BYZANTINE MUSIC AND HYMNOGRAPHY
University of Missouri-St. Louis
COURSE INFORMATION GUIDE
MUSIC 327, Spring 1995
Dr. Diane Touliatos
Text:
Wellesz, Egon. A History of Byzantine Music and Hymnography,
2nd. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1961.
Teacher:
Dr. Diane Touliatos, Music Building Room 310
Office Hours: 11:00-11:45 am, MWF & appt.
Phone: 516-5904, Secretary's phone: 516-5980
e-mail: [email protected]
Lectures:
Lectures will focus on the music and musical forms of the Byzantine
Empire by
discussing the various stages of development of the earliest
Christian hymnography
examining the notation of the music and the text
listening and analyzing representative pieces of music
examining the influences of this music
talking about people, events, and culture environment that
influenced the period.
Listening:
There will be no outside listening assignments. Listening
will be analyzed during class time.
Assignments:
Chapters from the text are designated in the syllabus as reading
assignments. There will also be designated readings of articles.
Students are expected to have read these assignments prior to
the designated dates so that they can participate in classroom
discussions. Classes will consist of lectures and discussions
and a portion of the student's grade will be based on participation
in class. Each student will present two oral presentations. One
presentation will be on the notation based on a volume of the Monumenta Musicae Byzantinae. The second presentation
will be based on the term paper so that scholarship can be shared
among peers. Students are expected to prepare a term paper (with
correct footnote and bibliographic form) on a topic of music and
/ or text of Byzantine music. The typed term paper must be turned
in no later than April 28th.
Tests:
There will be two exams given throughout the semester: the
midterm and the final exam. Both of these exams will be in an
essay format and will be based on a 100 point system.
Make-up Procedures:
Generally there will be no make-up procedures for an exam
unless there is some dire emergency which can be validated with
a physician's excuse. In such cases, the professor's discretion
will be used on an individual basis.
Final Exam: Monday, May12th, 10 -12 noon. There can be
no changes in the final exam schedule.
Grades:
The final course grade will be a letter grade. The determination
of this letter grade is based on the following:
Midterm exam 20%
Final exam 20%
Classroom participation 10%
Oral presentation 25%
Paper (20%) and oral 25%
presentation (5%) ______
100%
The points, percentages, and letter grade equivalents are given
below:
A = 93 - 100
B = 83 - 92
C = 73 -82
D = 63- 72
F = 62 or below
Plus and minus will indicate extremes on either end of the above
scale.
University of Missouri-St. Louis
Music 327: Byzantine Music and Hymnography
Syllabus
Winter 1997
Jan.
13: Introduction
15: What is Byzantine music?
17: Surveys on Byzantine music pp. 1-28
20: University closed
22: Status of research articles
24: ---"---
27: Origins of Byzantine music pp. 29-41
29: Survival of Greek musical theory pp. 42-64
31: ---"--- pp. 64-72
Feb.
3: out of town
5: Pagan background pp. 73-94
7: ---"---
10: Secular music
12: Byzantine notation Chap. X
14: ---"--- Chap. XI
17: ---"---
19: Transcription Chap. XII
21: "
24:Structure of melodies Chap.XIII
26: ---"---
28: Words & Music Chap. XIV
March
3: Presentations (alphabetical order of students)
5: ---"---
7: ---"---
10 - 16: Spring Break
17: Music in Ceremonies Chap. IV
19: ---"---
21: Byzantine liturgies Chap. V
24: ---"---
26: Early Christian hymns Chap. VI
28: ---"---
31: Hymnography Chap. VII
April 2: ---"---
4: Troparion Chap.VIII
7: Kontakia Chap VIII
9: Poetical Forms Chap. IX
11: ---"---
14: Articles/Readings
16: ---"---
18:
21:
23:
25: Presentations
28: ---"---
30:
May 12:
Final Exam, Monday, 10 - 12 noon
PROGRAM
BYZANTINE CHANT
According to Medieval and Postmedieval Musical Manuscripts
The Greek Byzantine Choir
directed by
Lycourgos Angelopoulos
St. Louis Cathedral, Thursday, March 20, 1997 at 8:00
p.m.
Lycourgos Ant. Angelopoulos studied law at at the University
of Athens, but it was his abilities as a psaltes and his
studies of chant with Simon Karas that decided his later career.
In 1977 he founded The Greek Byzantine Choir with which he has
given many concerts all over the world. Also his many recordings
have gained him a reputation as one of the leading interpreters
of Byzantine chant. Together with Marcel Peres he has in recent
years produced remarkable reconstructions of the Old-Roman, Beneventan,
and Ambrosian chants demonstrating the predominance of Eastern
influences on early Western chant.
Procession
(Ti Hypermacho stratigo)
This Kontakion of the Akathistos Hymn
was sung in honor of Our Lady as the patron saint Fourth Plagal
Mode of Constantinople.
Part One: Chants from Research
Hymn to the Holy Trinity
This is the earliest preserved Christian
hymn from Oxyrinchos Papyrus No. 1786 from the 3rd century A.D.
The hymn is written in an ancient Greek musical notation and a
Greek text. Soloist: Damianos Serefoglou
Allelouiarion First Plagal
Mode
This old Roman chant dates from the Byzantine period (7th-8th
centuries) and is from Vatican LAT MS 5319. This is chanted in
Greek in the Vespers of Easter in the Roman rite. Transcription
by Marcel Peres and Lycourgos Angelopoulos.
Sticheron for the Feast of St. Symeon the Stylite
(Sept. 1) Second Mode
This piece is ascribed to Kassia (b. ca. 810), the earliest woman
in the history of music for whom we have preserved music. This
is found in MS Ambr. gr. 139 Sup. Research and transcription by
Diane Touliatos.
Communion Chant "Praise the Lord" Fourth Mode and Fourth Plagal Mode
This Koinonikon is by the Lampadarios Manouel Gazis (15th c.).
This is an example of polyphony in Byzantine music from the late
Middle Ages notated for two voices from Athens Nat. Lib. MS 2401
of the 15th c. Research and transcription by Michael Adamis.
Akolouthia of the Three Youths in the Fiery Furnace
This liturgical drama is based on Daniel 3. The play was according
to certain MSS staged in the church room, but later it became
a part of the office on the two Sundays preceding Christmas. Transcribed
and arranged for performance by Michael Adamis from Athens MS
2406, dated 1453.
Precentor/ Director: Lycourgos Angelopoulos
Reader: Leonidas Lioumis
Three Youths: Myriam Marinou, Maria Melahrinou, Theodora Panagopoulou
INTERMISSION
Part Two: Chants from the Tradition
Kathisma from Orthros for the Feast of the Annunciation
for the Most Holy Theotokos (March 25) First Mode
Chanted according to the Mount Athos tradition.
Transcribed by a priest from Skiathos, Georgios Rigas (+ 1958)
Troparion from the Kanon for the Feast of the
Annunciation and the Heirmos from the Ninth Ode
The text of the Troparion from the Kanon
is written by Ioannes Monachos and set to a syllabic melody for
the shortened Heirmologion. The Heirmos from the Ninth Ode is
for the slow Heirmologion. The melody is by Ioannes Protopsaltes
(19th c.).
Doxastikon of the Vespers for the Dormition of
the Mother of God. (August 15) Modes I - VIII Music by Petros Lampadarios of the Great Church. This hymn is
the last of a series of hymns sung at the beginning of the Vespers
Office of August 15 in combination with verses from Psalms 140,
141, 116, and the Lesser Doxology and is divided into nine sections.
Typika Fourth Plagal Mode
The Typika are the verses of Psalm 103.
This transcription by Lycourgos Angelopoulos is in the traditional
way in which they are chanted on Mount Athos.
Communion Hymn "Praise the Lord" First
Plagal Mode
This Koinonikon of the famous Byzantine Maistor St. Ioannes Koukouzeles
(14th c.) is performed as it has been preserved through the transcription
of the "three teachers," Chrysanthos, Gregory, and Chourmousios
at the beginning of the 19th century.
The Polyeleos "Confess unto the Lord" Modes I - IV
The Polyeleos is Psalm 136. This is a syllabic melody as it was
sung by the Protopsaltes of the Central Church of Karies on Mount
Athos, Deacon Dionysios Firfiris (1912 - 1990). Transcription
by Lycourgos Angelopoulos.
Kratema First Mode
This Kratema is written by Ioannes Koukouzeles, the Maistor. Kratemata
are vocal music without text that are sung to nonsense syllables
as "te-re-rem" and "to-ro- ro" representing
a new "instrumental" and artistic trend in Byzantine
music beginning before the year 1300. Transcribed from a MS written
by Chourmousios Chartophylax.
Review
Excellent Byzantine music performance
(James Dimos Dimarogonas <[email protected]>,
12:29)
Yesterday, The Greek Byzantine Choir, under the direction
of Lycourgos Angelopoulos gave a performance at the St. Louis
Cathedral. They are going to give a performance in NY at the Metropolitan
museum of art, but I don't know anything more than that. I just
wanted to say a few words about this truly remarkable performance,
from a group that is considered to be the best byzantine group
in the world.
The setting was quite appropriate, since the St.
Louis cathedral is built in the style of St. Sophia, and it is
decorated exclusively with mosaics in a style that is other times
more byzantine, other times less. The program was divided into
two parts, one which was chants transcribed from manuscripts,
and the second was 19th-20th century byzantine pieces in liturgical
use today. Pieces included "Hymn to holy trinity", the
earliest known christian hymn to have survived, in ancient greek
musical notation from the 3rd century A.D, transcribed from the
Oxyrinchos Papyrus No. 1786. An old roman chant from the 7th-8th
centuries in Greek, from Vatican LAT MS 5319, a few pieces from
St. John Koukouzelis (14th c), one from Kasia (9th century) and
so on. The most interesting piece was a litorgical drama "Three
youths in the fiery furnace". From the program notes:
" This liturgical drama is based on Daniel 3. The play was
according to certain MSS staged in the church room, but later
became a part of the office on the two Sundays preceding Christmas.
Transcribed and arranged for performance by Michael Adamis from
Athens MS 2406, dated 1453"
The piece starts out with the choir, all dressed
in black, singing the introduction, and then three young ladies,
dressed in white, slowly coming to the front from behind the altar.
The piece is divided in the parts of the three youths, the reader
(which reads at some points the story from Daniel I think), the
chorus and the presenter. The acoustics of the cathedral were
terrible, so I could not hear the words clearly, and therefor
could not understand what the role of the presenter was. Maybe
to fill in details of the story not mentioned in the bible? The
combination of the three female soloists, two male soloists, and
a male choir was striking. I don't I have ever heard anything
quite like that. Unfortunately, we were told that this piece has
not been recorded yet, so if anyone is interested in hearing it,
he will have to go to their performance in NY. It is a very unique
experience.
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