The Checret project: description, objectives, methodology

Object of the proposed project

The Cretan liturgical repertory developed during the so called Cretan Renaissance, included in a number of manuscripts often written by the composers themselves, has never been copied from other composers or scribes outside of Crete or transcribed in other more analytical notational types. This trait already clearly differentiates the whole Cretan repertory from the usual Byzantine musical works. The musical manuscripts including the Cretan musical settings written in Greek language and Byzantine notation are preserved in several Libraries of the world, mainly in the Library of the Sinai Monastery and several Libraries of Italy. Generally, the included works can be distinguished in two great categories: the first one concerns the Cretan works composed according to the “classical” Byzantine tradition or/and arrangements of older Byzantine works, usually entitled by their composers “…as it is written and chanted by me …” or “… as it is chanted by the Cretans”, in order to indicate the re-treatment of an older composition. The second category includes compositions which are clearly differentiated from the classical/traditional Byzantine ones and for this reason are characterised as “particular Cretan compositions”.

The main objective of this research project is the interdisciplinary study of the extended corpus of the “particular Cretan compositions” in order to point out the elements of influence of the Western polyphonic liturgical chant to the Byzantine composition and the interaction between these two musical cultures. The process of adaptation and adoption of Western polyphonic elements by Cretan composers will be highlighted through this research, as well. A parallel aspect of this research will be the identification and the investigation of the common liturgical practice in the frame of which this repertory has been created and used. Through the study of the related historical and liturgical sources this Cretan liturgical repertory is also examined as a component of the wider process of the shaping of identities in Crete of the Renaissance period. This particular repertory, extremely interesting and important because of the included unique material of a great cultural value, has been unexploited until today, considered as “particular”. Therefore, the originality of the project is proved by the material of the study itself. The study of this “mixed” repertory demands the cooperation between musicologists experts on different fields and researchers of other fields, considered as complementary to each other for this kind of research. Furthermore, beyond the musicological study, the same musical material is estimated as an expression of the cohesion between Cretans and Venetians.

Project’s main goals, objectives and challenges

As main goals of the proposal, related to the research questions posed, are considered the analytical recording of the compositions included in the Cretan “mixed” repertory and their musicological (morphological, modal and notational) study, and the study of the liturgical and para-liturgical texts borrowed from the corresponding Latin repertory, as well. Other parallel goal of the project is the study of the liturgical and historical context in which these compositions have been created and used and its examination as a main factor and expression of the shaping a new mixed identity during the last two centuries of the Venetian rule in Crete. More specifically:

Detailed recording of the compositions: The recording of the compositions included in this corpus is considered as the first objective of the proposal, given that it will lead to their clustering and classification.
Study of the liturgical and para-liturgical texts: Some of the liturgical texts used in these compositions have been never composed before in the Byzantine musical tradition. The texts, which have been introduced in the Orthodox liturgical practice during this period and estimated of latin origin, are studied in relation with their liturgical function.
Musicological study: a. Compositional practices-Morphology: The differentiation of the “classical” Byzantine morphology of these compositions is a trait which clearly points out the influence of the Western tradition. Several morphological traits divise this repertory from the usual Byzantine one, which could be of different kinds, as following: Firstly, in a great number of these settings, such as the Great Doxology, the Communions or the Offertories, non-liturgical verses are interpolated, according to the practice of the Latin tropes. Secondly, in other kinds of chants some ancient compositional practices, known by the liturgical sources but abandoned by the Byzantine composers centuries ago, are followed, as the separation in parts of the Offertory or the Communion in order to be chanted anti-phonically by two choirs. Then, another element which clearly proves the influence of the Western polyphony to the Byzantine liturgical chant is the polyphonic elements included in this corpus. This practice is of great importance for the project as it is totally unknown in the Byzantine tradition. b. Notation: The notation of these settings is the so-called “Middle Byzantine” in use from the mid-12th cent. and until the 18th cent. However, the notation in these compositions is presented with several differentiations concerning the formulae in use, the modal signatures or the modulation signs. An adaptation of the Middle Byzantine notation to the needs of these “mixed” compositions has to be supposed as it is presented clearly differentiated from its classical version. The musicological study and analysis of the corpus will highlight the importance of its notational particularities, as the frequent use of great intervals or the repetition of phrases. A challenge of the project is the recording, the classification and the assessment of the notational differentiations presented in the corpus, given that it will point out the different use of the Byzantine notation and, eventually, the Latin notational elements adapted in this purpose. c. Modality: A parallel element is the adaptation of the modality, as several unusual modal traits are detected in the corpus. These unusual traits indicate an influence of the Western polyphonic modal system to the Byzantine “octoechos”. In this way, the elements of cohesion and differentiation of the ecclesiastical chant in Crete during this period will be determined. In the same frame, the study of the terminology used in the Cretan manuscripts will be included, as well.
Historical and liturgical approach: the preliminary findings of the study of the Cretan manuscripts allow to suppose a common liturgical practice between Orthodox and Catholics in Crete during this period. It is expected that this research around the repertory will lead to the definition and clarification of the traits of this common practice, and it will examine the formation and the function of the Cretan liturgical repertory as a component of the wider process of the shaping of identities in Venetian Crete. A wide variety of sources will be studied, as the Archives of Venice, Vatican and the Sinai Monastery, diplomatic correspondences, travellers’ writings, etc., in order to estimate the relations between different doctrines and the role of the liturgy to the creation of a kind of “mixed” identity during the last two centuries of the Venetian rule.