“You Have to Sing Them Correctly!” Notation and Performance in cunțană Chant
“You Have to Sing Them Correctly!” Notation and Performance in cunțană Chant

Summary/Abstract: The most widespread variant of Orthodox Church music in Transylvania is the so-called cunțană chant. Its name comes from Dimitrie Cunțan, who was the first one to notate and print a collection of chants then prevailing in Transylvania (Cântări bisericeşti, 1890). Cunțan’s volume quickly became authoritative and is still today regarded with high respect by Transylvanian cantors. Despite their declared attachment to the scores of Cunțan, cantors often distance themselves from the written musical text. What are the differences between the notated and the performed variants of a chant? What role does the score play in the performance? Can present-day performance help in the understanding of the church music of the past? This paper is a work-in-progress which tries to answer these questions.

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