Kyriakos Kalaitzidis | University of Ioannina/Greece (original) (raw)

Papers by Kyriakos Kalaitzidis

The Semi-annual Journal of Music, 2nd Period, Volume 1, No. 1: 17-56. , 2024

It is known that it was in the beginning of the 20th century when Persian Music was first recorde... more It is known that it was in the beginning of the 20th century when Persian Music was first recorded in staff notation. This absence of written sources renders any results produced by any effort to document the breadth and depth of the history of this great musical tradition not only unreliable, but practically unattainable. The written tradition of Byzantine Music enables us to explore the history of Persian Music in greater depth through time, and also through having access to a large number of sources. The article provides a list of sources and we proceed to commentary about the term “Persikon”, the Hellenic-Iranian cultural relationships, the emergence and the development of that practice, some observations regarding the modes and the rhythms and finally an analysis of a sample work.

Samuel Baud-Bovy etait une personnalite aux competences multiples dans les domaines de la musique... more Samuel Baud-Bovy etait une personnalite aux competences multiples dans les domaines de la musique et de la musicologie. Outre ses activites d’enseignant, de musicien et de chercheur et sa contribution a la vie musicale genevoise, il avait developpe des sa jeunesse une relation particuliere avec la Grece et la culture grecque, comme l’atteste la liste de ses publications scientifiques, en grande partie consacree a ce domaine. Cette affinite remonte a l’annee 1927. Alors âge de vingt-et-un ans,...

Musicology Today: Journal of the National University of Music Bucharest / Volume 11 / Issue 4 (44) / October-December 2020, pp 281-296, 2022

During the first decades of the 19th century, Byzantium was still strong in the collective consci... more During the first decades of the 19th century, Byzantium was still strong in the collective consciousness and memory, and remained a powerful influence in the lives, the attitudes and the cultural creations of the people of South Easter Europe. In this environment two important personalities emerged: Athanasios Christopoulos in letters and politics, and Nikephoros Kantouniares in music. Their paths crossed in the cultural environment of the Phanariot society and the result of this relationship gave birth to a series of works of art that are the subject of this paper. More specifically, we are presenting twenty-seven (27) songs composed by Nikephoros in lyrics by Athanasios Christopoulos.

The article makes a brief reference to the musical context, gives brief biographical and ergographic information and proceeds to a tropical, rhythmic and morphological analysis. It’s noteworthy that the musical arrangements are in sixteen (16) modal entities and their names pointed out by using both the terminology of Byzantine music and the maqam music one. From a rhythmic standpoint, most of them are in the simple and understandable pattern of one 4-beat usul sofian and two songs in peculiar 10-beat rhythms.

Post-Byzantine Music Manuscripts as a Source for Oriental Secular Music (15th to Early 19th Century)

The idea for this English edition of Kyriakos Kalaitzidis’ Ph.D. thesis came into being during th... more The idea for this English edition of Kyriakos Kalaitzidis’ Ph.D. thesis came into being during the conference entitled "Writing the History of "Ottoman…

ΜΟΡΦΟΛΟΓΙΚΕΣ ΠΑΡΑΤΗΡΗΣΕΙΣ ΣΤΟ ΕΙΔΟΣ ΤΩΝ ΦΑΝΑΡΙΩΤΙΚΩΝ ΤΡΑΓΟΥΔΙΩΝ Τα φαναριώτικα τραγούδια αποτελού... more ΜΟΡΦΟΛΟΓΙΚΕΣ ΠΑΡΑΤΗΡΗΣΕΙΣ ΣΤΟ ΕΙΔΟΣ ΤΩΝ ΦΑΝΑΡΙΩΤΙΚΩΝ ΤΡΑΓΟΥΔΙΩΝ Τα φαναριώτικα τραγούδια αποτελούν μια καλλιτεχνική έφραση της ελληνικής ελίτ της Κωνσταντινούπολης, του Βουκουρεστίου και του Ιασίου, της οποίας τα χρονικά όρια εκτείνονται από τα μέσα του 18 ου έως τις αρχές του 19 ου αιώνα. Κύριοι φορείς αυτής της παράδοσης ως συνθέτες και εκτελεστές υπήρξαν οι πρωτοψάλτες, λαμπαδάριοι και λοιποί μουσικοδιδάσκαλοι της εποχής, οι οποίοι και την αποθησαύρισαν σε έναν ικανό αριθμό γραπτών πηγών με τη χρήση της βυζαντινής μουσικής σημειογραφίας, γνωστής ως «βυζαντινής παρασημαντικής». Οι ποικίλες απελθούσες κοινωνικοπολιτικές εξελίξεις, που αντικατροπτίζονται συν τοις άλλοις και στα καλλιτεχνικά δρώμενα, άμβλυναν την όποια ενασχόληση με τα φαναριώτικα τραγούδια, τόσο από πλευράς μουσικής πράξης, όσο και από πλευράς μουσικολογικής έρευνας. 1 Τα τελευταία χρόνια έχει ανανεωθεί το ενδιαφέρον της επιστη-

Conference Proceedings “Crossroads: Greece as an intercultural pole of musical thought and creativity”, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki - Faculty of Fine Arts School of Music Studies - IMS Regional Association for the Study of Music of the Balkans, 2013

In this particular presentation are examined the Kratemata, this bright kind of Byzantine and pos... more In this particular presentation are examined the Kratemata, this bright kind of Byzantine and post Byzantine composing
and the Terenüm of the Eastern music respectively. They are also examined their possible common roots, their use in the rhythmic and their regulatory and ornamental role in the structure of compositions.

Post-Byzantine musical manuscripts constitute a very important written source for the secular mus... more Post-Byzantine musical manuscripts constitute a very important written source for the secular music of the Middle East. We find in them a rich quantity of material, over a long period, a multitude of genres comprising, the echoi (modes), makams and usûls, together with the names of composers and other information. This source material covers a time span that ranges from the end of the 14th century to the beginning of the 19th, or circa 1830 when there appeared the first printed collection of secular music.

Petros Peloponnesios (1740-1778) is considered one of the leading personalities of ecclesiastical music, with a variety of narrations dealing with his legendary life. He served in high music positions in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (Domesticos (1764-1771) and Lampadarios (1771-1778)), whereas recent research has revealed more and more clues which prove that he was a great personality in terms of 18th century secular music in Constantinople, both as performer (ney and tambur), composer, and scribe of codices.

W. Feldman, M. Guettat, K. Kalaitzides (ed.), Music in the Mediterranean, Volume II Theory, En Chordais, Project MediMuses in the context of European Union programme Euromed Heritage II. Thessaloniki, 2005., 2005

Byzantine chant and the art of song The orchestra Traditional instruments in the world of art mus... more Byzantine chant and the art of song
The orchestra
Traditional instruments in the world of art music
Musical rebirth in the last two decades of the twentieth century

DELATOUR FRANCE – IRCAM – CNRS – Université de Strasbourge, 2015

This paper studies the the different improvisational genres in the Hellenic musical heritage. Bas... more This paper studies the the different improvisational genres in the Hellenic musical heritage. Based on Post-Byzantine musical manuscripts, the discography of 78 rpm, contemporary sources and the musical experience of the author, it examines the types of improvisations in the Greek musical tradition, both as autonomous form and as part incorporated in a song or instrumental piece. By exploring the rules which set the limits within which the musicians moves, the author presents a classification and analysis of the structures, the morphologies, the instruments, the origins and the practices of different genres.

Books by Kyriakos Kalaitzidis

The aim of “MediMuses” project was the quest and reformation of the elements of the common Medite... more The aim of “MediMuses” project was the quest and reformation of the elements of the common Mediterranean musical heritage and specifically the learned or classical traditions, as these have been preserved through its people, oral tradition and written sources. In the course of the project’s implementation a significant body of research material and audio recordings was created, amply demonstrating the wealth and cultural significance of Modal Music in the Mediterranean and above all the fact that it represents a heritage that shared by many cultures; Arabs, Hellenes, Turks, Jews, Iranians.

Oinousian Maritime Museum publication consists of 2 CDs together with a 100 page book (Greek-Engl... more Oinousian Maritime Museum publication consists of 2 CDs together with a 100 page book (Greek-English) that contains texts about the history of the
island, its musical tradition, the song lyrics and accompanying texts etc.

Many significant masters have been creatively active in the Near East. Often the impact of their ... more Many significant masters have been creatively active in the Near East. Often the impact of
their work has reached beyond the boundaries of the city or country where they lived and
spread throughout the Mediterranean. Nonetheless, the lack of a complete and documented
presentation of this common cultural heritage is today making itself more and more acutely
felt; a presentation of particular scientific and educational interest to teachers and students
of music schools and academies, researchers and musicologists that would also create an
inspiring backdrop for new musical creation by contemporary musicians.
Thanks to this series, interpreters, musical ensembles, orchestras and choirs around the
world will have the opportunity to globally study the particular musical idioms of great
civilizations, as these have been expressed by great composers through the ages. At the
same time, the presentation to the general public of these works of great aesthetic value and
importance will be made possible.
In opposition to the contemporary trend towards conflict between nations, fed by ideologies
of cultural superiority or inferiority, the series hopes to contribute to the reconciliation and
the peaceful coexistence of the Mediterranean peoples, with their common musical heritage
acting as an axis of cohesion.
The beginning of this effort is taking place as part of the MediMuses project that is funded
by European Union in the context of the Euromed Heritage II program and has also received
financial support from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. The MediMuses “Workgroup for
the History of Mediterranean Music” worked on the planning of the series and in the first
phase six collections of works will be published. Each collection contains the complete works
of the composer, a brief biography, interpretational notes and other related material which
was collected and edited by established musicians and musicologists of the Mediterranean.

The present edition is the continuation of our twenty-year work in the field of the paleography o... more The present edition is the continuation of our twenty-year work in the field of the paleography of Eastern secular music. Its infancy is traced back to the recording of Secular Music from Athonite Codices , followed by concerts and publications which not only present to the musicological society and the general public unknown musical treasures, but they also brought to light the common musical heritage of Eastern civilisations.

The manuscripts in question were the subject of Kyriakos Kalaitzidis’s doctoral dissertation, which was written under the supervision of Prof. Gregorios Stathis and was approved by the Department of Music Studies of the University of Athens . Meanwhile, there have been several occasional attempts to transcribe secular music compositions by Thomas Apostolopoulos . Also important was the transcription of certain works of secular music from the Old Method to staff notation by the present authors under the auspices of the pilot research project implemented by the Orient-Institut Istanbul with the kind support of the Onassis Foundation (October 2016 - April 2017). Also, more recently, a number of songs composed by Nikeforos Kantouniares with the verses written by Athanasios Christopoulos have been transcribed within the framework of the “Extro-Cult” project realized by the “Muhsis” Cultural Development Group of Kastoria .

In this first edition of transcriptions we tried to cover a more representative sample of musical traditions, genres, modes, rhythmical cycles and composers than those of the examined repertoire: five demotic Greek songs, six works coming from the music of the Ottoman court, one from the Persian art music and thirty-five Phanariot songs. We can identify the genres of the Ottoman court pieces as follows: three Peşrevs, one Saz Semâ’î, one Taksîm and one Ağir Semâ’î.

The present book includes compositions of Abdülkadir Marâghi (1353-1453), Dimitri Cantemir (1673-1723), Hânende Zacharias (18th century), Petros Peloponnesios (1740-1778), Iakovos Protopsaltis (mid-18th century -1800), Petros Byzantios (mid-18th century - 1808), Nikeforos Kantouniares (1770-1830?), as well as several other unspecified composers. Finally, in the vocal genres we encounter verses by Germanos, the Metropolitan Bishop of Old Patras (1771-1826), Athanasios Christopoulos (1772-1847), Beyzade Yiangos Karatzas (1770-1808), Iakovos Protopsaltes, Archdeacon Kyrillos and by many unspecified poets.

Thanks to this book, we hope that scholars, interpreters, musical ensembles and music students around the world will have the opportunity to globally study the particular musical idioms of great civilisations, as they have been expressed by great composers and written down by post-Byzantine teachers through the ages. At the same time, the general public will be finally presented with these works of great aesthetic value and importance.

The Semi-annual Journal of Music, 2nd Period, Volume 1, No. 1: 17-56. , 2024

Musicology Today: Journal of the National University of Music Bucharest / Volume 11 / Issue 4 (44) / October-December 2020, pp 281-296, 2022

Post-Byzantine Music Manuscripts as a Source for Oriental Secular Music (15th to Early 19th Century)

DELATOUR FRANCE – IRCAM – CNRS – Université de Strasbourge, 2015