REPORT FROM OXFORD: 
The Thirteenth International Congress 
of Byzantine Studies 
Dimitrije Stifanovic 

T HE THIRTEENTH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF BYZANTINE STUDIES WAS 

held, for the first time in England, at Oxford, from September 5 to 10. 
Some seven hundred participants from twenty-seven countries were 

present. The opening ceremony in the University Shcldonian Theatre began 
with the traditional processions of the Vice-Chancellor and the Lord Mayor. 
After the obligatory speeches a special item, the Festive Prelude Jor Organ and 
Voices, composed for the occasion by the doyen of Oxford composers and Vice-
President of the Congress, Dr. Egon Wellesz, was performed. Although written 
in a modern, tonal idiom, the Prelude introduces in its middle part a 13th-
century unison Byzantine melismatic setting of the Magnificat. Played by 
the organist of !'iew College, Dr. David Lumsden, and sung by a number of 
Oxford undergraduates, the Festive Prelude contributed to the solemn open-
ing of the Congress. 

Among the various sections (archaeology, history, history of art, literature, 
theology, law, demography, numismatics, etc.), musicology was more fully 
represented than previously: two main and three supplementary papers and 
six communications were read. The main and supplementary papers were 
printed and distributed before the beginning of the Congress. 

Professor Oliver Strunk, who succeeded Professor Varsten Hoeg as director 
of Monumenta Musicae By;:::antinae, wrote a comprehensive and revealing main 
paper on "Byzantine music in the light of recent research and publication." 
The paper reviewed the principal achievements of the last sixteen years 
under three headings: the melismatic repertory, the Byzantine Hirmologion, 
and the relationship of East and West in music. In his introduction Professor 
Strunk described the results of the expeditions to Jerusalem and Mount Sinai 
carried out with the cooperation of the Library of Congress in Washington 
under the auspices of the American Schools of Oriental Research and the 
American Foundation for the Study of Man, in which more than 1,750 Greek 
manuscripts were microfilmed and placed at the disposal of interested scholars. 

The study of the melismatic repertory developed greatly after the appear-
ance in 1956 of Volume IV of La Serie principale of Monumenta Musicae By;:::an-
tinae, the magnificent Psaltikon (Contacarium Ashburnhamense) of the Biblioteca 
Laurenziana in Florence, written at Grottaferrata in the year 1289, and of 
Dr. Wellesz's definitive paper and critical transcription of the Akathistos Hymn 
(Mon. Mus. By;:::., ser. transcripta ix, Copenhagen 1957). Since 1960 seven 
scholars from different countries have published the results of their investiga-
tions into the melismatic chant, the most recent being the thesis of the young 
Danish scholar Christian Thodberg, Der by;:::antinische Alleluiarion::;yklus (Mon. 
Mus. By;:::., ser. subsidia vii, Copenhagen 1966). 

D1MITRI1E STEFANOVIC is completing his dissertation on the tradition of the Sticheraria 
Manuscripts for presentation to Oxford University. 

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Concerning the syllabic repertory, the distinction was pointed out between 
the Sticherarion, whose melodic tradition is extraordinarily stable, and the 
Hirmologion, which developed independently and whose melodic tradition 
rapidly deteriorated. While the contents of the former were settled by the 
middle of the II th century, those of the latter were closely connected with 
the development and revision of the office books. From an examination of 
the Hirmologion Professor Strunk arrived at a number of far-reaching conclu-
sions: that the author of the texts of the hirmoi was not necessarily also the 
composer of the melodies to which they were sung; that as a general rule the 
texts of our hirmoi are of uncertain authorship and hence of uncertain date; 
that the same is true of their melodies; and that we have no real way of know-
ing whether any of our sets or sequences are made up of hirmoi originally 
designed to follow one another. 

The third part of the main paper discussed the comparative study of 
Eastern and Western chants. While for the syllabic repertory further research 
calls for close collaboration between the musicologist and the philologist, in 
this comparative field the "considerable interdisciplinary teamwork" of 
musicologists and experts in comparative liturgical history is essential. De-
spite a number of studies "we know no more about the relation of the Western 
neumes to the Eastern than we did sixty years ago, unless it is that the problem 
is more complicated than we at first supposed." A considerable advance in 
the comparative study of the two Christian chants was made by Wellesz's 
Eastern Elements in Western Chant (Mon. Mus. Byz., ser. subsidia ii, Copenhagen 
1947). More recently this field has benefited greatly from the important con-
tributions of Michel Huglo (Paris), who has traced a number of Greek mel-
odies in various Western hymns. 

Among new publications on various aspects of Byzantine music, two further 
editions appeared within the Monumenta Musicae Byzantinae series in 1966. 
One is the useful large palaeographical atlas Specimina Notationum Antiquiorum 
(sir. principale vii) prepared and introduced by O. Strunk, containing nearly 
two hundred reproductions from more than twenty libraries together with 
an instructive study of the so-called Coislin stage of Byzantine notation. The 
other publication is the thesis of the secretary of Monumenta Musica Byzantinae, 
Jorgen Raasted, Intonation Formulas and Modal Signatures in Byzantine Musical 
Manuscripts (sir. subsidia vii). 

The first supplementary paper was given by Professor Giuseppe Schiro 
(Rome) on "Problemi hirmologhici." Professor Schiro discussed the contents 
of the' Hirmologion, arrangements of the Kanons, and their authors. The other 
supplementary paper by Michel Huglo on "Relations musicales entre Byzance 
et [,Occident" was divided into two parts: (a) pieces transmitted in Greek by 
vVestem manuscripts and (b) Latin pieces translated from Greek. Huglo lists 
places in the vVest where until the 12th century a number of texts translated 
from the Greek were sung, viz., in Ravenna, in Benevento, in Rome, and 
also at St. Denis in France. 

In the first category, i.e., pieces transmitted in Greek by Western manu-
scripts, Huglo quotes, among others, the following, which constitute' the 
.Hissa greca: Doxa en ipsistis, Pisteuo eis en a, Agios, 0 Amnos, Doxa Patri. It appears 
that, generally speaking, the original melodies have been well-preserved. Of 
the other group, Latin pieces translated from Greek, the most important are 

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the antiphons Veterem hominem in mode seven, which gained great importance 
in the West whilc almost none at all in the East. The translation took place 
in 802 to satisfy a desire of Charlemagne. Another interesting discovery is the 
Greek acclamation DOlla ra £Try, whose melody served as a model for Kyrie 
XIV of the Vatican Gradual edition. Of this group a general conclusion allows 
melodic dependence on the original if the Latin text is a complete, not partial, 
translation of the Greek. Also, similarities are greater where a hymn was 
officially adopted by the West in order to imitate the Eastern rite. The Greek 
pieces and those translated from the Greek did not represent an exotic note 
in the repertory of the West but in fact bear witness to the profound cultural 
and spiritual unity which existed between East and West. 

The other main paper, "The Influence of the Byzantine Chant on the 
Music of the Slavic Countries," was given by Professor Milos Velimirovic of 
Yale University. It was an unfortunate coincidence that at the same time 
another main paper, a collective work by three Soviet scholars on the related 
subjcct, "The Relations between Ancient Russia and Byzantium in the 11 th 
and the first half of the 12th Centuries," was being delivered. This in itself 
would not have provoked comment had the third Soviet author, Z. V. Udalj-
cova, whose contribution was concerned with Russian-Byzantine cultural 
relations not written about Russian church music. Mme. Udaljcova made 
the assertion that whereas Byzantine influence was dominant in the spheres 
of theology, ecclesiastical organization, and liturgy, its influence on church 
music was limited. Paraphrasing some Russian musicologists, she stressed 
that the melody of the Russian Znamenny Chant differed from the Byzantine, 
that it was in many ways original, that for its tunes it drew on the precious 
treasury of folk, even pagan, Slavic melos. Moreover, the author stated that 
the comparison of the (Russian) kriuki and kondakarian notations with the 
Greek notation "shows" that both Russian systems were "original aspects of 
the Russian notation." Since these statements represented a completely 
opposite position to that taken in the musicological section, the musicologists 
expressed their dissatisfaction to the program organizers for arranging the 
two papers to be presented simultaneously. It is to be hoped that at future 
congresses and conferences not only Soviet historians, but musicologists as 
well, will take the opportunity to present the results of their investigations. 

The study of Byzantine music obtained international recognition for the 
first time at the Second Congress for Byzantine Studies held in Belgrade in 
1927. It was only at the Sixth Congress in Paris that the late Mme. Palikarova-
Verdeil presented her conclusions about the influence of Byzantine Chant on 
the music of the Slavic countries. After outlining some of the characteristics 
of Byzantine music, Professor Velimirovic went on to discuss the correspond-
ing features of Slavic Chant and their relation to Byzantine originals. The 
comparison of two Slavic versions of a hymn with the Greek prototype clearly 
showed that the second Slavic version, a correction of the first, is much closer 
to the Greek original, both in number of syllables and in notational signs. 
There is no longer the slightest doubt that the notation of Slavic musical 
manuscripts is of Byzantine origin. "The honour of being the first one to say 
so belongs to the founder of Russian musicological studies in this field, the 
priest Dimitry Razumovsky, who stated this in so many words ninety-nine 
years ago." The first among Western scholars to study the notation in Slavic 

179 



manuscripts was H.J.W. Tillyard in his article twenty-one years ago. Professor 
Kenneth Levy (Princeton University) was the first in the \Nest to start un-
raveling the difficult problem of the so-called kondakarian notation. With 
some additional results contributed by Constantine Floros (Hamburg), "ten-
tative counterpoint transcriptions" of the kondakarian notation may be at-
tempted. 

:-.Jext were discussed notational correspondences in Byzantine and Slavic 
manuscripts and the important findings of Professor Strunk. The speaker 
came to tht' conclusion that it is now possible, by means of identical melodic 
formulac in both versions, to obtain partial transcriptions of some segments 
of the chant. Furthermore, with a "vocabulary of formulae" it may eventu-
allv be possiblt' to transcribe parts of individual chants in Slavic manuscripts 
for which no Byzantine counterpart is known to exist. 

A considerablt' contribution to further rt'search is made by Professor 
YelimiroviC's revealing analysis of two hymns, Stichera, in honor of the first 
martyrs of the Russian Orthodox Church, SS. Boris and Gleb (11 th century). 
Part of the hymns in the notations of seven Slavic and four Byzantine music 
manuscripts from different countries are reproduced in the paper. The 
differences between the various versions are few, while the overall resem-
blance is striking. Moreover, Velimirovic's conclusive discovery that the 
second of those hymns is not a hymn with a melody of its own but a direct 
borrowing of another hymn with a melody composed for a different feast is 
of great importance for further research in this field. Despite a certain degree 
of creativity among the Slavs in the 11 th century (some words not found in 
Greek were added to the otherwise litt'fal translations), Velimirovic concludes 
that in musical performance tht' texts were adapted to Byzantine melodies. 
HO\\"ever, in the process of adaptation to the Slavic texts these Byzantine 
melodies retained their structural organization and their basic melodic 
vocabulary. In other words, Russian Chant had its beginnings in the musical 
practices of Byzantium in the 11th century. 

The supplementary paper on the same subject ("The Influence of Byzan-
tine Chant on the music of the Slavic countries") was given by the author of 
this survey. While the main paper dealt with Russian, the supplementary 
paper concentrated on Bulgarian and Serbian Chant for which, apart from 
two Bulgarian manuscripts, no other musical document from the earlier 
period has been preserved. A new theory was advanced that in certain cases, 
notably in some Greek and Slavic hymns for the service of St. Clement of 
Ochrid (died July 27, 916), it seems possible to restore their melodies. The 
analysis of the Greek hymns has shown that some of them arc in fact borrow-
ings from, or partial or complete adaptations of, Byzantine hymns composed by 
earlier authors for other saints. These hymns occur in other manuscripts with 
nc-umes; the possibility therefore presents itself that their tunes also might 
ha\'e been taken over in the service of St. Clement of Ochrid. Moreover, the 
South Slavonic translations follow the Greek word order, grammatical con-
struction, division into phrases, number of syllables, and accents. By finding 
the Greek prototypes with neumes, upon which other Greek hymns and their 
Slavonic translations for the service ofSt. Clement ofOchrid (without neumes) 
were adapted, and by superimposing the transcribed melodies onto the cor-
responding texts, it is hoped that the musical restoration may be achieved. In 

180 



this way we may be on the road to restoring the chant for which no other 
contemporary musical evidence is available. A number of hymns, and indeed 
whole services, for Slavic, Bulgarian, and Serbian saints offer promising 
matt'rial for such an investigation. 

Of the nine communications planned, only six were given due to the in-
ability of three authors to attend. Markos Dragoumis (Athens) spoke on the 
music of the Greeks on Corsica. The musical director of the monastery of 
Grottaferrata, Dom Bartolomeo di Salvo, discussed the various problems of 
the historical development, authorship, and the contt'nts of the Oktoechos. The 
Reverend Nilo Somma, also of Grottaferrata, devoted his paper to the iambic 
Kanons of Christmas, Epiphany, and Pentecost, while Leonardo Cali (Rome) 
examined another type of liturgical hymn, the Hypakoai. 

Dr. J0rgen Raasted (Roskilde) read an interesting paper on the so-called 
Theta notation. The sign Theta appears above somt' words in non-music 
manuscripts and perhaps suggt'sts a melodic phrase. Raasted also reported 
on his rt'cent discovery of some other signs appearing in a non-music manu-
script in the British Museum which enlarge on the number and system of 
signs which he proposes to call Theta notation. 

A demonstration of nco-Byzantine music was given by Mr. G. Araouzos 
and six singers of the London Greek Church of St. Nicholas. The program 
consisted of a number of liturgical hymns which were sung to the drone, the 
ison. Another opportunity to hear appropriate music was provided by a recital 
of Byzantint' and Slavic music given in tht' Cathedral of Oxford by a choir 
consisting of some twenty-five singers belonging to seven nationalities. The 
program here contained Byzantine chants and harmonized hymns of the 
Russian, Bulgarian, and Serbian Orthodox Churches. 

During the Congress a new series, Studies in Eastern Chant, to be published 
by the Oxford University Press, was inaugurated. The first volume, edited by 
Milos Velimirovic, was offered as a tribute to the pioneering scholarship of 
H.].W. Tillyard and Egon vVellesz on the occasions of their respective eightieth 
birthdays. 

The fourteenth International Congress of Byzantine Studies will be held 
in 1971 in Bucharest, Rumania. 

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