The Significance of the Moldavian Monastic Contribution to the Tradition of Post-Byzantine Psalmody

Like its great predecessors of the 11^th century, the Great Lavra, Vatopedi and Iviron on Mount Athos, and the 13^th-century Italo-Greek Monastery of S. Salvatore in Southern Italy, the celebrated monastery of Putna, as the chief centre of musical activity in Moldavia for well over a century, was destined from the outset to play an influential role in shaping the musical tradition of Moldavia.

The musical tradition of Putna was neither simply local nor wholly limited to a brief period. The adoption of bi-lingual chants in other Moldavian religious houses and the use of Greek, Serbian and Romanian chants say much about the nature of this international tradition in the post-Byzantine era. In particular, the contribution of Evstatie was obviously a significant one. His own compositions, and those of Dometian and Theodosie, offer concrete proof of the early dependence of Romanian psalmody upon Byzantine models. With Evstatie’s flair for inventiveness and his bold editorial skills indicating a high capacity for musical filtering in accordance with the appropriate local conditions, it is clearly evident that the hegemony of Greek as a liturgical language - and consequently of Greek chants for use in Moldavian monasteries was being contested. But the new trends of Evstatie’s school were far from radical departures. Rather, the evidence reveals an impressive and remarkably conservative allegiance to traditional practices. Thanks to the industry of the Romanian scribes, we know that the fine products of late Byzantine composers survived in a genuine and authentic Moldavian musical tradition in the 16^th century.

Titus Moisescu