Tradition: Politics of cultural heritage, Stanbulite Greeks, and the Patriarchate of Constantinople in the late nineteenth century
This article explores the notions of tradition and innovation as perceived and discursively employed by the Stanbulite Greek Orthodox concerning their ritual music in the second half of the nineteenth century. At a more general level, focusing on the sacred music of the Greek Orthodox Church in the...
Gorde:
| Argitaratua izan da: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/bchmc, |
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| Egile nagusia: | |
| Formatua: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Hizkuntza: | Anglais |
| Argitaratua: |
Bulletin de correspondance hellénique moderne et contemporain
2020
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| Sarrera elektronikoa: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Gaia: | This article explores the notions of tradition and innovation as perceived and discursively employed by the Stanbulite Greek Orthodox concerning their ritual music in the second half of the nineteenth century. At a more general level, focusing on the sacred music of the Greek Orthodox Church in the late nineteenth century, it argues for a blurred boundary between tradition and invention (or innovation). By investigating the discourses of tradition used by the spiritual leaders, musicians, and European musical experts, it tackles the manifestations of ethnic and religious identity in the largest non-Muslim minority group within a multi-ethnic and multi-religious empire. Some of the major issues which concerned the patriarchs, cantors, and the participants of the musical commissions in Istanbul were the amelioration of choral singing, the notation of ecclesiastical chants, and the problems of intonation. This article explores the reformist intentions and acts of the Stanbulite cantors, scholars, and patriarchs, in view of their assertions of their cultural identity, the discourses of the West that they subscribed to, and their individual responses to certain Western European scholars’ convictions on the origins and continuity of the Greek musical tradition. Furthermore, by providing examples from the long history of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the article contributes to our understanding of the processes of the making of myths and traditions in contemporary Greek culture. |
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