Archives

  • ARTES. JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY
    Vol. 30 No. 29-30 (2024)

    Laura-Otilia Vasiliu, Professor PhD

    Editor-in-chief

  • ARTES. JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY
    Vol. 27 No. 27-28 (2023)

    Studies contained in the double issue, 27-28, of the scientific periodical Artes. Journal of Musicology outline two distinct sections of research. The first originates in papers presented or associated with the theme of the International Conference of Doctoral Schools of the “George Enescu” National University of Arts (3-5 November, 2022): Intersections in artistic research: the model of the Other and the culture of mobility. The second brings together particular studies of fundamental musicology and applied artistic research, reflecting the diversity of disciplines, of lines of musical professionalism.

    In the world of music, the model of the Other is present in all branches of creation and research, and is one of the driving forces behind the advance towards new horizons. The visionary composer who prefigures musical language is followed, studied, rediscovered; the masterpiece gives rise to successive, performative and hermeneutic interpretations; the prototypical creation is a school, assimilated, applied and surpassed. The performer with a special sensitivity, the one who reveals new meanings of the opus with his great mastery, is followed, adored, imitated, analysed. Even the world's authoritative musicologists have become stars of the public flow of ideas, generating new directions in musical thinking, in relation to society and culture. The natural need of the Romanian artist, teacher, theorist to keep up with developments in the international environment also leads to the identification of models of teaching or cultural practices. On the other hand, the investigation of past eras, favourable to spiritual and educational work, can be particularly encouraging. The interested reader will find these ideas, but not only, in the seven titles of the first section: Intersections in artistic research: the model of the Other and the culture of mobility.

     

    Classic research themes are always relevant, beyond fashions and cultural directions. New questions about the meanings of music, the unearthing of old manuscript documents, advances in theories of musical perception, semantic, structural and interpretative analysis of some of the opera studied during the doctoral internship – all these shape the issues of the second section: Fundamental musicology vs performing art.

    Fulfilled by two book reviews, extended critical commentaries of some emblematic titles in the Romanian musicological actuality, the current volume unites scientific contributions signed by established musicologists and, above all, by representatives of the new generation of researchers, teachers, artists, doctoral students from the traditional university music centres of the country: Iași, Cluj-Napoca, Bucharest.

    Laura-Otilia Vasiliu, Professor PhD

    Editor-in-chief

  • ARTES. JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY
    Vol. 26 No. 25-26 (2022)

    The works presented in the framework of the International Conference of the Doctoral Programmes from the “George Enescu” National University of Arts (4-6 November 2021) are the main contents of the joint 25th and 26th volumes of the scientific journal Artes. Journal of Musicology. The topic of the conference – Senses of interpretation in artistic research – was extremely challenging for specialty research.
    In music, performance is a concrete and individualised phenomenon, as one does not come across in the other arts, thus differentiated even from the theatrical fact. The problematics of performance, regarding the analysis of a sensitive, practical, emotional, aesthetic phenomenon, is a newer topic in music research, also being treated from a theoretical point of view in recent years. We are drawing closer to what the researcher-theoreticians mean to say by artistic research, a concept still underdeveloped in music. Nevertheless, at the level of doctoral studies there is the tendency of associating research with observations on one’s own creative process, as the author is both the researcher and the object of research in self-analytical and self-referential works. The development of this practice is encouraging for the conclusions that musicologists can reach over time by perceiving the multiple nuances of the process of performative work. Classical musicology is something else: a science, in which all the launched ideas and information must be proven through data, through results of investigation and analysis – an objective thinking phenomenon. Not until recently, in the post-structuralist period, have hermeneutic theories permeated musicology, determining a wider addressability of texts, which can interest not only specialists, but also intellectuals in general, the wider music-lover circle, artists with differing options from the visual or performative areas.
    By also launching this direction in the theoretical reflection of Iași musicologists, the conference Senses of interpretation in artistic research and the articles published in the journal join the new tendency in musicology of integrating critical observations of a subjective nuance in the analysis of the works, performances and scientific texts in the literature dedicated to sonic art. This volume of Artes. Journal of Musicology is recommended through interesting titles and notorious authors but also through works belonging to the young generation of researchers – all grouped in the three sections: 1. Directions, themes, new styles in the hermeneutics of music; 2. Byzantinology studies – extended classical methods; 3. Doctoral research.
    We dedicate the two issues of the journal to professor Liliana Gherman, the initiatior and initial editor of the Artes journal, a modern and rigorous musicologist, and to professor Gabriela Ocneanu, a passionate researcher of the history of music and Byzantinology – both of whom passed away in the year 2021.

    Editor-in-chief,
    Laura Vasiliu, Prof. PhD

  • ARTES. JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY
    Vol. 25 No. 25-26 (2022)

    The works presented in the framework of the International Conference of the Doctoral Programmes from the “George Enescu” National University of Arts (4-6 November 2021) are the main contents of the joint 25th and 26th volumes of the scientific journal Artes. Journal of Musicology. The topic of the conference – Senses of interpretation in artistic research – was extremely challenging for specialty research.
    In music, performance is a concrete and individualised phenomenon, as one does not come across in the other arts, thus differentiated even from the theatrical fact. The problematics of performance, regarding the analysis of a sensitive, practical, emotional, aesthetic phenomenon, is a newer topic in music research, also being treated from a theoretical point of view in recent years. We are drawing closer to what the researcher-theoreticians mean to say by artistic research, a concept still underdeveloped in music. Nevertheless, at the level of doctoral studies there is the tendency of associating research with observations on one’s own creative process, as the author is both the researcher and the object of research in self-analytical and self-referential works. The development of this practice is encouraging for the conclusions that musicologists can reach over time by perceiving the multiple nuances of the process of performative work. Classical musicology is something else: a science, in which all the launched ideas and information must be proven through data, through results of investigation and analysis – an objective thinking phenomenon. Not until recently, in the post-structuralist period, have hermeneutic theories permeated musicology, determining a wider addressability of texts, which can interest not only specialists, but also intellectuals in general, the wider music-lover circle, artists with differing options from the visual or performative areas.
    By also launching this direction in the theoretical reflection of Iași musicologists, the conference Senses of interpretation in artistic research and the articles published in the journal join the new tendency in musicology of integrating critical observations of a subjective nuance in the analysis of the works, performances and scientific texts in the literature dedicated to sonic art. This volume of Artes. Journal of Musicology is recommended through interesting titles and notorious authors but also through works belonging to the young generation of researchers – all grouped in the three sections: 1. Directions, themes, new styles in the hermeneutics of music; 2. Byzantinology studies – extended classical methods; 3. Doctoral research.
    We dedicate the two issues of the journal to professor Liliana Gherman, the initiatior and initial editor of the Artes journal, a modern and rigorous musicologist, and to professor Gabriela Ocneanu, a passionate researcher of the history of music and Byzantinology – both of whom passed away in the year 2021.

    Editor-in-chief,
    Laura Vasiliu, Prof. PhD

  • ARTES. JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY
    Vol. 24 No. 23-24 (2021)

    The current volume Artes. Journal of musicology (joining issues 23-24) continues and develops the established themes of study, profiled onto historical research, musical analyis, intepretation – psychology – pedagogy in various connexions and along specialised investigations in the area of Byzantinology. Most of the titles were presented in the Conference with international participation “Art and Research – contemporary challenges”, organised by the doctoral school on 6-7 November 2020 – a scientific event which produced a lively dialogue between maestros and disciples, established musicologists and young researchers. Reflecting the emulation of the conference, the volume associates fundamental research signed by seniors of musicology – Gheorghe Duțică, Carmen Chelaru, Elena Chircev, Alex Vasiliu, Laura-Otilia Vasiliu – with rigorous scientific studies elaborated by specialists from the younger generations – Leonard Dumitriu, Zamfira Dănilă, Adrian Sîrbu, Mihaela Balan, Consuela Radu-Țaga & Dumitriana Condurache, Rosina Filimon a.o. – and with debut works, written by Ph.D. candidates of the “George Enescu” National University of Arts, of the “Transylvania” University from Brașov, of the “Gheorghe Dima” National Academy of Music from Cluj-Napoca and of the “Al. I. Cuza” University from Iași.
    The readers of the journal can benefit from the thematic plurality, from the ideas offered by rich bibliographic references, from learned or professional musical analyses, from stimulating cultural connexions for the current musicological thinking, from widely interesting pieces of research. Out of these, we recommend the interdisciplinary study History – Culture – Music in the Romanian Eighteenth Century, a thorough reconstruction of the Phanariote century, joined by the comparative analysis of the Romanian and European reality, Ion Baciu – a musician who needs to be rediscovered – a documented piece of research of the peak artistic achievements and of the conducting style, upon celebrating 90 years from his birth, Voices of Edification. Oratorio „Calls for Salvation (Pilgrims to Saint Parascheva)” by Viorel Munteanu – a hermeneutic and compositional analysis of a unique work in contemporary music, Tradition and Characteristics in the Approach to Psaltic Music Theory in Romania – the 20th Century – the investigation of the configuration and evolution of the local Byzantine musicology, „Noi istorii ale muzicilor românești” [New histories of Romanian types of music] – The most important editorial publication in the Romanian musicology of recent years – an extensive analytical review of fundamental volumes for the revelation of national sound art. The recommendations could continue, but I shall allow readers to discover the articles that interest them, which inspire their reflection and writing, which stimulate their own research.

    Editor-in-chief,
    Prof. Laura Vasiliu, PhD

  • ARTES. JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY
    Vol. 23 No. 23-24 (2021)

    The current volume Artes. Journal of musicology (joining issues 23-24) continues and develops the established themes of study, profiled onto historical research, musical analyis, intepretation – psychology – pedagogy in various connexions and along specialised investigations in the area of Byzantinology. Most of the titles were presented in the Conference with international participation “Art and Research – contemporary challenges”, organised by the doctoral school on 6-7 November 2020 – a scientific event which produced a lively dialogue between maestros and disciples, established musicologists and young researchers. Reflecting the emulation of the conference, the volume associates fundamental research signed by seniors of musicology – Gheorghe Duțică, Carmen Chelaru, Elena Chircev, Alex Vasiliu, Laura-Otilia Vasiliu – with rigorous scientific studies elaborated by specialists from the younger generations – Leonard Dumitriu, Zamfira Dănilă, Adrian Sîrbu, Mihaela Balan, Consuela Radu-Țaga & Dumitriana Condurache, Rosina Filimon a.o. – and with debut works, written by Ph.D. candidates of the “George Enescu” National University of Arts, of the “Transylvania” University from Brașov, of the “Gheorghe Dima” National Academy of Music from Cluj-Napoca and of the “Al. I. Cuza” University from Iași.
    The readers of the journal can benefit from the thematic plurality, from the ideas offered by rich bibliographic references, from learned or professional musical analyses, from stimulating cultural connexions for the current musicological thinking, from widely interesting pieces of research. Out of these, we recommend the interdisciplinary study History – Culture – Music in the Romanian Eighteenth Century, a thorough reconstruction of the Phanariote century, joined by the comparative analysis of the Romanian and European reality, Ion Baciu – a musician who needs to be rediscovered – a documented piece of research of the peak artistic achievements and of the conducting style, upon celebrating 90 years from his birth, Voices of Edification. Oratorio „Calls for Salvation (Pilgrims to Saint Parascheva)” by Viorel Munteanu – a hermeneutic and compositional analysis of a unique work in contemporary music, Tradition and Characteristics in the Approach to Psaltic Music Theory in Romania – the 20th Century – the investigation of the configuration and evolution of the local Byzantine musicology, „Noi istorii ale muzicilor românești” [New histories of Romanian types of music] – The most important editorial publication in the Romanian musicology of recent years – an extensive analytical review of fundamental volumes for the revelation of national sound art. The recommendations could continue, but I shall allow readers to discover the articles that interest them, which inspire their reflection and writing, which stimulate their own research.

    Editor-in-chief,
    Prof. Laura Vasiliu, PhD

  • ARTES. JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY
    Vol. 22 No. 21-22 (2020)

    The contents of volumes 21-22 of the scientific periodical Artes. Journal of Musicology reflects and develops the themes of the International Musicological Symposium organised in Iaşi in November 2019. For this academic event, the members of the Research Centre “The Science of Music” launched a new orientation of study, synthesised in the title “The current reception and research of musical phenomena”. Each of the two notions has lately become a key topic in the dynamics of scientific interest in art. Approaching works and artists through the lens of variable reception is a controversial topic in musicology, while the association with the problematics of social and political ideology created a veritable wave of axiological reconsideration in the writing of former communist countries. A thematic approach fulfilling this type of research would require the drafting of historic syntheses and evaluations, the study of archives and of biographical testimonies, combined artistic interpretation and musical analyses.
    The second key topic in the themes of the symposium and of volumes 21-22, research – the core of academic and scientific activity –, has new parametres as a consequence of the radical change in access to knowledge but also of the connection with the artistic world, out of which it subtracts subjectivism. Research in music, much like in other humanities, reconfigures the criteria along which documentary sources are stratified, as the digital are increasingly prevalent, and relativises the relations between extremes: originality – pastiche, authenticity – simulation, objective distanciation – subjective involvement, etc. In this new landscape artist-researchers are increasingly present, owning up to the methods of documentation and scientific discourse but enriching the text through the testimony of having experienced creative processes.
    The four thematic sections – A. Music history. New directions in the interpretation of the artistic past; B. Analytical views of modern and contemporary musical works; C. Current musical performance; D.Ethnomusicology and sacred music – are covered through studies of real interest, belonging to teaching staff or Ph.D. candidates from important institutions of higher education in Romania and the Republic of Moldova. Without offering (as yet) a full picture of the principles and methods of artistic research, the published articles eloquently reflect the contemporary line in theoretical studies founded on the experience of the reception of and of living out artistic acts.

    Editor-in-chief,
    Prof. Laura Vasiliu, PhD

  • ARTES. JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY
    Vol. 21 No. 21-22 (2020)

    The contents of volumes 21-22 of the scientific periodical Artes. Journal of Musicology reflects and develops the themes of the International Musicological Symposium organised in Iaşi in November 2019. For this academic event, the members of the Research Centre “The Science of Music” launched a new orientation of study, synthesised in the title “The current reception and research of musical phenomena”. Each of the two notions has lately become a key topic in the dynamics of scientific interest in art. Approaching works and artists through the lens of variable reception is a controversial topic in musicology, while the association with the problematics of social and political ideology created a veritable wave of axiological reconsideration in the writing of former communist countries. A thematic approach fulfilling this type of research would require the drafting of historic syntheses and evaluations, the study of archives and of biographical testimonies, combined artistic interpretation and musical analyses.
    The second key topic in the themes of the symposium and of volumes 21-22, research – the core of academic and scientific activity –, has new parametres as a consequence of the radical change in access to knowledge but also of the connection with the artistic world, out of which it subtracts subjectivism. Research in music, much like in other humanities, reconfigures the criteria along which documentary sources are stratified, as the digital are increasingly prevalent, and relativises the relations between extremes: originality – pastiche, authenticity – simulation, objective distanciation – subjective involvement, etc. In this new landscape artist-researchers are increasingly present, owning up to the methods of documentation and scientific discourse but enriching the text through the testimony of having experienced creative processes.
    The four thematic sections – A. Music history. New directions in the interpretation of the artistic past; B. Analytical views of modern and contemporary musical works; C. Current musical performance; D.Ethnomusicology and sacred music – are covered through studies of real interest, belonging to teaching staff or Ph.D. candidates from important institutions of higher education in Romania and the Republic of Moldova. Without offering (as yet) a full picture of the principles and methods of artistic research, the published articles eloquently reflect the contemporary line in theoretical studies founded on the experience of the reception of and of living out artistic acts.

    Editor-in-chief,
    Prof. Laura Vasiliu, PhD

  • ARTES. JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY
    Vol. 20 No. 19-20 (2019)

    Volume 19-20 of the periodical Artes. Journal of Musicology continues the favourite lines of research of the scientific environment in Iași, occasioned again by the works presented at the 8th edition of the national Symposium Stylistic Identity and Contexts in Romanian Music organised by the “George Enescu” National University of Arts from Iași on 23-24 November 2018. The academic-type modern sonic art and the psaltic music of Byzantine origins, the two traditional cognitive worlds of Iași musicology are complemented through the expression of a further interest for jazz music in its postmodern mixes.
    The general vision of the scientific approaches also develops in this issue the sphere of comparative analysis – Romanian vs. international musical works – through veritable thematic diversity, organised in the volume in two great categories: A. Music history. New directions in the interpretation of the artistic past and B. Art and significance in contemporary musical works. Readers will discover musicological studies based on the critical evaluation and reception of recent history (works signed by Tatiana Oltean, Loredana Iațeșen, Laura Otilia Vasiliu), research and analytical works of the psaltic patrimony in Romania (signed by Irina Zamfira Dănilă and Cătălin Cernătescu), semantic interpretations of Romanian works, contemporary composition techniques (studies by Cezara Petrescu, Claudia Nezelschi, Petruța-Maria Coroiu, Cătălin Răsvan), works promoting through analysis values of the musical art of Iași (achieved by Ciprian Ion and Aurelia Simion), reflections and research on contemporary stylistic crossroads (texts by Alex Vasiliu and Carmen Almășanu) etc.
    The volume reflects the continuous ramification of the process of writing about music, gathering works elaborated from the perspective of the various specialisations of the musical field. The musicologist’s vision is revealed as being strongly interdisciplinary and critical, the performer deepens the analysis of the structure in order to gradually constitute an autonomous form of decrypting the relation between form and content (we mention here the studies signed by Oana-Andreea Severin and Cristina-Nicoleta Șoitu), the composer goes straight to the target by revealing the essence of the means of expression, their artistic value (we are referring to Ciprian Ion’s work), the sound engineer (Cătălin Răsvan) honours his status by offering useful technical information for those interested in the electro-acoustic sonic universe.
    Celebrated in Romania in 2018, the centennial of the Great Union inspired ample evaluations of the Romanian musical phenomena in the last hundred years. Musicologist Carmen Chelaru’s work – Romania in The Last Hundred Years Historical and Musical Considerations. What was done? What are we doing? What to do? – is an ample piece of research of the parallel evolution of the Romanian society and musical life from World War I to the contemporary period, featuring the selection of relevant temporal areas and events from the historical and musical past. The investigation benefits from a vast bibliography focusing on the reconsideration and reinterpretation of facts thorough the lens of post-ideological freedom of thought. In her turn, Byzantinologist Elena Chircev configures a “panorama” of the musical art of Byzantine tradition created by Romanian cantors in the last hundred years – a vast piece of research finalised in a significant, solidly reasoned synthesis regarding the relationship between ideology and religious music: The Romanian Music of Byzantine Tradition Between 1918 and 2018.
    In the section Book reviews, a recent and very important documentary retrieval from the history of the “George Enescu” National University of Arts – The Book of Honour – is presented in an article signed by Carmen Chelaru, the main author in the recovery of the lost tome.

    Editor-in-chief,
    Prof. Laura Vasiliu, PhD

  • ARTES. JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY
    Vol. 19 No. 19-20 (2019)

    Volume 19-20 of the periodical Artes. Journal of Musicology continues the favourite lines of research of the scientific environment in Iași, occasioned again by the works presented at the 8th edition of the national Symposium Stylistic Identity and Contexts in Romanian Music organised by the “George Enescu” National University of Arts from Iași on 23-24 November 2018. The academic-type modern sonic art and the psaltic music of Byzantine origins, the two traditional cognitive worlds of Iași musicology are complemented through the expression of a further interest for jazz music in its postmodern mixes.
    The general vision of the scientific approaches also develops in this issue the sphere of comparative analysis – Romanian vs. international musical works – through veritable thematic diversity, organised in the volume in two great categories: A. Music history. New directions in the interpretation of the artistic past and B. Art and significance in contemporary musical works. Readers will discover musicological studies based on the critical evaluation and reception of recent history (works signed by Tatiana Oltean, Loredana Iațeșen, Laura Otilia Vasiliu), research and analytical works of the psaltic patrimony in Romania (signed by Irina Zamfira Dănilă and Cătălin Cernătescu), semantic interpretations of Romanian works, contemporary composition techniques (studies by Cezara Petrescu, Claudia Nezelschi, Petruța-Maria Coroiu, Cătălin Răsvan), works promoting through analysis values of the musical art of Iași (achieved by Ciprian Ion and Aurelia Simion), reflections and research on contemporary stylistic crossroads (texts by Alex Vasiliu and Carmen Almășanu) etc.
    The volume reflects the continuous ramification of the process of writing about music, gathering works elaborated from the perspective of the various specialisations of the musical field. The musicologist’s vision is revealed as being strongly interdisciplinary and critical, the performer deepens the analysis of the structure in order to gradually constitute an autonomous form of decrypting the relation between form and content (we mention here the studies signed by Oana-Andreea Severin and Cristina-Nicoleta Șoitu), the composer goes straight to the target by revealing the essence of the means of expression, their artistic value (we are referring to Ciprian Ion’s work), the sound engineer (Cătălin Răsvan) honours his status by offering useful technical information for those interested in the electro-acoustic sonic universe.
    Celebrated in Romania in 2018, the centennial of the Great Union inspired ample evaluations of the Romanian musical phenomena in the last hundred years. Musicologist Carmen Chelaru’s work – Romania in The Last Hundred Years Historical and Musical Considerations. What was done? What are we doing? What to do? – is an ample piece of research of the parallel evolution of the Romanian society and musical life from World War I to the contemporary period, featuring the selection of relevant temporal areas and events from the historical and musical past. The investigation benefits from a vast bibliography focusing on the reconsideration and reinterpretation of facts thorough the lens of post-ideological freedom of thought. In her turn, Byzantinologist Elena Chircev configures a “panorama” of the musical art of Byzantine tradition created by Romanian cantors in the last hundred years – a vast piece of research finalised in a significant, solidly reasoned synthesis regarding the relationship between ideology and religious music: The Romanian Music of Byzantine Tradition Between 1918 and 2018.
    In the section Book reviews, a recent and very important documentary retrieval from the history of the “George Enescu” National University of Arts – The Book of Honour – is presented in an article signed by Carmen Chelaru, the main author in the recovery of the lost tome.

    Editor-in-chief,
    Prof. Laura Vasiliu, PhD

  • ARTES. JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY
    Vol. 18 No. 17-18 (2018)

    Issues 17-18, integrated in the current volume of the scientific periodical Artes. Journal of Musicology, dwell on two fundamental fields of musical research, namely byzantine studies and academic creation musicology, which, due to the depth of their specialization, belong to two distinct and parallel areas. This time, the themes suggested for the two sections initiate a communication process. Byzantinologists were challenged to evaluate the achievements of byzantine musicology by focusing on the most important creations, on renowned theoreticians and on the main investigation directions. Generalist musicologists took note of the integration of the field, of the historiographic methods, of the semiographic and semiotic analysis of byzantine studies or discovered connections between the sacred and the profane in contemporary writings.

    Whereas the first study on the Byzantine church music research theme, entitled The “Spirit” of the Old Communion Chants and written by Adrian Sîrbu (PhD student at the “Aristotle” University of Thessaloniki, Greece, under the guidance of Professor Maria Alexandru), is a true monograph of the genre, as the scientific references belong to byzantine contemporaneousness, the following study – The Amomos in the Byzantine chant: a diachronic approach with emphasis on musical settings of the 19th and 20th centuries, written by Dimos Papatzalakis (PhD student with at same university and with the same thesis supervisor) is developed as a ample historical and analytical research of a particular type of byzantine communion chant. The following papers pay homage to the greatest figures in the Romanian psalmic world. Codruț-Dumitru Scurtu (with a PhD degree at the National University of Music Bucharest) brings new data emphasizing the importance of the psalm creation work of the metropolitan Iosif Naniescu, in the wake of the coryphaei Macarie Ieromonahul, Anton Pann, Dimitrie Suceveanu. Professor PhD Elena Chircev (“Gheorghe Dima” Academy of Music, Cluj-Napoca and Associate Prof. PhD Irina Zamfira Dănilă (“George Enescu” National University of the Arts, Iași) – who are well-established byzantinologists – pay homage to two emblematic figures of Romanian psalmic music creation and research: Sebastian Barbu- Bucur and Constantin Catrina.

    The studies grouped under the title Contemporary creation, musicology and musical interpretation stimulate the interest of the scientific community for the knowledge of the new musical hermeneutics directions and techniques. The section opens on a fundamental study on this thematic area – Aspects of Musical Semantics from the perspective of Structuralism, Semiotics and Narratology of Assistant Prof. PhD Mihaela-Georgiana Balan (“George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași), and continues with papers suggesting specific applications, tackling either the actual composition process – Interpretative and Compositional Connotations from a Musicological Perspective (Professor PhD Nelida Nedelcuț and Lecturer PhD Lucian Ghișa of “Gheorghe Dima” Academy of Music, Cluj-Napoca), or the linguistic implications of semantic interpretation – Decoding the Musical Message via the Structural Analogy between Verbal and Musical Language (Lecturer PhD. Rosina Caterina Filimon – “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași). The analysis of modern creation is represented by the study The Subject – A Key Element of the Fugue Form during the 20th Century, thoroughly elaborated by Lecturer PhD Gabriela Vlahopol (“George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași), and topical issues related to music performance are dwelt on in the paper Performing Practice – Comparative Analysis signed by Professor PhD Petruța-Maria Coroiu and her PhD student, Alexandra Belibou (“Transilvania” University of Brașov).

    The themes of the volume are extended by truly valuable papers for the Romanian and even worldwide music specialists. Whereas the study entitled Romanian National Anthems, Historical, Stylistic and Aesthetic Considerations (Professor PhD Carmen Chelaru – “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași) has a genuine cultural value and is in line with the current trend encouraging the reconsideration of the information and judgments of history, the papers Critical Reception of late 19th Century Iași-based Music. Alexandru Flechtenmacher (Dalia Rusu-Persic – PhD student at “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași, under the guidance of Professor PhD Laura Otilia Vasiliu) and Ioan Pavalache – Polyptic Coordinates of a Musicianʼs Life (a study conducted by Lecturer PhD Consuela Radu-Țaga of the same university) are true contributions to the enrichment of knowledge on the musical culture of Iași City.

    The musical book is still at the core of our preoccupations in the current volume. The encyclopedic monograph Patru secole de lied [Four Centuries of Lied] by Grigore Constantinescu, the book of studies Prin labirintul muzicii contemporane [Through the Labyrinth of Contemporary Music], elaborated with rigor and science by Luminița Duțică and O istorie filocalică a muzicii [A Philocalic History of Music] by Petruța-Maria Coroiu, on unprecedented connections between orthodox religious texts and classical music masterpieces, are commented and promoted by insightful reviews.

    Whereas in the world of musicology, the science of music is hoping for support from its system disciplines, from linguistics to perception psychology, from historiography to political sociology, from computer science to mass media, thus exhibiting a worrying centrifugal tendency, the analysis of the connections between byzantine music studies and academic sound art studies may contribute to the spiritualization of the musical research act and to a more nuanced insight into the artistic expression specific to creators from South-Eastern Europe.

    Editor-in-chief,
    Prof. Laura Vasiliu, PhD

  • ARTES. JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY
    Vol. 17 No. 17-18 (2018)

    Issues 17-18, integrated in the current volume of the scientific periodical Artes. Journal of Musicology, dwell on two fundamental fields of musical research, namely byzantine studies and academic creation musicology, which, due to the depth of their specialization, belong to two distinct and parallel areas. This time, the themes suggested for the two sections initiate a communication process. Byzantinologists were challenged to evaluate the achievements of byzantine musicology by focusing on the most important creations, on renowned theoreticians and on the main investigation directions. Generalist musicologists took note of the integration of the field, of the historiographic methods, of the semiographic and semiotic analysis of byzantine studies or discovered connections between the sacred and the profane in contemporary writings.

    Whereas the first study on the Byzantine church music research theme, entitled The “Spirit” of the Old Communion Chants and written by Adrian Sîrbu (PhD student at the “Aristotle” University of Thessaloniki, Greece, under the guidance of Professor Maria Alexandru), is a true monograph of the genre, as the scientific references belong to byzantine contemporaneousness, the following study – The Amomos in the Byzantine chant: a diachronic approach with emphasis on musical settings of the 19th and 20th centuries, written by Dimos Papatzalakis (PhD student with at same university and with the same thesis supervisor) is developed as a ample historical and analytical research of a particular type of byzantine communion chant. The following papers pay homage to the greatest figures in the Romanian psalmic world. Codruț-Dumitru Scurtu (with a PhD degree at the National University of Music Bucharest) brings new data emphasizing the importance of the psalm creation work of the metropolitan Iosif Naniescu, in the wake of the coryphaei Macarie Ieromonahul, Anton Pann, Dimitrie Suceveanu. Professor PhD Elena Chircev (“Gheorghe Dima” Academy of Music, Cluj-Napoca and Associate Prof. PhD Irina Zamfira Dănilă (“George Enescu” National University of the Arts, Iași) – who are well-established byzantinologists – pay homage to two emblematic figures of Romanian psalmic music creation and research: Sebastian Barbu- Bucur and Constantin Catrina.

    The studies grouped under the title Contemporary creation, musicology and musical interpretation stimulate the interest of the scientific community for the knowledge of the new musical hermeneutics directions and techniques. The section opens on a fundamental study on this thematic area – Aspects of Musical Semantics from the perspective of Structuralism, Semiotics and Narratology of Assistant Prof. PhD Mihaela-Georgiana Balan (“George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași), and continues with papers suggesting specific applications, tackling either the actual composition process – Interpretative and Compositional Connotations from a Musicological Perspective (Professor PhD Nelida Nedelcuț and Lecturer PhD Lucian Ghișa of “Gheorghe Dima” Academy of Music, Cluj-Napoca), or the linguistic implications of semantic interpretation – Decoding the Musical Message via the Structural Analogy between Verbal and Musical Language (Lecturer PhD. Rosina Caterina Filimon – “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași). The analysis of modern creation is represented by the study The Subject – A Key Element of the Fugue Form during the 20th Century, thoroughly elaborated by Lecturer PhD Gabriela Vlahopol (“George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași), and topical issues related to music performance are dwelt on in the paper Performing Practice – Comparative Analysis signed by Professor PhD Petruța-Maria Coroiu and her PhD student, Alexandra Belibou (“Transilvania” University of Brașov).

    The themes of the volume are extended by truly valuable papers for the Romanian and even worldwide music specialists. Whereas the study entitled Romanian National Anthems, Historical, Stylistic and Aesthetic Considerations (Professor PhD Carmen Chelaru – “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași) has a genuine cultural value and is in line with the current trend encouraging the reconsideration of the information and judgments of history, the papers Critical Reception of late 19th Century Iași-based Music. Alexandru Flechtenmacher (Dalia Rusu-Persic – PhD student at “George Enescu” National University of Arts, Iași, under the guidance of Professor PhD Laura Otilia Vasiliu) and Ioan Pavalache – Polyptic Coordinates of a Musicianʼs Life (a study conducted by Lecturer PhD Consuela Radu-Țaga of the same university) are true contributions to the enrichment of knowledge on the musical culture of Iași City.

    The musical book is still at the core of our preoccupations in the current volume. The encyclopedic monograph Patru secole de lied [Four Centuries of Lied] by Grigore Constantinescu, the book of studies Prin labirintul muzicii contemporane [Through the Labyrinth of Contemporary Music], elaborated with rigor and science by Luminița Duțică and O istorie filocalică a muzicii [A Philocalic History of Music] by Petruța-Maria Coroiu, on unprecedented connections between orthodox religious texts and classical music masterpieces, are commented and promoted by insightful reviews.

    Whereas in the world of musicology, the science of music is hoping for support from its system disciplines, from linguistics to perception psychology, from historiography to political sociology, from computer science to mass media, thus exhibiting a worrying centrifugal tendency, the analysis of the connections between byzantine music studies and academic sound art studies may contribute to the spiritualization of the musical research act and to a more nuanced insight into the artistic expression specific to creators from South-Eastern Europe.

    Editor-in-chief,
    Prof. Laura Vasiliu, PhD

  • ARTES. JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY
    Vol. 16 No. 16 (2016)

    Romanian music – stylistic identity and context

    How are Romanian music works situated in the European or worldwide context – this has been the fundamental topic of musicological research in Romania for twenty years, which is the content of issue 16 of Artes. Journal of Musicology is affiliated. By studying both historical and contemporary Romanian composition in relation to the world of music, the authors of the articles, also present in the similarly-themed symposium at the 19th edition of the FESTIVAL OF ROMANIAN MUSIC, Iaşi, October 2016, intended to overcome the paradoxical peak stage of 1970 to 1990. On the one hand, that period was characterized by an eruption of substantial information, on a scientific level, and the originality manifested especially in the study of George Enescu's works. On another hand, however, a nationalistic ideology coupled with an increasingly abstract/conceptual analysis of musical language and the lack of translations into European languages determined the composition of a unilateral partial picture and deepened the low level of knowledge of our music available in the international artistic and scientific world. Varying in range, the studies featured in this issue offer novel topics in the announced thematic area: rediscussing old Romanian music from the perspective of relativity in contemporary historical research, reassessing works or texts about music by connecting them to the European sources of the time, specific contributions to the knowledge about certain compositions, theoretical concepts belonging to Romanian composers from neighboring territories, premiere analyses of recent works, etc. We continue to present volumes of musicology by reviewing substantial and significant restitution to the research of Romanian folklore. Ph.D. candidates, developing musicologists or personalities of musical research from Iaşi, Bucharest, Chişinău, and Braşov propose a dialogue of ideas about and images of the Romanian art of sound through the contemporary means and directions of the science of music.

    Editor-in-chief,
    Prof. Laura Vasiliu, PhD

  • ARTES. JOURNAL OF MUSICOLOGY
    Vol. 15 No. 15 (2015)

    Creativity, musical life and cultural crossroads in the area of Moldova

    Issue number 15 of the journal Artes – renamed Artes. Journal of musicology – groups together scientific studies and book reviews reflecting preoccupations for the research of works and cultural phenomena born in or defining the area of Moldova, with an extension towards Bessarabia and the Ukraine. The content of ideas seems to further the spirit of the International Musicology Conference, Musical Romania and the neighbouring cultures. Traditions, influences, identities, a conference organised by the “George Enescu” University of Arts in 2013 – an event which has emphasised the existence of multiple musical and cultural links in the area of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, a musicological topic area still under research. The already traditional collaboration through scientific dialogue between the musicology of Iaşi and the research conducted in Chişinău, and the more recent one with the ethnomusicology practiced in Cernăuţi enable a comparative analysis of both folkloric traditions and present-day compositions. Concurrently, the studies in this issue reflect the musicological activity in Iaşi, with some of them originally as scientific papers presented during Musicology symposium Identity and stylistic contextualisation in Romanian musical works, 4th edition, 2014. Other articles present research in the mentioned content area. The musicological approaches vary both at the level of subdomains and of analysis techniques, attempting to observe the same scientific parameters: inclusion in the sphere of research through consistent references, clarity and coherence of content, terminological accuracy and originality within the subject area. A first category of articles illustrates the musical history of Iaşi, with a general profile of historiographic research – Lost or endangered musical edifices in Iaşi, a study drafted by musicologist and professor of music history Carmen Chelaru – or of monographic research – Ella Urmă. A life dedicated to singing in Iaşi, signed Loredana Iaţeşen, also dedicated to historical works in musical Iaşi. This issue also features studies of contemporary Romanian composers with Moldavian origins – an original analysis of vocal miniatures written by Felicia Donceanu (born in Bacău) – A hermeneutic perspective on two songs by Felicia Donceanu: “Cu penetul” and “La mijloc de codru des” offered by young musicologist Mihaela-Georgiana Balan and the monographic study Liviu Dănceanu – Reflection of music vs. Music of reflection, written by Laura Otilia Vasiliu. The traditions and contemporary works in the old Romanian territories of Bucovina and Bessarabia are represented in the study Folk musical creativity in the development of cultural traditions among youth, a Romanian-Ukranian comparison debated on by Yaryna Vyshpinska from the “Yuriy Fedkovych” Chernivtsi National University. At the same time, compositional and musicological aspects in the Republic of Moldova are eloquently revealed in the article Some of Vladimir Axionov’s musicological outlook on Gheorghe Neaga’s compositions by Natalia Chiciuc, a PhD student in musicology with the Academy of Music, Theatre and Fine Arts in Chişinău. This issue is the first one to feature book reviews by selecting significant publications referring to the musical works of Iaşi – Carmen Chelaru (coord.), Studii de muzicologie de & despre Vasile Spătărelu [Musicology studies by & about Vasile Spătărelu], Iași, Editura Artes, 2015 –, volumes of reference launched in Iaşi – Grigore Constantinescu, Patru secole de operă. Istorie şi stiluri, personalităţi creatoare, capodopere, repertorii [Four centuries of opera. History and styles, creative personalities, works of art, repertoires], București, Editura ONB, 2014 – or by representing bibliographic titles, which are also fundamental for current musical research – Manfred F. Bukofzer, Music in the Baroque Era, London, J.M. Dent & Sons LTD, 1948..

    Editor-in-chief,
    Prof. Laura Vasiliu, PhD

  • Artes Magazine no. 14
    Vol. 14 No. 14 (2014)

    The 14th issue of the journal Artes includes a number of contributions of presentations given at the International Conference of Musicology organized between July 4th – 7th 2013 at the George Enescu Arts University of Iasi in collaboration with the Regional Association for the Balkan Countries of the International Musicological Society (IMS) on the topic ”Musical Romania and the neighboring cultures: traditions, influences, identities”. The contributors are researchers from Greece, Croatia, Serbia, and Romania. Four other studies have been included in this issue, authored by musicologists in Iasi, Bucharest, and Timisoara, which broaden the topic initially chosen.

    The journal is issued bilingually, with texts in Romanian and English, and translations provided by the authors.

  • Artes Magazine no. 13
    Vol. 13 No. 13 (2013)

    This volume, the 13th issue of “Artes” Magazine is new in that it addresses issues of musical Byzantinology, expanding this way the general musicology theme. This new opening was made possible by integrating under the name of “Artes” the Byzantine arts magazine “Byzantium romanicon” published by the Department of Religious Music within “George Enescu” University of Arts in Iasi. During the 17 years that have passed since it was founded at the initiative and under the coordination of Associate Prof. priest Florin Bucescu, PhD, and Prof. Gabriela Ocneanu, PhD, the “Byzantion Romanicon”, review of byzantine arts, recorded a total number of nine issues, outstanding contributions in research and Byzantine music recovery. Nowadays, the “Byzantion Romanicon” review finds a new framework – a good one, for sure – to affirm and confirm internationally research on Romanian musical Byzantinology. Therefore, the 13th volume of “Artes” Magazine contains communications presented at the International Symposium of Byzantinology organized on the 13th and 14th of July, 2012, by “George Enescu” University of Arts in Iasi, entitled “Intervals and modes. The chromatic genre. Ornaments in Romanian Byzantine music”. The volume also included another two important studies that were not subject to discussions during the symposium, but are valuable contributions to broadening the initially proposed topics.

  • Artes Magazine no. 12
    Vol. 12 No. 12 (2012)

    On the one hand, this volume contains research papers presented within the National Musicology Symposium entitled Stylistic Identity and Contexts of Romanian Music (5th edition, Iaşi 2011), on the other hand, documents on various topics written as part of doctoral research. Most authors are Iaşi-based (The „George Enescu” Arts University or the „Octav Băncilă” National College), with collaborators from Bucharest (The National University for Music), Cluj- Napoca (The „Gheorghe Dima” Academy for Music), Braşov (Transylvania University – Music Department) and Constanţa („Ovidius” University – Faculty of Arts). The magazine is published in a bilingual Romanian-English version, with translations ensured through the care of the authors. In order to unify the footnotes and the bibliographic notes, we have made use once again – as in the case of the other published volumes – of the indications provided in work THE TECHNIQUE OF ACADEMIC WRITING (Şergan C. Andronescu), published by the Publishing House of the Foundation „România de Mâine”, Bucureşti 1997.

  • Artes Magazine no. 11
    Vol. 11 No. 11 (2011)

    This volume includes works accomplished both after the publication of ARTES 9-10 (2010) and before that date, mostly in the framework of doctoral and post-doctoral studies. The fairly diverse body of themes covering a wide range of interests was grouped in three major chapters: 1) structural and stylistic analyses, 2) Stylistic and performance analyses and 3) Aesthetic and sociologic analyses. Most of the authors are based in Iaşi (University of Arts “George Enescu” or National College “Octav Băncilă”), but the contents also feature collaborators from Bucureşti (National University of Music) and Braşov (Universitatea Transilvania – Faculty of music).
    Starting with this issue, the magazine will be published in a bilingual Romanian-English edition, with translations provided through the care of the article authors.
    In the case of footnotes and bibliographic notes, in order to render the volume unitary, we have continued to apply – as in the previous volumes – the indications supplied by TEHNICA SCRIERII ACADEMICE (The Technique of Academic Writing, rom.) by Şerban C. Andronescu (Foundation ”România de Mâine” publishing house, Bucureşti, 1997).