CANTEMIR MELO – The Integral of Musical Compositions of Dimitrie Cantemir – Anton Pann Ensemble
Prince Dimitrie Cantemir (1673-1723) is a unique figure for Eastern European culture. A personality of the Romanian and universal culture, Dimitrie Cantemir has remained in history as an outstanting intellectual who has marked his life through works written in different fields.
Ca fiu al voievodului Moldovei, si-a petrecut o mare parte a tineretii în Istanbul, unde, pe langa învatarea limbilor de circulatie ale vremii, a studiat muzica cu cei mai buni interpreti si compozitori. În aceasta perioada a devenit principalul teoretician de limba turca si unul dintre marii compozitori ai vremi. Tratatul sau „Cartea stiintei Muzicii” (cca 1700) cuprinde un sistem de notatie muzicala ce implica alfabetul otoman, cu ajutorul caruia a putut transcrie 353 de piese din repertoriul instrumental al Curtii, precum si compozitii proprii. Pe baza cercetarilor recente (W. Feldman si O. Wright) au fost identificate 18 compozitii ca apartinand cu certitudine lui Dimitrie Cantemir – acestea fiind cele incluse pe cele doua CD-uri in interpretarea Ansamblului cameral de muzica veche Anton Pann.
Taking in account that the Romanian culture was belonging to the Byzantine cultural space and the fact that Dimitrie Cantemir himself studied at the school of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople, where the religious music of Byzantine tradition was being taught, were used, in the analysis and interpretation of the Cantemirian compositions, the specific compositional principles of this geographic space, combining Byzantine, Romanian and Ottoman, in the idea of helping the music lovers to mentally visualize the 18th-century Oriental Europe.
Although this is an academic research, an accessible sound has been built, resulting from the carefully chosen instrumental timbre combinations. Thus it was decided to use oriental instruments such as oud, kanun, daire, bansuri, duduk, and instruments specific to Western orchestras: violin, cello, flute. The musical result can be considered as representative for the multiculturalism of the Romanian Principalities and of modern Romania .
In this project were used the photocopies of Dimitrie Cantemir manuscripts, as well as the variants of transposition from the notation created by the prince in the Western Notation (Guidonica). The easiest (melodic) source was Owen Wright, who made his transcript based on multiple sources, including the version of Eugenia Popescu-Judetz.
The Integral of Musical Compositions of Dimitrie Cantemir appeared on a double CD, whose elaborated details remind us of the predominant aesthetics of the Romanian Principalities in the 18th century: graphics inspired by the oriental architectural lines, stance on the gold leaf cover, stitches on the spine to remember the Middle Age's books . The CD also contains a booklet that presents the musical evolution of Dimitrie Cantemir, as well as the historical context of his times.
La concertul de lansare Cantemir Melo de la Sala Radio din 3 decembrie 2017, Ansamblului de Muzica Veche Anton Pann (Constantin Raileanu – voce, percutie – daire, kanun, dirijor si orchestrator, Sabin Penea – vioara, Alexandru Stoica – oud, Issam Garfi – flaut bansouri si ney, Andrei Nitescu – violoncel si Oana Benko – video-proiectie), li s-au alaturat invitati speciali: Emmanuel Hovhannisyan (Armenia, duduk) si Ghassan Bouz (Liban, percutii), iar in a doua parte a concertului Grupul de Muzica Bizantina Anton Pann, Adrian Flautistu (contrabas) si Cvartetul Solartis.
This album is also promoted in the countries where Dimitrie Cantemir was appreciated over time (Turkey, Russia, Greece, France, Germany, England, Holland, Sweden, Italy). The intended purpose is to promote Romanian personalities in general, and the musical compositions of Prince Cantemir in particular.
Computerland Romania a sustinut Ansamblul cameral de muzica veche Anton Pann in misiunea aleasa: redescoperirea frumusetii muzicii vechi romanesti si împartasirea ei, cu bucurie, publicului meloman si nu numai.
This album is a tribute to Dimitrie Cantemir and Romanian culture, enriched through his entire creative work, so he can be considered an ideological precursor to the Great Union - December 1, 1918.
