STUDYING THE OKTOECHOS: FROM THE OKTOECHOS TO THE ANASTASIMATARION*

Svetlana Kujumdzieva

*Paper read at the XX International Byzantine Congress, Paris, 19-25 August, 2001.

Key words: Medieval Music, Byzanthine Music, Orthodox Music, Sticherarion, Anastasimatarion, Sources, Notations, Sinai Manuscripts, John Koukouzeles, Stichera, Resurrection Services

The object of the present contribution is an examination of the changes of the contents and repertory of the Oktoechos as a chapter of the Sticherarion that led to the formation of the Anastasimatarion in Greek or Bоскресник in Slavic. Though we all know that the Anastasimatarion includes a repertory for the resurrection services for Saturday Vespers (StV) and the Sunday Orthros (SnO), the problem of how these services were formed and established in the neumated sources has not been at the center of scholarly attention. However, the few studies by D. Stefanovic, C. Hannick, D. Petrovic, A. Sirli, J. Raasted, etc., dealing with topics related to the Anastasimatarion, give important clues in this direction. Allow me to mention some of them.

D. Stefanovic, studying the Yale fragment found by M. Velimirovic, posed the questions of what is the Anastasimatarion, what was its order, who was its author, etc.¹ He considered the formation of the Anastasimatarion within the Sticherarion. Stefanovic assumed that the order of the “old” Anastasimatarion was established in the 14^th century when the complete set of hymns for StV was accomplished with the inclusion of the three stichera anastasima and the apostichon². Unfortunately, he did not discuss the repertory of the Oktoechos for Sunday.

A. Sirli devoted a book to the Anastasimatarion³. She considered its formation within the Sticherarion as well. Sirli cited two Sticheraria pointed out by G. Stathis as containing the earliest “complete Anastasimatarion without kekragaria and pasapnoaria”: Dionisiou 564 from 1445 and Panteleimonos 936 from the late 15^th or early 16^th century⁴. She suggested carefully that the structure of the contents and repertory of the Anastasimatarion was probably completed while the stichera anastasima were transmitted from the Sticherarion into the Akolouthiai-Anthology and the kekragaria, dogmatika and pasapnoaria were added to them. According to her, the earliest Anastasimataria as a distinct type of chant book for singers go back to the second half of the 16^th and the first half of the 17^th century and as a rule are included in the Anthologies⁵.

The last publications of J. Raasted also contain valuable observations on the posed topic⁶. Though he did not mention the Anastasimatarion specifically, the accent of his investigations was put on the changes in the contents and repertory of the Oktoechos within the Sticherarion⁷. Raasted considered these changes as a “revision” of Joannes Koukouzeles⁸. He distinguished the Oktoechos from the time of Koukouzeles, which, according to him, was cyclically (liturgically) arranged from that of the previous time, which followed the systematic (genre) order⁹.

It is clear that the Anastasimatarion appeared as a result of certain changes in the contents and repertory of the Oktoechos or, in other words, the Anastasimatarion represents a remodeled and changed order of the contents and repertory of the latter. It is insufficiently clear, however, what part of it has been changed exactly, that is, removed, added or dropped out and how it has been transmitted. This will be on the focus of the present contribution.

To determine the changes in the Oktoechos, I took for investigation sources from the 12^th through the beginning of the 19^th century (up to the New Method established after 1814) that are mainly preserved in four libraries: the library of the Ecclesiastical Historical and Archival Institute of the Patriarchate of Bulgaria (EHAI), the library of the “Ivan Dujchev” Center for Slavo-Byzantine Studies at the State University in Sofia “St. Clement of Okhrid” (CSBS), the library of St. Catherine’s Monastery on Mount Sinai (S), and the library of Hilandar Monastery (H) on Mount Athos. The sources from the last two libraries I consulted on microfilms, respectively, at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Resource Center for Medieval Slavic Studies at the Ohio State University. I chose Sticheraria in middle Byzantine notation for the period up to the 15^th century belonging to the “standard abridged version” (SAV) which, as it is known according to Oliver Strunk, appeared after 1050¹⁰. Some of the preliminary results of my investigation on these Sticheraria, I announced at the meetings held in 2000 - the Cantus Planus meeting in Visegrad and at the Musica Antiqua Europae Orientalis in Bydgoszcz¹¹. The study of the sources further clearly revealed that the formation of the Anastasimatarion, as a changed order of the contents and repertory of the Oktoechos, is the result of a long process. Also, the study of the sources confirmed Sirli’s conclusion that the formation of the Anastasiatarion started in the Sticherarion, and then was transmitted into the Anthology where it attained its final form. I have defined four stages in this process. Here I shall present the most characteristic picture of them as they became evident in the majority of the sources from the four abovementioned collections. The exceptions will be the aim of another study.

What are the four stages and what allows us to speak of the Anastasimatarion, or better yet, of the Oktoechos-Anastasimatarion?

The first stage is revealed in the Oktoechos in the majority of the early Sticheraria from the 12^th and 13^th centuries. The contents and repertory of this Oktoechos transmit a systematic (genre) order. The stichera are separate collections running through the eight modes any time: 88 anatolika for StV, SnO, and SnV - 24 alphabetika for StV - 8 theotokia stichera for StV - anabathmoi for SnO - theotokia dogmatika for StV and staurotheotokia for Wednesdays and Fridays in Lent. The 11 eothina for SnO and prosomoia for Great Lent are written in different places before or after these cycles. Some sources also insert theotokia prosomoia at the end. This order is in all of the consulted 13^th-century Sticheraria from the EHAI (812, 813, 815, and 818), in S. 1231 from 1236, S. 1472 from 1276, and the 14^th-century S. 1585 and Dujchev D.gr.188.

The second stage is revealed in the Oktoechos of some of the 13^th- and in all of the 14^th-century Sticheraria. The contents and repertory of the Oktoechos in these Sticheraria transmit a cyclic (liturgical) order, that is, the collections of stichera run through the modes only once. The liturgical succession of chants in each mode is evident (mode 1): StV - 4 anatolika - 3 alphabetika - theotokion sticheron; SnO - anabathmoi - 4 anatolika; SnV - 3 anatolika; the theotokia dogmatika and staurotheotokia follow these cycles. Also, the eothina and theotokia prosomoia are included. The cycle of the Lenten prosomoia, however, is removed. It is put to its proper place: in the Triodion, after Ceesefare Sunday. This order is displayed in the 13^th-century MSS S. 1220, 1484 and in the 14^th-century MSS S. 1221 from 1321, 1464 from 1323, 1223, Dujchev D.gr.49, etc.

The third stage is revealed in four of the consulted sources, all of the 14^th century: Ambrosiana 139 from 1341 and Sinai MSS 1230 from 1365, 1228, and 1471. The cyclic order is preserved. The distinctive feature of this stage is the inclusion of sets of resurrection hymns, some of which were neumated for the first time. Such are the stichera anastasima for StV and SnO and the aposticha for StV. The four sources differ in terms of the inclusion of the new neumated cycles. All of them, for instance, contain the stichera anastasima for StV for the first time. All of them also contain the so-called ordinary dogmatika: the inclusion of the latter in some sources from the previous two stages was sporadic. The aposticha are missing in S. 1230. The anastasima for the SnO are included in S. 1228 and 1471. The complete order of the contents and repertory of the Oktoechos from this stage is (S. 1471, f. 299r-303v, mode 1): StV - 3 anastasima - 4 anatolika - ordinary dogmatikon - apostichon - 3 alphabetika - theotokion; SnO - anabathmoi - 4 anastasima - 4 anatolika; SnV - 3 anatolika; the theotokia dogmatika and staurotheotokia follow the latter. The eothina are included in all of the sources. The theotokia prosomoia appear in two of them: Ambrosiana139 and Sinai 1230.

The most interesting among the cited four MSS is S. 1228. As I announced in my former papers, there is a polychronion on its last pages (starting on f. 286v) written by Joannes Lampadarios [Kladas], in which the name of Neilus, patriarch of Constantinople is read: “t o u a g i w p a t r i a r c [ ] k w n s t a n t i n [ ] k u r n e i l o u . m e l o V d e k u r i w a n [ ] t o u l a m p a d a r i o u ”. This must be Neilus Kerameus, who ruled from March-April 1380 to February 1, 1388. If this identification is correct, S. 1228 might have been written within this time period. In addition to the above repertory, this MS contains four cycles of katabasia which are written down after the staurotheotokia. To my knowledge, this is the first inclusion of katabasia in the Oktoechos as a chapter of the Sticherarion¹². The katabasia, which show the liturgical place of the kanon as it was compiled in the morning service in the Oktoechos, deserve special attention. Here I shall say in advance that the first three cycles in mode 1 have the following designation: “T h k u r [ i a k h ] p r w i k a t a b a s i a ”, “e t e r a k a t a b a s i a ”, and “e i V t o n a g i o n n i k o l a o ” (December 6). The fourth cycle does not have a designation. According to Hirmologia published in MMB, the odes of the cycle are identified as ”a n a s t a s i m a ”¹³. Because of the second ode included in it, the cycle might have been designed for the resurrection days during Great Lent.

The katabasia are followed by makarismoi, the movable chants for the liturgy for Sunday (the incipt for the 1^st mode is: “D i a b r w s e w V e x h g a g e ”). Again to my knowledge, this is the first inclusion of the resurrectional makarismoi in the Oktoechos of this MS. It should be stressed further that the three anatolika stichera for SnV are not included.

The last and fourth stage is revealed in some 15^th-century sources of the new compiled type: the kalophonic Sticherarion and the Anthology. There are only two MSS of the type of the “standard abridged version” of the Sticherarion from the 15^th century in the consulted MS collections: S. 1245 and 1564. Both of them, however, preserve the old tradition of the systematic order of the Oktoechos¹⁴. In this respect, their compilation goes back at least to the 13^th century.

Of all the consulted kalophonic Sticheraria from the 15^th century (no kalophonic Sticherarion from the 14^th century is known) only S. 1255 includes an Oktoechos repertory (I have in mind S. 1234, 1250, 1251, 1584, etc.). The repertory of the Oktoechos in S. 1255, which starts on f. 164r, is described by Annette Jung in detail¹⁵. For the first time this repertory combines the evening psalm 140 for StV with the appropriate stichera anastasima. The same combination for the ordinary resurrection psalms for StV and for SnO with their stichera is revealed in two Anthologies from the 15^th century: S. MSS 1463 and 1552¹⁶. The two MSS are very close in terms of the contents and repertory of their Oktoechos. In both of them the latter is included after chants for Vespers (in S. 1552 after “chanted” Vespers of the “cathedral” ordo¹⁷). The combination of the ordinary evening and morning psalms for StV and SnO with the appropriate stichera anastasima is the most distinctive feature of the fourth stage in the changes of the Oktoechos. It has the following order (S. 1463, f. 80v-112r, S. 1552, f. 77r-122r, mode 1): StV - psalm 140.1,2 K u r i e e k e k r a x a - 3 anastasima - 4 anatolika - ordinary dogmatikon in two versions (the second is with a terirem and is designated as “e t e r a t e t r a j w n o V ”) - apostichon - 3 alphabetika - theotokion; SnO - the resurrection psalm 127.27a, 26a Q e o V K u r i o V in two versions (lengthier and shorter) - anastasimon troparion (apolitikion) - alleluia with triadikon for Quadragesima - [in S. 1552 only: anabathmoi - polyeleos, antiphon, and prokeimenon after the 6^th ode of the kanon] - melismatic author’s versions of P a s a p n o h for the liturgy - psalm 50.3 after the Gospel - exapostelarion - [in S. 1463: prokeimenon] - the ordinary psalms 150.6 and 148.1 P a s a p n o h and A i n e i t e - 4 anastasima - 4 anatolika - eothina - Great doxology and the makarismos, which is followed by the liturgy.

The two S. MSS are the only examples of all the consulted 15^th-century sources that contain a full neumated Oktoechos’ repertory combining the resurrection psalms with the appropriate stichera. The MSS consulted from the 16th century do not contain such a repertory. The subsequent sources consulted - from the 17^th century onwards - include a concise Oktoechos repertory, especially in terms of the SnO. It is the following (S. 1301, f. 10r, mode 1): StV - psalm 140.1,2 - 3 anastasima - 4 anatolika - ordinary dogmatikon - apostichon - 3 alphabetika - theotokion; SnO - Pasa pnoe - Aineite - 4 anastasima - 4 anatolika - makarismos. The repertory of the Anthology follows after the 4^th pl. mode. This concise order is also revealed in Sinai 1302 to 1304 and 1326, Dujchev D.gr.61 and 115, Hilandar GMS 39, etc.¹⁸ In S. 1301 and H. GMS 39 it is ascribed to “C r i s a j o u t o u n a i o u ”, that is, Chrysaphes the New. The rubric in S. 1304 specifies: “The beginning of stichera anastasima as they are sung in the imperial city” (”…e n b a s i l e u o n p o l e w n ”), that is, Constantinople. The order of this repertory is extremely stable. In all probability, it was established by Chrysaphes the New. Only the place of psalm 140 is variable: it is written either at the beginning of this repertory or in the Anthology. In the majority of the sources this repertory is put at the beginning of the volume and is followed by the repertory of the Anthology. It is this Oktoechos repertory that appears also in a separate book from the second half of the 17^th century¹⁹. It became widespread and it is this one that is often labeled in the rubrics “the Anastasimatarion”. Having been compiled along with the repertory of the Anthology, it represents the book of the Anastasimatarion-Anthology. One reads, for instance, in MS Xiropotamos 266 from the end of the 17^th - the beginning of the 18^th century, defined as an Anastasimatarion-Anthology by G. Stathis (f.9r)²⁰: “A r c h s u n Q e w a g i w t w n o k t w k e k r a g a r i w n m e t a t w n d o g m a t i k w n o k t w t o u A n a s t a s i m a t a r i o u ”. In comparison with the Oktoechos from the previous third stage, the Anastasimatarion does not include the anatolika for SnV, anabathmoi, theotokia dogmatika, staurotheotokia, and theotokia prosomoia. The questions of why these cycles were excluded from its neumated contents after the 15^th century and where and how they were transmitted, are beyond the scope of this study. Also, beyond its aim are the questions of the role of Chrysaphes the New and Peter Lampadarios in the development of the Oktoechos-Anastasimatarion and the appearance of the “a r g o n ” and the “s u n t o m o n ” Anastasimatarion by the beginning of the 19^th century. What we should stress here is that, according to the considered sources, the lack of the cycles indicated, the combination of the resurrection psalms with the appropriate stichera for StV - SnO, and the inclusion of the makarismoi are the landmarks of the Anastasimatarion up to the 19^th century. These landmarks differentiate the Oktoechos’ repertory within the “classical” Sticherarion from that one which is outside of it.

The forerunner of the Anastasimatarion is maybe best presented in S. 1228. The latter contains the full order of the stichera anastasima for StV - SnO, excluding the 3 anatolika for SnV and including the makarismoi for the first time among the consulted sources. A similar order is revealed in the Slavic MS S. 19, an unneumated Oktoechos of the 14^th century, which is called in an inscription on f. 217r “нов w хтw их” (a “new Oktoechos”). According to J. Raasted’s observations, the reformative work of Joannes Koukouzeles led to the changes in the Oktoechos. Hence, in the light of the recent research, we may conclude that in the 14^th century Koukouzeles had established the new order of the cyclic Oktoechos within the Sticherarion in which special attention was paid to stichera anastasima (Koukouzeles actually may have been the leading figure in this process). In the 15^th century, these stichera were combined with the appropriate evening and morning psalms. In doing so, the Anastasimatarion was formed. Thus, the earliest full neumated examples of the Anastasimatarion containing the ordinary resurrection psalms and the appropriate stichera, dogmatika, and makarismoi could be found already in the 15^th century. They are well presented in S. MSS 1463 and 1552²¹.

The Hilandar MSS from the end of the 18^th and/or the very beginning of the 19^th century deserve special attention²². These MSS give an important picture for the development of the Balkan musical culture as a whole²³. D. Stefanovic considers two of them as containing an Anastasimatarion in Slavic, that is, Bоскресник: HM SMS 309 and 311²⁴. H. 668 should be added to the list. The order of the Slavic Voskresnik in the three MSS is the same as the one presented above. Only the makarismoi/блажени are not included. Psalm 140 is put either at the beginning of the MS (in 309) or in the Anthology (in 311 and 668). The compilation of the Hilandar MSS remains a rare example in placing the Anastasimatarion before the Menaion as a chapter of Sticherarion²⁵. Of H. 309 and 311, the latter contains only the festal Menaion. H. 668 contains a Menaion, Triodion, and Pentecostarion. Actually, not one of the Sticheraria consulted from the post-Byzantine period contains an Oktoechos as a last chapter of its volume (it is well known that the Oktoechos in the “classical” Sticherarion follows the office for Sunday of All Saints). This might be one of the distinctive features of the post-Byzantine Sticherarion, at least up to the beginning of the 19^th century. The Hilandar MSS, having placed the Anastasimaarion’s repertory before that of the Menaion, actually prove the independent transmission of this repertory and its separation from the “classical” neumated body of the Sticherarion.

In conclusion, I would like to stress that the observations in this study, more or less, are based on a limited number of sources. The involvement of many other sources could prove or contest some of my conclusions. This would be quite natural. I am also aware that many interesting questions, and primarily, questions related to MSS and intrinsic music in them, remain to be researched. The hope is that the topic discussed will provoke another study.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1. D. Stefanovic & M. Velimirovic. “Peter Lampadarios and Metropolitan Serafim of Bosnia”. – Studies in Eastern Chant, 1, 1966, NY, 67-89.
2. Ibidem. Important observations on the changes in the Oktoechos from the 11^th through the 19^th century are done by D. Petrovic in her book: Osmoglasnik u muzickoj tradiciji juznih slovena, Beograd, 1982.
3. A. Sirli. The Anastasimatarion, Bucarest, 1986.
4. Ibidem, p. 54.
5. Ibidem.
6. J. Raasted. “Koukouzeles’ Revision of the Sticherarion and Sinai Gr. 1230”. – Spolia Berolinensia: Berliner Beitraege zur Medievistik, B. 7, Laborare fraters unum: Festschrift Lazslo Dobszay zum 60. Geburtstag, herausg. von J. Szendrei & D. Hiley, Hildesheim-Zuerich, 1995, 261-277; “Koukouzeles’ Sticherarion”. – Monographs of the Danish Institute at Athens, vol. 2: Tradition and Reform, ed. by C. Troelsgard, Athens, 1997, 9-21.
7. Ibidem. Actually, in private conversation with me, Dr. Raasted made a distinction between the Oktoechos from the “classical” period (up to the 15^th century) and the Anastasimatarion from the 17^th century onwards.
8. J. Raasted. Op. cit.
9. The terms were coined by O. Strunk in: “Triodium Athoum”. – Monumenta Musicae Byzantinae, IX, ed. by E. Follieri & O. Strunk, Munksgaard, 1975, p. 7.
10. Ibidem.
11. S. Kujumdzieva. “Remodeling the Oktoechos: Purpose and Meaning (Based on Materials from the 12^th through the 16^th Century)”. – Cantus Planus, Budapest, forthcoming; “Changing the Sticherarion: Tradition and Innovations”. – Musica Antiqua Europae Orientalis, Bydgoszcz, forthcoming.
12. The katabasia were mentioned by J. Raasted without any special consideration. J. Raasted. Op. cit.
13. H. J. W. Tillyard. “The Hymns of the Oktoechos”. – Monumenta Musicae Byzantinae, Ser. Transcripta, part 1, vol. III, Copenhagen, 1940; part 2, vol. V, Copenhagen, 1949.
14. G. Stathis gives an Oktoechos in the Sticherarion from the 15^th century in which the old systematic order is also preserved: Dochiarion 331 from the second half of the 15^th century. It contains (f. 358r): 88 anatolika, 24 alphabetika, anabathmoi, etc. See G . Q . S t a J h . T a c e i r o g r a j a b u z a n t i n h V m o u s i k h V , A J h n a i , t . A , 1975, p. 380.
15. A. Jung. “The Settings of the Evening and Morning Psalms According to the MS Sinai 1255”. – Cahiers de l’Institut du Moyen-Age Grec et Latin, 47, Copenhaques, 1984, 3-63. K. Clark defines this MS as Psaltike Mathematarion from the 15^th century. See K. Clark. Checklist of Manuscripts in St. Catherine’s Monastery, Mount Sinai, Washington, D.C., 1952, p. 12.
16. Mariana Dimitrova suggests that the combination of the services from Vespers and the Orthros in the Akolouthiai marks the beginning of the Anastasimatarion. See: M. Dimitrova. “Утринната служба във византийските музикални ръкописи от ХІV в.” – Palaeobulgarica, 3, 1998, 3-20.
17. E. V. Williams. John Koukouzeles’ Reform of Byzantine Chanting for Great Vespers in the Fourteenth Century, Ph.D., Yale Univ., 1968, p. 74. According to K. Clark, S. 1463 is a Psaltike from the 15^th century; S. 1552 is a Sticherarion from the same century. See: K. Clark. Op. cit., p. 13.
18. D. Stefanovic in the cited article believes that MS S. 1326, according to its palaeographical characteristics, originates from the 16^th-17^th century. According to K. Clark it is a Psaltike from the 12^th century. See: K. Clark. Op. cit., p. 12. The 12^th century for the same MS is also given in: V. N. Beneshevic. Catalogus codicum mss graecorum, qui in monasterio Sanctae Catharinae in Monte Sina aservantur, Petrograd, 1914. MSS S. 1301 to 1304 are dated by K. Clark from the 16^th century. All of them, however, contain pieces by Chrysaphes the New which means that they should have been written as early as the second half of the 17^th century.
19. The repertory has preserved the old systematization in three sections. The first one includes psalm 140 and the stichera “e i V t o K u r i e e k e k r a x a ”: 3 anastasima, 4 anatolika, and dogmatikon; the second one is designated as “a p o s t i c o u ” and includes: apostichon, 3 alphabetika, and theotokion; the third one is indicated by “e i V t o u V a i n o u V ” and includes pasapnoaria and their stichera: 4 anastasima and 4 anatolika for SnO. The makarismos is written at the end of each mode with its own designation. The 11 eothina follow the 4^th pl. mode.
20. G. T. Stathis. Op. cit., p. 17.
21. D. Stefanovic considers Manuel Chrysaphes as the author of the “old” Anastasimatarion. His motivation for that is that Chrysaphes’ name is read on the top of f. 1r in S. 1326. See: D. Stefanovic & M. Velimirovic. Op. cit. Chrysaphes’ name, however, is written by a later hand. The same hand is revealed in S. 1312 and 1321 with the year 1893. Whether Manuel Chrysaphes was the author (compiler) of the Anastasimatarion’s repertory and, respectively, of the new Anastasimatarion-Anthology book, remains of issue of question.
22. I would like to acknowledge the Monks of Hilandar Monastery for their forethought in seeking ways to preserve and make accessible the manuscript treasures in their library and to thank my colleagues at the Hilandar Research Library and the Resource Center for Medieval Slavic Studies for their excellent working conditions and the care they show both the scholars visiting their library and materials in their keeping. I am especially very grateful to Dr. P. Matejic, director of the Hilandar Center, and to Ms. M. A. Johnson, curator of the Hilandar Library who edited the English text of this contribution.
23. The Hilandar musical MSS were an object of discussion in the following publications: M. Matejic. “Hilandar Slavic Codices: A Checklist of the Slavic Manuscripts from the Hilandar Monastery (Mount Athos, Greece)’. – The Ohio State University Slavic Papers, 2, Columbus, 1976; Д. Богданович. Kаталог кирилских рукописа манастира Хиландара, Београд, 1978; А. Яковлевич. “Инвентар музичких рукописа манастира Хиландара”. – Хиландарски зборник, 4, Београд, 1978, 193-234; P. Matejic. Watermarks of the Chilandar Slavic Codices. A Descriptive Catalog, Sofia, 1981; D. Stefanovic. “An Additional Checklist of Hilandar Slavonic Music Manuscripts”. – Хиландарски зборник, 7, Београд, 1989, 163-176; P. Matejic & T. Hannah. Catalog. Manuscripts on Microform of the Hilandar Research Library, 2 volms., Columbus, 1992, etc.
24. D. Stefanovic & M. Velimirovic. Op. cit.
25. An Anastasimatarion and Sticherarion compiled together in a single volume might be seen in the cited Katalog by G. Stathis, vol. A, p. 104 and 208: MSS Xiropotamos 306 and 333 from the second half of the 18^th century. The Anastasimatarion in these MSS is compiled by Chrysaphes the New and the Sticherarion – by German from New Patra.