1st Edition

Communion Chants of the Thirteenth-Century Byzantine Asmatikon

Edited By Simon Harris Copyright 1999

    This is a complete edition with critical commentary of the Byzantine Communions in thirteenth-century manuscripts of the Asmatikon, all known sources being used. The chants concerned are the earliest known examples of Communion Chants of the Orthodox Church, and are found in a book which may go back to the rite of St Sophia at Constantinople during the tenth century-the earliest copies of which date from the thirteenth-century and come from South Italy and North Greece. Further more, there are also a few manuscripts from Kiev with text in Church Slavonic and an untranscribable musical notation. This is the first systematic transcription of the Asmatikon ever to be published.

    Chapter 1 Nos. 1–18a Chants for the Fixed and Movable Feasts of the Year; Chapter 2 Nos. 19–40 Chants for Groups of Occasions during the Year; Chapter 3 Nos. 41–64a Chants of the Octoechus (extends Nos. 36–40);

    Biography

    Edited by Harris, Simon

    "Elegantly presented...The music itself takes us back into another fascinating world, perhaps even to the turn of the previous millennium...The introductory essay is a clear and well-considered introduction to ancient Byzantine chant in general, and is impressive in underlining the antiquity of the tradition." -- Early Music Today