Simon Karas
Encyclopedia
Simon Karas was a Greek
musicologist, who specialized in Byzantine music
tradition.
Simon Karas studied paleography of Byzantine musical notation, was active in collecting and preserving ancient musical manuscripts, collected performances of folk Greek songs
and of Byzantine chant from different regions, in most cases writing them down in Byzantine notation, further altered and modified by him, to better match his needs. He also wrote his own music, and performed himself as a chanter or singer.
The figure of Simon Karas is highly controversial, and it strongly divides Byzantine music scholars and performers into two camps: one supporting, and one opposing his philosophy and his works. His opponents chief argument is that some works and musical experiments of Simon Karas are highly non-traditional, at the edge of being heretical
, at least form their point of view.
s can be read (interpreted) in several different ways, and it is the experience of the chanter, and, to some extent, his personal choice that determine, what particular interpretation will be used in practice in each particular case. For example, there are several alternative interpretations for a combination of neumes "a kentemata above an oligon above a psefiston", and although in practice some readings of this combination can be more frequent than the others, theoretically, all these interpretations would be equally valid. Simon Karas proposed to decrease this ambiguity by re-introducing some of the old (paleographic) qualitative sings, to differentiate between different possible embellishments.
s, used by church chanters and choirs, from a musicological point of view, and not necessarily in line with the traditional 8-modes
classification system. He also tried to guess and reconstruct the relations and history of these modes and scales, as well as regularities of their internal interval
structure.
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
musicologist, who specialized in Byzantine music
Byzantine music
Byzantine music is the music of the Byzantine Empire composed to Greek texts as ceremonial, festival, or church music. Greek and foreign historians agree that the ecclesiastical tones and in general the whole system of Byzantine music is closely related to the ancient Greek system...
tradition.
Simon Karas studied paleography of Byzantine musical notation, was active in collecting and preserving ancient musical manuscripts, collected performances of folk Greek songs
Greek folk music
Greek folk music includes a variety of Greek styles played by ethnic Greeks in Greece, Cyprus, Australia, the United States and elsewhere. Apart from the common music found all-around Greece, there are distinct types of folk music, sometimes related to the history or simply the taste of the...
and of Byzantine chant from different regions, in most cases writing them down in Byzantine notation, further altered and modified by him, to better match his needs. He also wrote his own music, and performed himself as a chanter or singer.
The figure of Simon Karas is highly controversial, and it strongly divides Byzantine music scholars and performers into two camps: one supporting, and one opposing his philosophy and his works. His opponents chief argument is that some works and musical experiments of Simon Karas are highly non-traditional, at the edge of being heretical
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
, at least form their point of view.
Revisionism
Simon Karas proposed several revisions to the standard practice of contemporary Byzantine church singing. While these revisions were at least to some extent accepted by some groups of Byzantine chanters, they are at the same time furiously rejected by some other chanters. This practical division constitutes the main part of the controversy around Karas' name and heritage.Notation
In his works, Simon Karas has observed that in many cases the qualitative Byzantine neumeNeume
A neume is the basic element of Western and Eastern systems of musical notation prior to the invention of five-line staff notation. The word is a Middle English corruption of the ultimately Ancient Greek word for breath ....
s can be read (interpreted) in several different ways, and it is the experience of the chanter, and, to some extent, his personal choice that determine, what particular interpretation will be used in practice in each particular case. For example, there are several alternative interpretations for a combination of neumes "a kentemata above an oligon above a psefiston", and although in practice some readings of this combination can be more frequent than the others, theoretically, all these interpretations would be equally valid. Simon Karas proposed to decrease this ambiguity by re-introducing some of the old (paleographic) qualitative sings, to differentiate between different possible embellishments.
Modes interpetation
Karas also attempted to revise the classification of musical modeMusical mode
In the theory of Western music since the ninth century, mode generally refers to a type of scale. This usage, still the most common in recent years, reflects a tradition dating to the middle ages, itself inspired by the theory of ancient Greek music.The word encompasses several additional...
s, used by church chanters and choirs, from a musicological point of view, and not necessarily in line with the traditional 8-modes
Octoechos
Oktōēchos is the name of the eight mode system used for the composition of religious chant in Syrian, Coptic, Byzantine, Armenian, Latin and Slavic churches since the middle ages...
classification system. He also tried to guess and reconstruct the relations and history of these modes and scales, as well as regularities of their internal interval
Interval (music)
In music theory, an interval is a combination of two notes, or the ratio between their frequencies. Two-note combinations are also called dyads...
structure.
Selected works
- Method of Greek Music (a series of books)
- Ioannis Maistor Koukouzelis and his era
- Engomia
Most prominent followers
Among the chanters and choirs embracing the theories and practical proposals of Simon Karas at least to some degree are:- Cappella RomanaCappella RomanaCappella Romana is a vocal ensemble founded in 1991 in Portland, Oregon. Its name, meaning "Roman Chapel", refers to the medieval Greek concept of the Roman oikoumene , which embraced Rome and Western Europe, as well as the Byzantine Empire of Constantinople and its Slavic commonwealth centered...
- Lycourgos AngelopoulosLycourgos AngelopoulosLycourgos Angelopoulos is the founder and director of the Greek Byzantine Choir. He is also an Archon Protopsaltes of the Archdiocese of Constantinople....
(and the current practice of the Greek Byzantine ChoirGreek Byzantine ChoirThe Greek Byzantine Choir is a contemporary choir specializing in singing traditional Byzantine chant. The choir was founded in 1977 by Lycourgos Angelopoulos , and is based in Athens, Greece....
in general) - VatopediVatopediThe Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopedi on Mount Athos, Greece, was built during the second half of the 10th century by three monks, Athanasius, Nicholas, and Antonius, from Adrianople, who were disciples of Athanasius the Athonite...
monastery choir