Chrysanthine theoretical thought and notation system-The relation between Orality and Textuality

Two centuries after the release of Chrysanthos’ Εισαγωγή εις το Θεωρητικόν και Πρακτικόν της Εκκλησιαστικής Μουσικής, this treatise remains one of the most important sources of theoretical thought in the field of Greek Orthodox Ecclesiastical Music. Moreover, it is widely known that the theoretical essays of Chrysanthos played a catalytic role regarding the structure of the modal system of Octaechia, the formulation of the new Parasemantiki notation, as well as contemporary performance practices. Indeed, Chrysanthos’ contribution to the reformation of the notation system as well as the way he attributed the theoretical content of Ecclesiastical Music, influenced the entire theoretical thought that was produced, at least until the last decades of the 19th century[1]. Therefore, despite individual disagreements that were expressed within the psaltic milieu of the 19th century[2], almost all of the theoreticians who succeeded Chrysanthos based their thought on his fundamental principles. Thus, it is worth mentioning that in treatises that followed the Reform of 1814, repetitions are frequently detected, even of Chrysanthos’ points that could be considered as scientifically problematic[3].[1] See Νίκος Ανδρίκος, Η Εκκλησιαστική μουσική της Σμύρνης (1800-1922), (2015), 124.[2] About this issue, see Αντώνιος Χατζόπουλος, Η εκκλησιαστική μουσική παιδεία στην εκκλησία της Κωνσταντινουπόλεως κατά το 19ο και 20ό αιώνα, (2000); Αχιλλεύς Χαλδαιάκης, “Η διδασκαλία της Ψαλτικής Τέχνης: Παρελθόν, παρόν και μέλλον”, Βυζαντινομουσικολογικά, Τόμος Α΄, Θεωρία, (2014), 50-52.[3] Among others, the most indicative example was the repetition of Chrysanthos’ misguided calculation-measurement of the basic scale’s size. This issue became the reason of a wide discourse between important theoreticians of the 19th century through the daily and periodical press and led to the convocation of the Music Committee of 1881. See Ανδρίκος, 135-145.

The deconstruction of Byzantine mode-organization and the new Chrysanthine ‘order’

This paper was written to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the publication of musical treatise by Archbishop Chrysanthos of Madytos (c.1770-1846), the first work towards a ‘scientific’ treatment of Greek ecclesiastical music (1821)[1]. Chrysanthos attempted to reorganize the modal and rhythmic theory of this music, and reform the musical notation that has remained to this day. The paper deals with an aspect of Chrysanthine modal system that has not received due attention so far: the abandonment of the traditional authentic-plagal order and its substitution by a new one that does not make sense if placed outside its cultural context and historical antecedents. Chrysanthos’ main point of reference seems to be the Ottoman makam system that had already penetrated post-Byzantine chant but was now given a new momentum[2]. Before that, Greek composers used the Byzantine modal division into four authentic (kurioi) and four plagal (plagioi), positioned a fifth apart from each other. The authentic modes were mostly ascending in terms of melodic movement, whereas the plagal were descending (though one has first to ascend in order to get down!). Otherwise, every authentic-plagal pair shared the same melodic scale (usually an octave), which they traversed according to certain melodic motifs (some common to all, others unique to every mode).[1] Chrysanthos, Εισαγωγή εις το θεωρητικόν και πρακτικόν της Εκκλησιαστικής Μουσικής / συνταχθείσα προς χρήσιν των σπουδαζόντων αυτήν κατά την νέαν μέθοδον παρά Χρυσάνθου του εκ Μαδύτων, Διδασκάλου του Θεωρητικού της Μουσικής (Paris: Rigny, 1821).[2] In this paper, the Turkish terms have been rendered into their original script except for makam (mode) and usul (rhythm), the Anglicized plural form of which (makams and usuls) has been preferred instead of the longer makamler and usuler. The Greek names have been transliterated into Latin according to British Standard for transliteration of Cyrillic and Greek characters (BS), 1958.

Understanding Turkish Classical Makam: Identifying Modes Through Characteristic Melodies

In Turkish classical music, characteristic melodies known as “çeşni-s” form essential building blocks in makam, the modal system of the Middle East. Since around the beginning of the Turkish Republic (1923), Turkish musicologists adapted the makam system for Western staff notation and devised an approach to music theory based on scales. This modern approach, while currently widespread, has its limitations; in particular, the makam scales do not reflect the characteristic melodies that are often so important to the idiomatic expression of makam. For this reason, one needs extended interaction with experienced musicians in order to learn how to interpret the scores, via an oral form of pedagogy traditionally known as “meşk.”

Completeness of Pledger’s modal logics of one-sorted projective and elliptic planes

Ken Pledger devised a one-sorted approach to the incidence relation of plane geometries, using structures that also support models of propositional modal logic. He introduced a modal system 12g that is valid in one-sorted projective planes, proved that it has finitely many non-equivalent modalities, and identified all possible modality patterns of its extensions. One of these extensions 8f is valid in elliptic planes. These results were presented in his 1980 doctoral dissertation, which is reprinted in this issue of the Australasian Journal of Logic. Here we show that 12g and 8f are strongly complete for validity in their intended one-sorted geometrical interpretations, and have the finite model property. The proofs apply standard technology of modal logic (canonical models, filtrations) together with a step-by-step procedure introduced by Yde Venema for constructing two-sorted projective planes.

BEYOND NATIONHOOD: HAUL MUSIC FROM A POSTCOLONIAL PERSPECTIVE IN WESTERN SAHARA AND MAURITANIA

This article examines the mobility of a precolonial musical style known as Haul music in two African countries, Western Sahara and Mauritania. Haul music is based on a modal system in which music and poetry are intrinsically related. This article traces the historical and musicological aspects of the Haul modal system in Western Sahara and Mauritania by offering an insight into how the postcolonial period has determined two narratives of Haul: a historical nationalism by way of revitalising the precolonial past in Mauritania; and political nationalism when reconsidering the ongoing process of decolonisation in Western Sahara and the exile of its people to the refugee camps of the Hamada desert since 1975. Further, this article shows how the mobility of the Haul modal system provides a reconsideration of a precolonial past in existing music cultures in North Africa.

Fugue and Mode in the Sixteenth Century

This chapter begins with a consideration of the vocabulary for fugal writing used by sixteenth-century authors, compares and contrasts this with the standard vocabulary used for the classic tonal fugue, and explains the book’s approach to the use of all of this terminology. In addition, the modal system as applied to polyphonic composition in the sixteenth century is laid out. Finally, the modern concept of “tonal types,” as described for English-speakers by Harold Powers, is recommended as the best way to talk about mode for the purposes of this book.