Cultural transfer of music between Byzantium and the West

The term Missa graeca is used for the chants of the Roman Ordinarium missae (i.e. a [Doxa]/ Gloria, ste [Pisteuo]/Credo, [Hagios]/Sanctus, und t e [Amnos tu theu]/Agnus Dei), which can be found neumated and with Greek text in Latin transliteration in Western choral manuscripts of the 9th11th cent. Beside the Missa graeca the project will concentrate on further bilingual chants, which can be found with Greek and Latin text in Western manuscripts and which have hitherto not been linked to the Missa graeca: These include among others the chants for the veneration of the cross on Good Friday, the so- called Hodie-antiphons for Christmas, Easter and Pentecost, the bilingual Alleluia-verses for Christmas, the antiphons of the so-called Veterem hominem-cycle for the Octave of Epiphany and the Cherubic Hymn (Cherubikon). The project aims at getting a significant step closer to solving the numerous questions and conflicting theories regarding the origins, the development and formation of the so-called Missa graeca as well as of the neumated bilingual Greek-Latin chants in Western medieval manuscripts: For this purpose the project will specifically undertake a direct comparison of Eastern and Western liturgical chants, which has so far never been conclusively accomplished. By means of this comparison the project will gain new insights into common origins and formations of liturgical chants in Byzantium and the West in order to present new per- spectives on the transfer between two different musical cultures in the middle-ages. Until now there have only been separate studies on individual aspects of the topic in question. Therefore the project will present for the first time based on my own transcriptions and analyses a comprehensive, scientifically founded overview of the Missa graeca and the bilingual chants in a distinct monograph, which will serve as starting point and reference work for further research. Furthermore the project aims at questioning and re-evaluating from a Byzantine point of view and with the help of Byzantine sources the relevant issues regarding the Greek chants in Latin manuscripts, because until now these chants have almost exclusively been studied from a Western perspective only. Through this approach the project will try to prove that researching Byzantine music will also gain important information for Western liturgical music. The project will thus significantly contribute to fostering the integration of Byzantine musicology which is still in a marginal position to be included to a far greater extent in the canon of European historical musicology.

The term "Missa graeca" is used to denote chants (Gloria/Doxa, Credo/Pisteuo, Sanctus/Hagios and Agnus Dei/Amnos tu theu) of the Roman Ordinarium missae with Greek texts in Latin transliteration or translation, which can be found in Western manuscripts of the 9th to 11th centuries. Apart from the Missa graeca, there is a large number of other Byzantine chants which are contained in Western codices and had not yet been related to it before. The parts of the Missa graeca have been the subject of scientific research for over a hundred years. So far, however, research has been undertaken almost exclusively from a Western point of view, without knowledge of the Byzantine sources. The project therefore aimed at researching these chants and their historical, linguistic and theological-liturgical environment from a Byzantine perspective for the first time. In 2020, the results of the project will be published as a monograph by BRILL Publishers under the title "Cultural Transfer of Music between Byzantium and the West?: The Case of the Chants of the so-called Missa Graeca". The project was able to refute the numerous and largely contradictory theories on the origin and development of the Missa graeca and provide new answers to old questions: On the basis of my own analyses and transcriptions of the chants, I was able to show that the Missa graeca originated in the years between ca. 870 and 883 and that the Benedictine order played a decisive role in its flourishing from the late 10th century onwards. Furthermore, I discovered evidence that the Greek texts were not dictated especially for these chants, but that they can already be found in psalters, glossaries, grammars or philosophical treatises before that time. Furthermore, a direct comparison of the Western and Byzantine melodies of the Missa graeca chants has shown that the former do not constitute an import from Byzantium but are purely Western compositions: Neither formulas, nor cadenzas, nor the treatment of the text show any concurrences. Due to its interdisciplinary nature, the project increased the importance of the field of Byzantine musicology insofar as it is now regarded as being able to provide answers to Western musicological questions. As such, Byzantine musicology has now been established as a crucial missing link which cannot be disregarded anymore when researching medieval Christian chant.