiva Technologies. Its algorithms incorporate the concepts of music theory through researching and processing existing musical works. Even though some of the works created by Aiva have been used in films and marketing, nevertheless the musical compositions created by multifaceted aspect that encompasses authors reflect more accurately the inner feelings of the human being, aesthetic references, personal visions, the many aspects of the human universe, the strong point being inspiration, as a primary determinant of the artist. Traditional musical instruments remain an important support in the field of musical art, as they possess specific sounds and unique qualities, fully explored in the interpretative process, which is an important field that is equally integrated in the area of the definition of creativity. Attempting to create these sounds and effects with the help of artificial intelligence is a challenge in achieving perfect performances that could be evaluated at the same level as human ones. Therefore, predictions about the possibility of equalizing their value remain questionable, as the two require different criteria for analysis.
Illusions of Auditory Reception and Paradoxes of Perception – Psychoacoustic EffectsGenerated by Sounds
Auditory illusions and perception paradoxes were discovered a few centuries ago and have continued to be identified to this day through complex analyses. Whether intentionally or accidentally, some sound illusions are present in notable works by established musicians. These brain processes are caused by the paradoxes of musical perception, which are determined by the frequency of sounds and their spatial location. The auditory presence of illusions confirms the existence of cerebral mechanisms that alter the reception and perception of sound during the decoding process. The spatial component of music and the overlapping of sound planes promote the creation of musical chimeras. Studying auditory illusions and paradoxes contributes to understanding the perceptive and cognitive processes of decoding sound impulses, techniques for analysing and synthesizing sound, and the development of electroacoustic instruments. The present research outlines three auditory illusions: Il Terzo suono di Tartini (Tartini's Third Sound), the Shepard Scale, and the Mysterious Melody. The auditory illusion named Il Terzo suono di Tartini represents the discovery of Giuseppe Tartini, the Italian violinist, composer, educator, theorist, and philosopher. The illusion of an infinite musical scale, the Shepard Scale, is named after American psychologist and cognitive researcher Roger Shepard. The psychoacoustic illusion named the Mysterious Melody was discovered and studied by one of the best-known researchers in music psychology Diana Deutsch.
Psychological Factors of Preference for Academic Music
The willingness to listen to a new musical work is an important element for the artistic culture development, especially during school years. This topic has been at the center of concerns of specialists both in the field of education and in that of psychology. Thus, in the 90s, Albert LeBlanc scientifically demonstrated the theory of musical openness, using a group of 2262 subjects, measuring exactly how receptivity to an unfamiliar work depends on age and musical style. Thus, he highlighted that the highest level of openness is found before the age of 8 and in young adults, while the lowest level is found in adolescence and old age. The rise and fall of musical openness has been shown for fragments of academic music, jazz and rock. His discoveries were the starting point for a multitude of experiments that have extended to the present day, confirming and customizing LeBlanc’s theory, taking into account the socio-cultural environment, musical experience, educational strategies and other elements of musical discourse. The present analysis represents a review of the most important studies carried out in this research direction. The interpretation of the results sheds light on a series of educational implications, as well as ways to promote academic musical performances among young people.
Psychological typologies and musical semantics in the Iris devoilée [Iris Unveiled] concerted suite by Qigang Chen
The Concerted Suite Iris devoilée, for grand orchestra, three female voices and three traditional instruments, is one of the reference musical creations of the Chinese composer Qigang Chen, an illustrious student of Olivier Messiaen in Paris and one of the most important exponents of the extra-contemporary european. “Iris’ scarf” – an allegorical nickname for the rainbow - slips little by little from the mysterious face of one and the same woman (imaginary character or poetic pseudonym circulated in the 17th-18th centuries), revealing the fullness of the psychological diversity induced of the nine moods, nine facets of femininity (1. Ingenious, 2. Chaste, 3. Libertine, 4. Sensitive, 5. Tender, 6. Jealous, 7. Melancholic, 8.Hysterical and 9. Voluptuous) captured in an exceptional range of expressions andsound nuances. From this perspective, the present study proposes, on the one hand, theidentification of the compositional means (of writing styles) through which QigangChen manages to achieve the ideal synthesis between the musical tradition of WesternEurope and the multi-millenary oriental musical tradition of his country of origin(China), and, on the other hand, the exploration of musical semantics (of thispolychromatic mosaic of impressions, temperaments, attitudes, etc.) within thestructurality and timbrality of sound discourse.
The relationship of Iași composers with the avant-garde: Anton Zeman, Vasile Spătărelu, Sabin Pautza, Viorel Munteanu, Cristian Misievici
The European and Romanian musical avant-garde from the 1950s to the 1970s is being reconsidered from a theoretical and compositional point of view, a phenomenon, which determines me to propose a topic in this thematic area. It is well-known that the renewal of the sonorous art in Iași, a traditional Romanian cultural centre, was owed to a group of composers educated at the “Ciprian Porumbescu” Conservatoire in Bucharest, who became professors, creative artists in Iași – Anton Zeman (1937-1996), Vasile Spătărelu (1938-2006), Sabin Pautza (1943), to the same extent to the first graduates of the Iași composition class: Viorel Munteanu (1944) and Cristian Misievici (1953-2020). Maintaining a constant relationship with the central movement of national creation and directly with languages promoted by the European avant-garde composers, the Iași musicians capitalised individually on the new sonorous imagery, on the new types of writing: the serially or mathematically organised dodecaphony, textural stratification, the insertion of indeterminacy and of the sonorous effects associates with the new semiography. This study marks out various compositional behaviours in relation to the precepts of the avant-garde: the gradual assimilation of the new language and its development in ever more elaborate formats (Anton Zeman); preferential choices, censored by intuitive musicality (Vasile Spătărelu), an intense avant-gardist experiment left for creative visions with more appeal to the public (Sabin Pautza); an oasis of radical renewal at the centre of a modern synthetic creation (Viorel Munteanu); an authentic and consistent avant-gardist manifestation, perfect compatibility with the new compositional design (Cristian Misievici).
Manifestations of Stylistic Dichotomy in the Harmony of 20th Century Music: General Tendencies andSeveral Case Studies
This paper aims to provide an analytical insight into two interrelated topics, each of which is interesting in its own right. The first of them is dichotomy in music, namely, the various manifestations of binarity – that is, the juxtaposition of two different spheres of expression, either simultaneously, in counterpoint, or in succession. The second aspect targeted will be the presentation of the main trends, important concepts or compositional techniques used in the creation of such dichotomies, based on some relevant musical examples studied.
The Book of Honor of the Iași Conservatory Returned Home!
The Iași Conservatory Book of Honor was initiated in 1926, when the headmaster of the institution was the cello teacher Nicolae Theodorescu (between 1924-1930). I tried to describe the adventure of this document of great importance for the history of Iaşi culture, in the following episodes: personalities and events mentioned in the Book; the disappearance of the Book from the Conservatory archive in 1950, under circumstances still unclear; rediscovery and presence in D. Grumuzescu's collection; returning to the patrimony of the “George Enescu” Art University of Iasi. This text is an extension of the one published in “Filarmonica Magazine”, in April 2015.
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Values of neo-protestant choral works in Romania
Borne from the relevant and efficient expression in the context of contemporary culture, neo-protestant choral spirituality uses a diversified and meaningful language. From the very beginning of the existence of neo-protestant cults on the territory of our country, the establishment of a liturgical repertoire intended for common intonation or by various choral or vocal-instrumental bands has been one of the primordial preoccupations. Along with choral creations translated from the universal literature, there is a significant number of original works created by Romanian composers within the religious services. Due to extremely diverse themes and extrovert character, neo-protestant choral music includes different styles specific to the great tradition of classical, romantic or modern music as well as influences from the extra-European sphere. The text of these creations, which has biblical inspiration or created by the composer, is a means of great diversification in the reproduction of the sound material. Composers and arrangers with high quality music training and a profound understanding of biblical truths, through sound art wanted to contribute to the enrichment of contemporary neo-protestant choral music repertoire, leaving posterity a significant amount of valuable choral pages as inheritance.
The Balkan tradition in contemporary jazz. Anatoly Vapirov
The folkloric character of the beginnings of jazz has been established by all researchers of American classical music. The African-Americans brought as slaves onto the territory of North America, the European émigrés tied to their own folkloric repertoire, the songs in the musical revues on Broadway turned national successes – can be considered the first three waves to have fundamentally influenced the history of jazz music. Preserving the classical and modern manner of improvisation and arrangement has not been a solution for authentic jazz musicians, permanently preoccupied with renewing their mode of expression. As it happened in the academic genres, the effect of experiments was mostly to draw the public away, as its capacity of understanding and empathizing with the new musical “products” (especially those in the “free” stylistic area) were discouraging. The areas which also had something original to say in the field of jazz remained the traditional, archaic cultures in Eastern Europe, Asia, the Orient. Compared to folkloric works from very distant areas, the musical culture of the Balkans bears the advantage of diversity, the ease of reception of melodies, rhythms and instrumental sonority. One of the most important architects of ethno-jazz is Anatoly Vapirov. A classically-trained musician, an author of concerts, stage music and soundtracks, a consummate connoisseur of the classical mode of improvisation as a saxophone and clarinet player, Anatoly Vapirov has dedicated decades of his life to researching the archaic musical culture of the Balkans, which he translated into the dual academic-jazz language, in the hypostases of pre-determined scored works and of improvised works – either as a soloist, in combos or big bands. This study focuses on highlighting the language techniques, emphasizing the aesthetic-artistic qualities of the music signed Anatoly Vapirov.
Jazz Influences in Chamber Musical Works created by Composers from Iaşi at the Beginning of the 21st Century
Chamber Music has always been a genre predefined to a certain audience. At the merge of the 20th and 21st Centuries, the interest for this genre has grown exponentially, from Romanian and Bessarabia composers alike. Because the concept of Chamber Music has evolved during the ages and has always offered the possibility for experimentation, it has managed to infiltrate into present day Ensembles, by associating timbre and constructive heterogenic instruments. The search for new ways of expressing oneself, new sounds and new stylistic methods and the desire to use new types of sound emission represent a continuous motivation for the composers, whose contribution to the Chamber Ensembles is frequently enrichened. Thus, the Jazz influence has a significant role inside the works of Sabin Pautza, Romeo Cozma (Romania) and Oleg Negruța (Republic of Moldova). The article is focused on Chamber Music compositions with Jazz influences, written by Iași authors. The purpose is to create a general presentation and also a structural-interpretive analysis of some works from my personal repertoire, which was actually one of the main criteria of selection. The objects of the research are: highlighting the particularities of the genre and style of contemporary works; presenting the interpretive aspects of the compositions and proposing some personal suggestions and tips. Although the selected works have been initially composed for different instruments and have been played to live audience, they have not presented themselves, so far, as a research subject, and thus have not been analyzed. Taking into consideration this deduction, the novelty and the personal contribution are visible in the scientific research that deals with the autochthonous compositional patrimony. The aspects presented in this article can be used for pedagogical processes and, at the same time, they can behave as a practical method in managing the chosen repertoire.
Canti prophani by Sabin Pautza: innocent child's play illustrated through elaborate composition play
Composer Sabin Pautza's creation, of a style diversity that is rare in the contemporary landscape of Romanian music, stands out through its effervescence and colourfulness, backed by the extraordinary mastery of writing techniques. The work we are referring to in this article, Canti prophani, is a vocal-symphonic suite written for a children's choir. The suite includes three contrasting miniatures (fast-slow-fast), united through their motif, Maico, Maico..., Dalbe flori and Dimineața ziua bună, representing a translation into music language of the main features of childhood games: repetitive action, rhythm, word play. In terms of language, the children's choir is assigned only the pure sonority of diatonic modes, while the orchestra overlays harmonic and polyphonic structures that are much more elaborate. The lay character of the lyrics, underlined in the suite's title, shifts the emphasis from the religious area to that of purity of heart and of sincere joy, the focus being on the high emotions around the feast of Christmas. This brief analytical examination will only highlight the main approaches to the sound material, looking at both archaic influences and at the modern composition techniques, as well as at the manner in which the two blend together. The actual thread that binds all three sections of this work, the image of the mother, occurs everywhere, as the mother is invoked throughout the length of the three parts.
Sound Banks – a Priceless Aid in Contemporary Music Writing
Sound banks are collections of sound samples from musical instruments of the symphonic orchestra, traditional instruments from various areas of the world and sounds of virtual devices, such as synthesizers, which are increasingly present in contemporary musical creations. Sound banks are loaded in a device called sampler, which can edit and play them. The article describes analog and especially virtual samplers, complex devices that can store or play sounds from specific libraries of sound banks. It also defines and catalogs the main types of digital virtual instruments (that include traditional symphonic orchestra instruments, ones with modern electronic instruments/percussion instruments, and ethnic collections for various geographic areas. Our research on digital applications used in music writing relies on 20 years of experience. Currently, applications are valuable tools for composers and musicians, and for everyone in the contemporary music industry. In 2006, I created the first collection of sound banks made in Romania "The Essence of Panflute", library containing sound samples 583, grouped in 33 virtual instruments. This is the most complex virtual version of the Romanian pan flute, played by the renowned Cătălin Tîrcolea. The library is designed and edited by Cătălin Răsvan, for the company S.C. Canira Music Internațional. This collection of sound banks presents in minute detail the laborious process of recording and editing this virtual library. "The Essence of Panflute" has seen international acclaim, is distributed by the German company Best Service, one of the major companies in the world, was reviewed in the most prestigious magazine in this field, Sound on Sound, and has opened the door for current/future creators of music. We hope that it is only the beginning for our work in the research and development of digital virtual sound, which is a special category for the instruments in our country.
Aurel Stroe – Ten Years of Eternity (2008-2018)
Ten years after he passed away, Aurel Stroe remains one of the most valuable composers that Romania has offered to the world in the post-Enescu era. Belonging to an area of novelty and extreme originality of composition and musical thinking, Aurel Stroe was similarly neither understood nor appreciated enough (especially at home) and only to limited extent sung and scheduled within symphonic concerts and chamber music. But abroad, Aurel Stroe remains one of the most performed Romanian composers of modern music. Ten years after his passing away, we will attempt to create an overall view of his musical creations, and the inheritance of his composition thinking.
Art and Meaning. Messiaen Influences on Romanian Composition Universes
In this paper, we will tackle several dominant Messiaen influences, as concerns ideas and/or technical approaches, on important Romanian composition systems, with reference to concepts such as musical character, number, Time/time, repetition. We will refer to characters as structures, characters as tuning systems and characters as musical/cultural paradigms as they occur in Aurel Stroe’s creation, and then we will turn our attention to Ștefan Niculescu’s melody-musical character with memory. Surprising but/and natural, objective but/and inspired, Niculescu opens up different perspectives on the personality of musical character as well. Numbers (what is fascinating is that they are mainly just figures) prove to be an example of simplicity as they comprise in a condensed manner technical information, emotions and musical inspiration. We will prove/illustrate this relying on three technical/semantic perspectives: poetry of numbers-duration in Liviu Glodeanu’s creation, numbers defining dodecaphonic series cells in Roman Vlad’s work, or numbers-foundation for the whole modal edifice in Vieru’s perspective. As for time/Time, which is the main character of Messiaen’s (and actually everyone’s, even humanity’s) musical, poetic, philosophical and theological thinking, we will only dwell on two hypostases, namely Stroe’s and Niculescu’s perspectives. Stroe conceives time as an element integrated in the sphere of memory and identity, as the recurrence in the present time of slices of memories involves the superposing of slices of time. For Niculescu, time is foundation, a condensation of the fact that syntax relies on two temporal categories, succesivity and simultaneity. We will dwell on the repetition “character” in the context of Aurel Stroe’s mobiles, or in parts of monodies of periodicities, screens and loops in Anatol Vieru’s creation. The conclusions will naturally follow the line of art and meaning.
The last lieder of Theodor Grigoriu. Stylistic and interpretive aspects
Theodor Grigoriu, a reference figure for the XXth century Romanian music, as a senior of the post-enescian generation of composers, with a moderately modern attitude towards composing, had explored the expresive resources of the human voice in the vocal-symphonic and vocal-chamber genres. Although, from a quantitative point of view, his voice and piano works are not too numerous and the vocal-chamber genre had not been a constant focus of the composer, lied remains one of the most representative areas of his entire creation, marked by an accomplished literary taste and harmoniously neighboured by the halo of poetry. The lied had marked Theodor Grigoriu’s professional existence, beginning with the first childhood experiments which proved decisive for his future career, up to the inconstant achievements of his creative maturity. Although approached in a non-consistent manner, the diversity, mastery of composition and the abutment to works from a more ample genre to which he resonates and configures genuine “creation laboratories”, the voice and piano cycles of works represent what can truthfully be called lied creation. Letter to birds on words by St. Francisc of Assisi (2004) and The iconographer – The poem of a church painter (2011) on words of a patriarchal, novel text with no poetic aspirations, are the last lieder of Theodor Grigoriu, published posthumously. As a binding of music and poetry into a one poethico-musical universe, they are an exponent of accumulations and transformations of musical language, spectacular compositions, of paramount originality, which harmoniously complete the spiraled path of the genre in the context of the composer’s entire creation.
An Account of the Works of Nektarios Protopsaltis and Nektarios Frimu in Manuscript no. 7 from the “Dumitru Staniloae” Ecumenical Library of the Metropolitan Church of Moldavia and Bukovina
The “Dumitru Staniloae” Ecumenical Library of the Metropolitan Church of Moldavia and Bukovina (reffered to below as LMCMB) from Iasi has an invaluable collection of theological books and documents, consisting of more than 100,000 items. The library also has an important number of rare books – 35 of which are psaltic music manuscripts. Manuscript no. 7 from LMCMB is a psaltic Antologhion with Chrysantine notation, written in Romanian using the Cyrillic alphabet. The copyist and the place where it was copied are unknown, but it is possible that it was written at Mount Athos, between 1877 and 1882 (Apud Bucescu, 2009, p. 108). Manuscript no. 7 mainly contains chants for various services, translated and adapted by Nektarios Protopsaltes (1804-1899). Nektarios was one of the best known psalm singers and Romanian composers, founder of a psaltic music school, who was active at the Holy Mountain in the second half of the nineteenth century. Manuscript no. 7 also contains a rarer variant of the Doxastikon Lord, the fallen woman, attributed to another Moldavian composer – Nektarios Frimu (†1856). Like Nektarios Protopsaltis, he was also born in Husi (Moldavia, Romania) – but lived and worked in Iasi. For his achievements, he is honoured with the title of “hierarch of Tripoleos”. He authored the Anthology – Collection of psaltic chants for the Liturgy, (1840) and Collection of Psaltic Chants for Vespers and Matins (1846), one of the first works of its kind in Chrysantine notation in the Romanian language; these volumes were greatly valued during the second half of the nineteenth century. The present paper, which is part of the ampler project of cataloguing the entire collection of psaltic music manuscripts from LMCMB, focuses on the codicological presentation of the manuscript and its musical and liturgical content. The work will also present the authors, the Greek sources the chants were based on, also emphasizing the importance of this codex in the context of the LMCMB collection.
The “Dumitru Staniloae” Ecumenical Library of Metropolitan Church of Moldavia and Bukovina, Iasi, nineteenth century
Romanian Music of Byzantine Tradition Between 1918 and 2018
Written in the year of Romania’s centennial anniversary as a national state, this paper intends to offer a panorama of the monodic music of Byzantine tradition of the period, composed by the Romanian chanters. Although the entire twentieth century was characterized by the harmonization of the already established church chants, the musical works written in neumatic notation specific to the Orthodox Church continue to exist, albeit discontinuously. Based on the political changes that occurred in the Romanian society, three distinct periods of psaltic music creation can be distinguished: a. 1918-1947; b.1948-1989; c.1990-2018. The first period coincides with the last stage of the process of “Romanianization” of church chants. The second one corresponds to the communist period and is marked by the Communist Party's decisions regarding the Church, namely the attempt to standardise the church chants. After 1990, psaltic music regains its position and the compositions of the last two decades enrich its repertoire with new collections of chants. Thus, we can see that in the course of a century marked by political turmoil and changes, psaltic composition went on a hiatus in the first decades of the totalitarian regime, to gradually resurge after 1980, enriched with numerous works bearing a distinct Romanian stamp.
Ancient Greek Myths in Romanian Opera. Pascal Bentoiu’s Jertfirea Ifigeniei [The Sacrifice of Iphigenia]
Romanian composers' interest in Greek mythology begins with Enescu's peerless masterpiece – lyrical tragedy Oedipe (1921-1931). The realist-postromantic artistic concept is materialised in the insoluble link between text and music, in the original synthesis of the most expressive compositional means recorded in the tradition of the genre and the openness towards acutely modern elements of musical language. The Romanian opera composed in the knowledge of George Enescu's score, which premiered in Bucharest in 1958, reflect an additional interest in mythological subject-matter in the poetic form of the ancient tragedies signed by Euripides, Aeschylus and Sophocles. Significant Romanian musical works written in the avant-garde period of 1960 to 1980 – Doru Popovici's opera Prometeu, Aurel Stroe's Oedipus at Colonus, Oresteia I – Agamemnon, Oresteia II – The Choephori, Oresteia III – The Eumenides, Pascal Bentoiu's The Sacrifice of Iphigenia – to which titles of the contemporary art of the stage are added – Cornel Ţăranu's Oreste & Oedip – propose new philosophical and artistic interpretations of the original myths. At the same time, the mentioned works represent reference points of the multiple and radical transformation of the opera genre in Romanian culture. Emphasising the epic character, a heightened chamber dimension and the alternative extrapolation of the elements in the syncretic complex, developing new modes of performance, of sonic and video transmission – are features of the new style of opera associated to the powerful and simple subject-matter of ancient tragedy. In this sense, radio opera The Sacrifice of Iphigenia (1968) is a significant step in the metamorphosis of the genre, its novel artistic value being confirmed by an important international distinction offered to composer Pascal Bentoiu – Prix Italia of the Italian Radio and Television Broadcasting Company in Rome. The poetic quality of the text quoted from the masterpiece of ancient theatre, Euripides' Iphigenia in Aulis, the hymnic-oratory character of the music, the economy and expressive capacity of the compositional means configured in the relationship between voice, organ, percussion, electro-acoustic means – can be associated in interpreting the universal major theme: the necessity of virgin sacrifice in the process of durable construction.
The Bretan Case: a Paradox between Value and Promotion
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the passing of the Transylvanian musician Nicolae Bretan (1887-1968), known during the interwar period due to his complex field of activity (interpreter, director, conductor, composer), we consider it necessary to elaborate a study that is critical for several reasons. Starting with the dilemmatic comments existent in the current bibliography, we propose, on the one hand, to systematize the information regarding the reception of his personality in the context of the age in which he lived and worked, and on the other hand, to outline the premises that generated the appearance of controversial writings, but especially to question their effects on the deformed stylistic perception of the musician at national and international level. We consider that this is one of the ways in which the “phenomenon of Bretan's rebirth” can be objectively reevaluated, appreciating the existence and real contributions of a minor musician, who, although endowed with talent, could not be in the same compositional direction that included national models (George Enescu, Mihail Jora, Paul Constantinescu), are comparable to those in the universal space of the first half of the 20th century.
Lăsați-mă să cânt! [Let me sing!] – a Romanian operetta by Gherase Dendrino: links between the ethical, aesthetic and political content
It was during the communist regime of the post-war years that Romanian composer Gherase Dendrino wrote an operetta in celebration of the centenary of Ciprian Porumbescu’s birth, named Lăsați-mă să cânt [Let me sing!]. It revolves around the figure of Porumbescu himself, as the first Romanian composer to have ever written an operetta that would be performed and published, named Crai nou [New Moon]. Lăsați-mă să cânt [Let me sing!] tells the story of the making of the first Romanian operetta and was revived during the spring of 2018 at the Cluj-Napoca Romanian National Opera House, as part of the festivities related to the Centenary of the Great Union. The present research highlights three aspects of Dendrino’s operetta: firstly, the one related to the ethical values, epitomized in the libretto by the main character, Ciprian, who, along with his friends, achieves the greatest task of the birth of the Romanian operetta, in spite of all opposition and pitfalls; secondly, the aesthetic content, regarding de musical language of the work, opposing the world of the Romanian provincial town to the Viennese Salonmusik; thirdly, the political aspect, encompassing the subtext of the libretto and the message of the work, which underwent continuous changes over the decades and social and political contexts up to the present day. Thus, the analysis takes into account both the sound and the word.
The Variational Principle in Dinu Lipatti’s Sonatina for Violin and Piano
This study aims to analyze the variational principle, as it is applied in Dinu Lipatti’s Sonatina for Violin and Piano, from a theoretical-analytical perspective, but also from the standpoint of the interpretative implications. The variational processes, in close connection with the specificity of the neoclassical language of the work, determine an atypical classification of the form of variations in the gender structure, which implies a resizing of the interpretative means by which the musical dramaturgy of the piece can be achieved. The comparison with the classic model of variations as a component of the sonata genre dedicated to the violin-piano duo, as it appears in the works of composers such as Mozart or Beethoven, as a method of analytical research, highlights the language aspects that condition the performer's vision in the case of Lipatti’s Sonatina, such as character, tempo, metrics, the type of writing, elements of virtuosity or timbre, whose valences are distinct from those determined by a music discourse from the classical era. Understanding the correlation between the succession of movements and the composition of the variational plan constitutes a priority in approaching this work and shaping the desired artistic message; this is why the study attempts to highlight the necessary connection between the structural elements of the composition and those implicitly generated by them, namely the technical and expressive elements required by the interpretative act.