Greek-Romanian Interchanges and the Continuity in Promoting Byzantine Music in Romania

"A bridge between east and west", as Amédeé Gastoué defined it, to whose building "Romania has greatly contributed" (prof. Sebastian Barbu-Bucur), Byzantine music appeared and developed within the ancient music of the Eastern Orthodox Church, founded in Byzantium.

Over the centuries Byzantine music spread to the countries that the Patriarchy had canonical relationships with. Its appearance and development in the geographical area north of the Danube was closely linked to the spread of Christianity in these lands ever since the first centuries of our era. The Romanian Lands are the only Latin countries that have adopted the Orthodox religion, inheriting thereby the religious music of Byzantium and later, after 1453, that of the Holy Mount.

For the past five years the Panellinion Hellenic Cultural Centre of Iasi has been constantly supporting the promotion of Byzantine music in Romania with a series of events.

Within the framework of the present Greco-Romanian cultural relationships the Hellenic Cultural Centre plans to make bigger efforts in the future that would enable an increased knowledge of the artistic values and a deepening of the religious feelings and attitudes resulting from the use of Byzantine music in church service.

Dimitrios Fourlemadis