MUZIKOLOŠKI ZBORNIK — MUSICOLOGICAL ANNUAL XIV, LJUBLJANA 1978 UDK 78(497.11"14/15":929 Stefan Srbin THE WORKS OF STEFAN THE SERB IN BYZANTINE MUSIC MANUSCRIPTS OF THE XVth AND XVFh CENTURIES Dimitrije Stefanović (Beograd) Until recently two works of domestikos (choir leader) kyr Stefan the Serb (middle of the XVth century) were transcribed and published. The transcriptions were made from two photographs taken in 1939, before in 1941 the Belgrade National Library was bombed and the manuscript destroyed.1 The two hymns are the following: a) Ninja sili — Nyn ai dynameis (Now of the Presanctified Gifts, manuscript of the Belgrade National Library, No. 93, XVth c, ff. 287v—288r, mode II piagai. There is an inscription above the hymn — »the work of domestikos kyr Stefan the Serb«. The Greek text of the same hymn was inscribed in smaller letters, in red ink, at the beginning under, and then above the Church Slavonic text of the Serbian redaction (cf. Conspectus of hymns and manuscripts, No. 1, a); b) Geusasthe kai idete — V okusite i vidite (O Taste and See), Psalm 34.8, the Communion hymn for the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, manuscript of the Belgrade National Library, No. 93, XVth c, f. 288r, mode I. The inscription in the right margin »tou autou« refers to kyr Stefan, since the hymn follows the previous one with the explicit inscription. The main text is in Greek, while the translation into Church Slavonic of the Serbian redaction is inserted. After a minute palaeographical analysis of the text and neumes, another text was discovered. In between these two texts a third one is inserted — the Greek text of Psalm 148.1 — Aineite ton Kyrion. The existence of three texts for the same melody can be explained. Depending on the presence of the Greek or Slavonic congregation at services, the Greek text or its translation into Serbien Church Slavonic was sung (Psalm 34.8). The text in two languages is prescribed only for the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts which is sung throughout the Lenten period. The reason that this melody was also sung as a Communion hymn 1 Old Serbian Music, Examples of 15th Century Chant, Institute of Musicology vols. 15/1, II (Belgrade, 1975) pp. 53—66, pis. 1, 2. 13 at the usual Sunday Liturgy of St. John Chrysostomos {cf. the Greek Psalm 148.1, Conspectus No. 1, b) lies probably in its musical value. This assumption is supported by the presence of the same melody with the Greek version of Psalm 34.8, in another anthology {Athens, National Library, MS No. 928, ff. 140v—141r, end of XVth century).2 There again the inscription in the left margin »Kyrou Stefanou« refers to the same composer. {cf. Conspectus, No. 2). The comparison of the transcription from the Athens manuscript (whose version contains an extended Alleluia) with that of the Belgrade fragment (whose version is shorter since the next folio was destroyed) shows the same melody.3 Stefan the Serb, so it seemed, composed only these two melodies to which texts of different hymns were sung both in Greek and in the Church Slavonic translation. New light on his opus had been shed by the careful studies of A. E. Pennington, who was the first to find two other works by Stefan the Serb in some six manuscripts — one from the XVth, all other from the XVIth century — now preserved in different libraries, but reflecting the tradition of the Moldavian monastery of Putna in Roumania.4 All these manuscripts {cf. Conspectus, Nos. 3—8) contain the same Communion hymn, Koinonikon for the Sunday Liturgy of St. John Chrysostomos, Aineite ton Kyrion, Psalm 148.1, in Greek in Mode III piagai and with slight orthographical variants ascribed: »tou Stefanou Serpina«. Two of them contain also another Communion hymn for Holy Saturday and Easter (sung also at the Sunday Liturgy of St. John Chrysostomos): Soma Hristou (Receive ye the body of Christ), in Greek in Mode I piagai, ascribed to »Stefan«. This hymn is found: a) in the second part of the Putna MS 56/576 dating from the XVth c, f. 86r {cf. Conspectus, No. 6,b), and b) in MS Leimonos, No. 258, A.D. 1527, ff. 255v—256r {cf. Conspectus, No. 3,b). Of the six manuscripts three are dated: a) MS Leimonos, No. 258, A. D. 1527, b) MS Iaši, No. 1.26, A.D. 1545 and c) MS Bucharest, No. 283, A.D. 1550 {cf. Conspectus, Nos. 3—5). 2 The hymn was discovered by A. Jakovljević, Hronologija atinskog rukopisa i vizantijski Kinonik Eira Stefana, Zvuk 2 (Sarajevo, 1973) pp. 165—173, with photographs and transcription. 3 Cf. footnote I, vol. I p. 62—66, vol. II, pi. 2. — The Serbian melody in Mode VI (Byzantine counting II piagai) which is used today in the Serbian Orthodox Church is published in Števan St. Mokranjac, Opšte po janje, ed. by K.P. Manoj-lović (Belgrade, 1935) pp. 424—426; two somewhat older versions are to be found on pp. 427—430. 4 A. E. Pennington: a) Stefan the Serb in Moldavian Manuscripts, The Slavonic and East European Revieio (London, January 1973) pp. 107—112, where photographs of the Sunday Koinonikon Aineite ton Kyrion from MS 816, middle of XVIth c. ff. 97v—98v in the Library of the Ecclesiastical Museum in Sofia is reproduced; b) Seven Akoluthiai from Putna, Studies in Eastern Chant, vol. IV (in print); c) Music in sixteenth-century Moldavia: new evidence (in print). 14 The remaining three belong also to the XVIth c, except for the second part of MS Putna 56/576 (ff. 85—160) which is dated into the XVth c. The first part of the Putna manuscript (ff. 1—84) dates from the first decade of the XVIth c, MS Sofia 816 belongs to the middle of the XVIth c, and MS Leipzig Slave 12 is placed into the third quarter of the XVIth c.5 Not relying completely upon the inscription »tou Stefanou Serpina« and »Stefan« which may or may not suggest Stefan the Serb as the music author for the hymns »Aineite ton Kyrion« and »Soma Hristou«, we compared and analyzed the four transcribed hymns (»Ninja sili«, »V okusite i vidite«, »Aineite ton Kyrion« and »Soma Hristou«), leaving aside the analyses within each work. Here are the results of our investigation: In example A the same melodic-rhythmical phrase appears in the first three hymns: EXAMPLE A The quotation begins on the same step (NB!) in spite of the fact that the hymns belong to different modes (II piagai, first, I piagai and III piagai respectively). In line four the melodic phrase begins a fourth higher, while the rhythmical scheme is the same as in line one. Example B offers new evidence of the same melodic-rhythmical sequential material employed in three of the four hymns: EXAMPLE B 5 Cf. footnote 4, c. 15 CONSPECTUS OP HYMNS ,T Library manuscript, number of no, Num. folios uate Type of hymn, incipits and folios National Library, Belgrade, MS middle No. 93, ff. 307. Manuscript de- of stroyed, twelve photographs pre- XV c. served in the Archives of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, No. VII/433. Anthology with Papadike. a) Cherubic hymn for the Liturgy of the Presantified: Ninja sili, ff. 287v—288r. Nyn ai dyna-meis — inserted b) Koinonikon for the Liturgy of the Presanctified: Geusasthe kai idete (Ps. 34.8), f. 288r. Va-kusite i vidite — inserted. Anei-te ton Kyrion (Ps. 148.1) — inserted Sunday Koinonikon 2. National Library,, Athens, MS end of No. 928, ff. 170. Anthology. XV c. Koinonikon for the Liturgy of the Presanctified: Geusasthe kai idete (Ps. 34.8), ff. 140v—141r 3. Library of the monastery of A.D. Leimonos, island of Lesbos 1527 (Greece), MS No. 258, ff. 418. Anthologiy with Papadike. a) Sunday Koinonikon: Aineite ton Kyrion (Ps. 148.1), ff. 240r— 241v b) Koinonikon for Holy Saturday and Easter: Soma Hristou, ff. 255v—256r 4. Central University Library Iaši A.D. (Roumania), MS No. I. 26, if. 1545 235. Anthology. Sunday Koinonikon: Aineite ton Kyrion (Ps. 148.1), ff. 107v— Library of the Roumanian Aca- A.D. demy, Bucharest, MS No. 283, 1550 ff. 240. Anthology. Sunday Koinonikon: Aneite ton Kyrion (Ps. 148.1), ff. 105r—106v Library of the monastery of Pu- first tna (Roumania), MS 56/576,first decade part ff. 84. Anthology. of XVI c. second part, ff. 85—160v. Antho- XV c. logy. a) Sunday Koinonikon: Aineite ton Kyrion (Ps. 148.1), ff. 35v— b) Koinonikon for Holy Saturday and Easter: Soma Hristou, ff. Sor- Library of the Ecclesiastical Mu- middle seum, Sofia, MS No. 816, ff. 234. of Anthology. XVI c. Sunday Koinonikon: Aineite ton Kyrion, ff. 97v—98v University Library, Leipzig, MS third Slave 12, ff. 134. Anthology with quarter Psaltike tehne. of XVI c. Sunday Koinonikon: Aineite ton Kyrion, ff. 28r—30r AND MANUSCRIPTS Mode Language Music ascribed to — inscriptions top margin on f. 287v: a) Bilingual: Serbian Church »tvorenie domestika kir Stefana Slavonic and Greek Srbina« II piagai right margin on f. 288r: b) bilingual: Greek and Serbian »tou autou« Church Slavonic cf. below, MS Athens 928, ff. 140v— 141r Greek left margin on f. 140v: »Kyrou Stefanou« cf. above, MS Belgrade 93, f. 288r under b/. Ill piagai Greek I piagai Greek f. 240r: »tou Stefanou Srpina« f. 255v: »Stefan« III plaga! Greek f. 107v: »tu Stefanou Srpina« f. 126: written by ieromonk Antonie »tah i pevec« in Putna III piagai Greek f. 105r: »Serpina« III piagai Greek I piagai Greek f. 35v: »tou Stefan Srpina« f. 86r: »Stefan« III piagai Greek f. 97v: »tou Stefan Serpina« III piagai Greek f. 28r: »tou Stefan Serpina« 2 Muzikološki zbornik 17 Consequently our assumption about the authorship, previously based only on the inscription is supported by the analyses: the same melodic-rhythmical material employed in the different hymns composed in different modes is pointing to Stefan the Serb as their composer. The discoveries of A. E. Pennington have so far: a) enlarged the number of manuscripts with Stefan's works from two eight; b) enlarged the number of hymns by Stefan from two to four; c) located the manuscripts scattered in different libraries {cf. Conspectus, Nos. 3—6) as belonging to the musical tradition of the Moldavian monastery of Putna; d) allowed the following conclusion about the musical value of Stefan's works — the manuscripts were copied in the XVIth century, some hundred years after the presumed date of his activity. Finally our analyses of the transcribed material showed that the same melodic-rhythmical material is employed in all the hymns and thus have disclosed Stefan the Serb as the music author of hymns in question. POVZETEK Do nedavna sta bili znani samo dve deli domestika (vodje zbora) kir Stefana Srbina (sredina 15. stoletja). Obe sta bili transkribirani in objavljeni na podlagi fotografij, ki so bile posnete, predno je rokopis zgorel ob bombardiranju Beograda leta 1941. Kazalo je, da je Stefan avtor samo teh pesmi. Raziskovanja A. E. Penningtonove, profesorice slavistike v Oxfordu, so pripeljale do pomembnih odkritij, še dve Štefanovi »tvoreniji« sta bili najdeni v šestih neumatskih rokopisih (eden iz 15., ostali iz 16. stoletja, prim. Conspectus v prilogi), ki so ohranjeni v: a) knjižnici samostana Leimonos (na otoku Lesbos v Grčiji), b) v centralni univerzitetni knjižnici v Jašiju (Romunija), c) v knjižnici romunske akademije znanosti v Bukarešti, d) v knjižnici moldavskega samostana Putna, e) knjižnici cerkvenega muzeja v Sofiji in f) v univerzitetni knjižnici v Leipzigu. Ne da bi se popolnoma opirali na zapise »tou Štefanu Srpina« oziroma »Stefan«, ki so v raznih ortografskih variantah zabeleženi na robovih ob pesmih Aineite ton Kyrion (Ps. 148.1) in Soma Hristou (pesem za obhajilo — Communio — na velikonočno soboto in nedeljo), smo primerjali in analizirali transkribi-rane pesmi. Ugotovili smo, da se isti melodično-ritmični odseki (prim, primer A) oziroma isti, melodično-ritmično in sekvenčno ponovljeni motivi (prim, primer B) pojavljajo v vseh pesmih, čeprav so zapisane v različnih modusih. S svojimi odkritji je Penningtonova: a) povečala število rokopisov s Štefanovimi deli od dveh na osem; b) povečala število Štefanovih pesmi od dveh na štiri; c) ugotovila da omenjeni rokopisi iz raznih knjižnic izhajajo iz moldavskega samostana Putna; d) omogočila glasbeno ovrednotenje Štefanovih del. Dejstvo, da so jih prepisovali še v 16. stoletju, se pravi okoli sto let po času, v katerega se datira Štefanova aktivnost, dokazuje njihov pomen in določeno zanimanje za Štefanova dela v okviru bizantinsko-slovanske glasbene tradicije. Končno je naša analiza transkribiranega gradiva pokazala, da je bilo isto melodično-ritmično gradivo uporabljeno v teh pesmih, kar — obenem z zapisi — potrjuje, da je njihov avtor kir Stefan. 18