Late- and post-Byzantine Sticheraria and Heirmologia

The subject of the proposed research project are the sticheraria and heirmologia in late- and post-Byzantine manuscripts of the Austrian National Library. The main attention hitherto was focused on examining the choir books dating from the 10th until the 13th -14th centuries. Sticheraria and heirmologia after the 14th -15th centuries have only rarely been subject of scientific study. The aim of the project in question is therefore to present a synopsis with regard to the post-Byzantine era (1453- 18th /19 th century). This includes a detailed recording of sticheraria and heirmologia, both textually as well as in relation to their melodic development. The main stress of the project will be on the codices Suppl. gr. 100 (17 th century) and Suppl. gr. 110 (15 th century), as well as on Suppl. gr. 130 und 190 (both dating from the 18th century). Suppl. gr. 100 and 110, which have not until now been included in individual studies, will be compared with each other as well as with other post-Byzantine manuscripts until the late 18th century (e. g. with the Viennese codices Phil. gr. 194 from the 15th and Phil. gr. 343/344 from the first half of the 16th century). In a second stage the manuscripts will be compared with older codices, i. e. with Theol. gr. 181 (13 th century) and Theol. gr. 136 (beginning 12th century). Further comparisons will be made with manuscripts of other Western libraries (from the Bavarian State Library in Munich, the Berlin State Library as well as the British Library and the Athens National Library). The codices from Munich, Berlin and London have until now neither been scientifically researched nor compared with those from other libraries.

The focus of the project in question lies on the investigation of the two main chantbooks of the Byzantine liturgical music, the so-called Sticherarion and Heirmologion. Both books are documented from the 10th/11th cent. onwards. From between the 10th and the 15th cent. a couple of hundred Sticheraria and approx. fifty Heirmologia have been preserved. The chantbooks of the later centuries though have never been evaluated. Likewise the tradition between the 15th and the 17th cent. has not been taken into account yet, for which reason a comprehensive description of the sticheraric and heirmologic tradition until the churchmusic reform of the 19th cent. does still not exist. Therefore the present project aims at comparing the Stichera and Heirmoi from after the 14th/15th cent. with older examples as well as among each other.The starting point of the project lay on the compilation and classification of the repertory of those Byzantine musicliturgical manuscripts, which can be found in the Austrian National Library and contain Stichera and/or Heirmoi. These are the codices Theol. gr. 136 (12th cent), Theol. gr. 181 (1221) and Suppl. gr. 110 (15.th cent.), which belong to the genre of Sticheraria and which are due to their different dates of origin ideally suited for researching and analysing the melodical, textual and modal changes of the Stichera. For this aim 75 Stichera for the month of August and 90 Heirmoi for Holy Week were transcribed into Western staff notation. The Viennese manuscripts were supplemented by codices from the Bavarian State Library in Munich as well as from the rich stocks of manuscripts at the Athens National Library.With the help these transcriptions differences and changes regarding the notation and the melodic formulas of the Stichera for August were analysed. These analyses cover new scientific ground insofar as the selected chants have neither before been subject to detailed investigations nor been compared among each other or been looked at regarding a comprehensive survey of the time between the 11th and the 18th cent. One of the central points of the project regarded the textual structure as well as the melodies of the kalophonic adaptations and revisions of the Stichera during the 15th and 16th cent. Furthermore the project closely analysed the adaptations of the Sticherarion by the composers Chrysaphes the Younger and Germanos Neon Patron (both 17th cent.).At the same time the anonymous versions of the Heirmoi for Holy Week in Viennese and Athens manuscripts were researched. Another focal point here lay on the detailed description of the Heirmologion by Germanos Neon Patron. Interestingly Germanos Neon Patron did not directly rely for his version on the compositions of his predecessors, as it is the case with his Stichera. With the help of comparing the old anonymous Heirmoi with Germanos chants it could be proved that the latter ones do not show any more similarities in their melodic outline to the older examples.The results of the project will be published in a book as well as an article in the course of 2013.