Religious Music and Higher Musical Education

When Iasi University of Arts, the oldest establishment of higher musical education in Romania, came into existence, religious music of the Byzantine tradition was not only firmly rooted in Moldavia's culture, but had long attained, after centuries of uninterrupted practice, a strong maturity characterised by both universality, and national heritage as part of a complex cultural process, later called by scholars /i>Romanianization.

Beginning in early 19th century, as part of a growing overall influence of Russia over the Romanian principalities, Western-style choral music of the Russian tradition began to make its presence increasingly felt, and this was also reflected in the curricula of the institutes of higher musical education. With this a period of competition between these two types of religious music was inaugurated, whereby Byzantine music gradually fell into disfavour in the University. Despite this situation there was a wholehearted and conscious support from such outstanding personalities as T.V. Stupcanu, Alexandru Zirra, Gavriil Galinescu, who were particularly active in the first half of the 20th century.

After W.W. II, "psaltic" music, i.e. religious music of the Byzantine traditon, was reintroduced in academic curricula at Iasi only in 1976 in the form of musical paleography. It was only after 1989 that the initiative of professors Gabriela Ocneanu, Melania Botocan, Florin Bucescu, bore fruit, and this type of music could be restored to its rights and the place it deserved in Iasi's institution of higher musical learning. The results of the activities aimed at promoting Byzantine arts could be seen in the annual national symposia organised at Iasi, with its accompanying review publishing studies and articles on Byzantine music.

Gabriela Ocneanu