Can someone comment on the quality of transcription of the chants into Romanian?
Is this considered the classical Romanian Anastasimatarion?
Any more info about the above books?
Thanks to all people who contributed the info below.
G. Barbu:
These books are still used today in our orthodox monasteries, which preserved
the psaltic tradition, without changes. About these 2 particular books:
The Gramatica is the "ABC" - the manual for the psaltes; it was written in 1900, by a professor of psaltic music (the byzantine music was called in Romania, at these times, "churchly oriental music"). The professor's name was Nicolae Severeanu; he was a professor of Vocal Music, chanter and conductor of the Choir of the Buzau Episcopate (Buzau is a province in the east of Romania). The book was agreed by The Holy Synod of Romanian Orthodox Church in 1900, for the use of students of the Church-Music Highscools. Below the first page, it is written: "This is the right/property of the author".
The Gramatica is the "ABC" - the manual for the psaltes; it was written in 1900, by a professor of psaltic music (the byzantine music was called in Romania, at these times, "churchly oriental music"). The professor's name was Nicolae Severeanu; he was a professor of Vocal Music, chanter and conductor of the Choir of the Buzau Episcopate (Buzau is a province in the east of Romania). The book was agreed by The Holy Synod of Romanian Orthodox Church in 1900, for the use of students of the Church-Music Highscools. Below the first page, it is written: "This is the right/property of the author".
2.The Anastasimatarion - is entitled "The Anastasimatarion of the Holy Monastery
of Neamt (Niamets)", written in 1943, under thePatriarch Nicodim Munteanu.
It was written by Most Reverend Protosingel FatherVictor Ojog, graduated student
of the Academy of Religious Music in Bucharest. It contains adapted works of Dimitrie
Suceveanu, and works by Victor Ojog. This book was agreed by the Holy Patriarchate,
by the Order 286/ The 21-st of February, 1942.
P. Somalis:
There are several Anastasimataria in Romanian. The most commonly used is the so-called "Uniform Anastasimatar" which is written in both psaltic and linear notation in two volumes (Vol.1 Vespers, Vol.2 Matins). Until recently it was the only one readily available. G. K. Michalakis:
Without even looking at the scanned texts, Suceveanou is a VERY credible author. Back then (1800s), Rumania was still a Metropolis, and he was the protopsaltis. He went ot Constantinople to learn the new system by Gregorios Protopsaltis. I think he stayed there for 4 or more years. He returned to Rumania where he set out to transcribe all notation melodies into the new system. There were some "textual " problems, but they were corrected more for THEOLOGICAL reasons than for musical adaptation reasons. I've studied quite a few pieces of this man's transcriptions. Where he can, he uses the CLASSICAL Greek formulae, because the TONIC formular patterns MATCH quite well. Otherwise, he still uses Classical Forlulae Equivalents where the tonic sequences don't match. In some cases, he has to come up with NEW formulae so as to compensate for formulae that are INEXISTENT in Greek, or that would sound too "heavy" in the Rumanian language. He is the best adapatator in Rumanian I know of. Later editions are "allaxophotised", just as Zoi has "alloxophotised" Ioannis' Heirmologion, which is an "alloxophotisation" of Ephesios' version of Petros... I made reference to Suceveanu's work in my previous postings. Congratulations and many thanks for those who took the time to put this remarkable work up for everyone's benefit. Here is a PROTOPSALTIS of GREAT competence who used CONSERVATIVE methods, always based on OTHER TRADITIONAL psaltis = of Constantinople.... PRETENDING to go back to "hieroglyphics" is like trying to substitute all these great men's knowledge, talent AND PRUDENCE.... And today's hieroglyphic PRETENDERS are just like circus CLOWNS, trying to draw attention by waving and gesturing, when they cannot even chant one, SINGLE melody STRAIGHT... So, if you're Rumanian, get back to basics by studying Suceveanu..... and forget the "hieroglyphics"..
P. Somalis:
Suceveanu was indeed a great cantor and composer, along with Anton Pan, Stefanache Popescu, Ion Popescu-Pasarea and a few others (Severeanu, Varlaam etc.) . I saw some years ago his Idiomelar and it is very good indeed. The Uniform Anastasimatar is a 20th century publication and aimed at uniforming psaltic art in Romanian churches. Its transcriptions are not too bad though they are a bit odd at times. An interesting feature of that Romanian Anastasimatarion is that the Saturday Vespers Prokeimenon is chanted not in its standard mode but in the mode of the week. As an appendix it contains the most common prosomoia.
C. Moisil:
The classical Romanian Anastasimatarion might be considered the one of Macarie Ieromonahul (Vienna, 1823), a very close adaptation of the Anastasimatarion edited by Petros Ephesios. It was reedited with minor modifications in 1856, 1875, 1897, and more recently in 2002, and served as the basis of other Romanian Anastasimataria printed in the 19th and 20th centuries. The first one of these was Dimitrie Suceveanu's (1848); it contained chants from Macarie's book together with others adapted into Romanian by Suceveanu himself (from the new Anastasimataria edited in 1839 and/or 1846 and Mousiki Melissa, 1847), and very few which are his own compositions. Almost all Romanian Anastasimataria edited after 1850 had as source at least one of the following Anastasimataria: Macarie's, Suceveanu's and Pann's, the last one being published in 1847 (Prescurtare din Bazul muzicii bisericesti si din Anastasimatar). The new composers embellished and/or shortened the chants written by the aforementioned 3 chanters. Suceveanu was more influential in Moldavia, and Pann in Wallachia. The Anastasimatarion on your site was published by Victor Ojog. It is 95% the one of Suceveanu, but also includes some chants by Nicolae (Nae) Severeanu (the last stichiron of the Lauds of the first plagal mode). Some of the stichoi after the Kekragarion in the same mode owed to Pann. Ojog's book has been reprinted twice after 1990. There are some uninspired modifications in the new editions (they tried to fit the 1943 melody to a better translation) so the old one is preferable. The new editions were used in a few chant schools.
Concerning Suceveanu's life, I would like to add something to what Georgie wrote. Born in 1816, he couldn't have Gregorios Protopsaltis as a teacher. My
opinion is that Gregorios is mistaken by another psaltis with the same name (Gregorios Vyzantios), which was active in Iasi from about 1816 to 1842, when he died. don't know about any evidence that Suceveanu traveled to Constantinople; he had as teachers two Greeks (Gregorios Vyzantios, Gregorios Paraskiadis) and one Romanian (Nicu Dimcea jr.).
Fr C. Hanga:
The Romanian Anastasiamatarion is not Suceveanu's but Victor Ojog (can see it in the first page). Actually Dimitrie Suceveanu was a great Romanian protopsalti and maistor who lived in the 19th century (in Iasi) and, along with Macarie The Hieromonk, it is one of the founders of Romanian psaltic music (they translated a lot of music from Greek to Romanian, also they created some new, original chants and also they have translated some of the work of the Great Maistores from the old system to the new Hrisanthic one.