List of Byzantine composers

John of Damascus (c. 675 – c. 749), who was a major proponent of 8th century kanōns and the supposed creator of the octoechos

The Byzantine Empire lasted from AD 395 to 1453, during which music was prominent throughout the empire.^{[1][n 1]} Both sacred and secular music were commonplace, with sacred music frequently used in church services and secular music in many events including, ceronmonies, dramas, ballets, banquets, festivals and sports games.^[2][3] However, despite its popularity, secular Byzantine music was harshly criticized by the Church Fathers.^{[3][n 2]} Like their medieval Western contemporaries, little is known about the lives of Byzantine composers.^[5]

Composers of sacred music, especially hymns and chants, are generally well documented throughout the history of Byzantine music. However, those before the reign of Justinian I are virtually unknown; the monks Anthimos, Auxentios and Timokles are said to have written troparia, but only the text to a single one by Auxentios survives.^[6] The first major form was the kontakion, of which Romanos the Melodist was the foremost composer. In the late 7th century the kanōn overtook the kontakion in popularity; Andrew of Crete became its first significant composer, and is traditionally credited as the genre's originator (though modern scholars now doubt this). The kañon reached its peak with the music of John of Damascus and Cosmas of Maiuma and later Theodore of Stoudios and Theophanes the Branded in the 8th and 9th centuries respectively.^[2]Secular music is considerably less documented; not until late in the empire's history are composers of secular music known by name, with Joannes Koukouzeles, Xenos Korones and Joannes Glykys as the leading figures.^[3] Partly due to the little information concerning them, many modern studies of Byzantine music pay little attention to specific composers.^[7]

Like their Western counterparts of the same period, recorded Byzantine composers were primarily men.^[5] The best known woman was Kassia, a prolific and important composer of sticheron hymns and the only woman whose works entered the Byzantine liturgy.^[8] A few other women are known to have been composers, Thekla, Theodosia, Martha and the daughter of John Kladas (her given name is unrecorded).^[9] Aside from Kassia, only the daughter of John Kladas has any surviving work, a single antiphon.^[10] Some Byzantine emperors are known to have been composers, such as Leo VI the Wise, Constantine VII and possibly John III Doukas Vatatzes.^[11]

Byzantine composers

For composers of the same time in the Western classical tradition, see List of medieval composers.

Byzantine composers

Name	Lifetime	Extant works	Remarks
The death of Theodosius I in 395 causes the permanent division of the Western Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire[1]
Anthimos	fl. 5th century	Said to have composed troparia (none survive)	A monophysite[12][6]
Auxentios	fl. 5th century	The text to a single troparion survives (attribution uncertain); said to have composed others	A biography on Auxentios attributes the composition of a troparion to him[6][13][12]
Timokles	fl. 5th century	Said to have composed troparia (none survive)	–[6][12]
Anatolius of Constantinople	Died 458	A few hymns
Severus of Antioch	465–538	Many hymns	[14][15]
John bar Aphtonia	c. 480 – c. 537	A few hymns	His hymns bare similarities to those of Severus of Antioch, whom he wrote a biography on[16][17]
Romanos the Melodist	late 5th century – after 550	About 60 of the 85 kontakion attributed to him are considered authentic	The preeminent kontakion composer of his time[18]
Kyriakos	fl. 6th century	No works survive	Contemporary of Romanos[19]
Anastasius	fl. 6th century	No works survive	A composer recorded as "Anastasius" is thought to be a 6th century Byzantine emperor, either Anastasius I Dicorus (c. 431 – 9 July 518) or Anastasios II (Died 719). Contemporary of Romanos[19]
Germanus I	c. 634 – c. 733	Various kanōns are attributed to him	If authentic, his kanōns would be earlier than those of Andrew of Crete and thus confirm Andrew is not the genre's originator[20][21]
Andrew of Crete	c. 660 – c. 740	Hymns, primarily kanōns[22]	Best known for his Great Kanōn, a 250 stanza hymn. Traditionally credited with inventing the kanōn, though modern scholars doubt this[23][20]
John of Damascus (John Damascene)	c. 675 – c. 749	Many kanōns and troparia. Traditionally credited with inventing the octoechos, though modern scholars doubt this	A close colleague of Cosmas of Maiuma[24]
Cosmas of Maiuma (Kosmas of Jerusalem)	fl. early 8th century	Various kanōns, sticheron, idiomelas and triōdias	A close colleague of John of Damascus[25]
Stephen the Sabaite	Died 807	Idiomelas in the Triodion, Kanōns	[26]
Theodore the Studite	759 – 826	Various kanōns	Kept a letter correspondence with Kassia; brother of Joseph the Confessor[20][27]
Joseph the Confessor	fl. 9th century	Troparia, sticheron and kanōns	Brother of Theodore the Studite[28]
Theophanes the Branded	775 – 845	Kanōns for saints and his brother, Theodorus.	Contributed to the Parakletike[20][29]
Kassia	805/810 – 865/867	More than 50 liturgical works, primarily stichera. 26 have disputed authenticity	The only woman Byzantine composer whose work is included in the Byzantine liturgy. The most important and renowned woman in Byzantine music. She had a letter correspondence with Theodore the Studite[30][31]
Joseph the Hymnographer	c. 816 – 886	Various kanōns, of which 525 survive.	Contributed to the Parakletike[32][33]
Thekla	fl. 9th century	No works survive	Known to have written now lost kanōns[34]
Theodosia	fl. 9th century	No works survive	Known to have written now lost kanōns. She was an abbess who lived near Constantinople[35]
Leo VI the Wise	866 – 912	Hymns for the Great Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross	Was Byzantine emperor from 886 to 912[36]
Martha	fl. End of the 9th century	No works survive	Abbess and mother of Simeon Stylites[34]
Constantine VII	905 – 959	11 exaposteilaria anastasima and 3 sticheron	Was Byzantine emperor from 908 until 959 (co-emperor until 945)[37]
Nikephoros Ethikos	fl. c. 1300	Liturgical chants; 40 survive	His works are far more stylistically conservative than those of his contemporaries[38]
Gregorios Glykys	fl. c. 1300	Liturgical chants; only a few survive, including a sticheron	Had the post of domestikos (in a musical context meaning "first singer of the left choir")[39]
John Koukouzelis	fl. 1300–50	Many chants	One of the most illustrious musicians of his time; known as the "second source of Greek music" (John of Damascus being the first)[40]
Xenos Korones	fl. 1325–50	Chants	[41]
Joannes Glykys	fl. Late 13th century	Chant and psalms	Purportedly the teacher of Korones and Koukouzelis[42]
John Kladas	fl. 1400	Virtually every sacred genre of his time	He was particularly prolific and his daughter seems to have been a composer as well[43][44]
Daughter of John Kladas	fl. 1400	A single antiphon is attributed to her	Her given name is unknown; recorded only as the daughter of John Kladas[44][31]
John Laskaris	fl. first half of 15th century	Not particularly prolific;	Also a music theorist[45]
Manuel Chrysaphes	fl. 1440–1463	A large amount of hymns, chants, kratēmata, mathēmata and anagrammatismoi among others	An extremely prolific composer; John VIII Palaiologos and Constantine XI Palaiologos were patrons of his music.[46][n 3]
John Vatatzes	fl. mid 15th century		Long assumed to be the emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes, though this is no firm evidence for this[47]
Janus Plousiadenos	c. 1429–1500		[48]
Fall of Constantinople results in the conquest of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire in 1453[1]

References

Notes

1. Even after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 the Byzantine musical tradition continued in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople through figures such as Panagiotes the New Chrysaphes, Petros Bereketis, Petros Peloponnesios, and Chrysanthos of Madytos,^[2][3] as well as Serbians such as Kir Stefan, Isaiah, Nikola and Kir Joakim.^[4]
2. Touliatos 2001 lists John Chrysostom, Tertullian, Cyprian, Clement of Alexandria, Gregory Nazianzen, Basil the Great, Ambrose, Augustine of Hippo and particularly Jerome as the church fathers who were vocally against secular Byzantine music
3. He was also a noted music theorist, writing the treatise Peri tōn entheōroumenōn tē psaltikē technē kai hōn phronousi kakōs tines peri autōn which contains extensive and otherwise unknown information on contemporary Byzantine music, practice and theory.^[46]

Citations

1. Nicol, Donald MacGillivray (21 September 2021). "Byzantine Empire | History, Geography, Maps & Facts". Encyclopædia Britannica. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved 2 October 2021. When did the Byzantine Empire exist?: The Byzantine Empire existed from approximately 395 CE—when the Roman Empire was split—to 1453.
2. Levy 2001.
3. Touliatos 2001.
4. Randel, Don Michael, ed. (2003). The Harvard Dictionary of Music. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. pp. 751, 771. ISBN 978-0-674-01163-2.
5. Touliatos-Banker 1984, p. 62.
6. Metcalfe, William (1898). The Scottish Review. Vol. XXXII. Alexander Gardner. p. 302.
7. Velimirović 1978, p. 818.
8. Mellas 2020, pp. 147–148.
9. Touliatos-Banker 1984, pp. 64, 80.
10. Touliatos-Banker 1984, p. 64.
11. Kalaitzidis & Apostolopoulos 2015, §2 "Prominent Personalities".
12. Troelsgård, Christian (2001). "Troparion". Grove Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.28455. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
13. Werner, Eric (1976). Contributions to a Historical Study of Jewish Music. Brooklyn: Ktav Publishing House. pp. 16–17.
14. Youssef, Youhanna Nessim (2016). "Hymns of Severus of Antioch and the Coptic Theotokia" (PDF). In D'Alton, John; Youssef, Youhanna Nessim (eds.). Severus of Antioch: His Life and Times. Leiden: Brill Publishers. ISBN 978-90-04-30799-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-10-17.
15. Wolfram, Gerda (2001). "Severus of Antioch". Grove Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.25529. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
16. Watt, John W. (2018). "John bar Aphtonia". In Nicholson, Oliver (ed.). The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity, Volume 2: J–Z. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 819–820. ISBN 978-0-19-881625-6.
17. Childers, Jeff W. (2011). "John bar Aphtonia (d. 537)". In Sebastian P. Brock; Aaron M. Butts; George A. Kiraz; Lucas Van Rompay (eds.). Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition. Gorgias Press.
18. Engberg, Gudrun (2001). "Romanos the Melodist". Grove Music Online. Revised by Alexander Lingas. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.23748. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
19. Kucharek, Casimir A. (1971). The Byzantine-Slav Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom: Its Origin and Evolution. Combermere: Alleluia Press. p. 394. ISBN 978-0-911726-06-0.
20. Velimirović, Miloš (2001). "Kanōn". Grove Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.14677. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
21. Jeffery, Peter (2001). "The Earliest Oktōēchoi: The Role of Jerusalem and Palestine in the Beginnings of Modal Ordering". In Jeffery, Peter (ed.). The Study of Medieval Chant: Paths and Bridges, East and West. Suffolk: Boydell Press. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-85115-800-6.
22. Mellas 2020, p. 115.
23. Follieri, Enrica (2001). "Andrew of Crete". Grove Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.00894. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
24. Follieri, Enrica (2001). "John Damascene". Grove Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.14388. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
25. Follieri, Enrica (2001). "Kosmas of Jerusalem". Grove Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.15408. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
26. Patrich 2001, p. 11.
27. Thomas, John Philip; Hero, Angela Constantinides, eds. (2000). Byzantine Monastic Foundation Documents: A Complete Translation of the Surviving Founders' Typika and Testaments. Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. pp. 85. ISBN 978-0-88402-232-9.
28. "Saint Joseph, Bishop of Thessalonica, and brother of Saint Theodore of Studion". Orthodox Church in America. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
29. Patrich 2001, p. 174.
30. Touliatos, Diane (2001b). "Kassia". Grove Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.40895. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
31. Touliatos 1996, p. 1.
32. Toma, Paraskevi, ed. (2018). The Sabaite Heritage in the Orthodox Church from the Fifth Century to the Present. Münster: LIT Verlag. pp. xxi–xxii. ISBN 978-3-643-90995-4.
33. Jeffery, Peter (2001). "Oktōēchos". Grove Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.50097. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
34. Touliatos-Banker 1984, p. 80.
35. Touliatos, Diane (1995). "The Traditional Role of Greek Women in Music from Antiquity to the End of the Byzantine Empire". In Marshall, Kimberly (ed.). Rediscovering the Muses: Women's Musical Traditions. Boston: Northeastern University Press. p. 119. ISBN 978-1-55553-219-2.
36. Cartwright, Mark (2017). "Leo VI". World History Encyclopedia. Horsham.
37. Troelsgård, Christian (2001). "Constantine VII Porphyrogennetus". Grove Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.06331. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
38. Williams, Edward V. (2001). "Ethikos, Nikephoros". Grove Music Online. Revised by Christian Troelsgård. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.09050. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
39. "Glykys, Gregorios". Grove Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2001. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.11305. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
40. Williams, Edward V. (2001). "Koukouzeles [Papadopoulos], Joannes". Grove Music Online. Revised by Christian Troelsgård. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.15428. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
41. Troelsgård, Christian (2001). "Korones, Xenos". Grove Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.51928. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
42. Williams, Edward V. (2001). "Glykys, Joannes". Grove Music Online. Revised by Christian Troelsgård. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.11306. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
43. Williams, Edward V. (2001). "Kladas [Lampadarios], Joannes". Grove Music Online. Revised by Christian Troelsgård. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.15917. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
44. Touliatos-Banker 1984, p. 63.
45. Conomos, Dimitri E. (2005) [1991]. "Laskaris, John". In Kazhdan, Alexander (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6. (subscription required)
46. Conomos, Dimitri E. (2001). "Chrysaphes, Manuel". Grove Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.05722. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
47. Velimirović 1978, pp. 819–821.
48. Conomos 1982, pp. 2–4.

Sources

• Conomos, Dimitri (1982). "Experimental Polyphony, 'According to the... Latins', in Late Byzantine Psalmody". Early Music History. 2: 1–16. doi:10.1017/S0261127900002060. JSTOR 853760. S2CID 190692588.
• Kalaitzidis, Kyriakos; Apostolopoulos, Thomas (n.d.) [2015]. "Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Musical Heritage". istanbultarihi.ist. History of Istanbul. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
• Levy, Kenneth (2001). "Byzantine Chant". In Troelsgård, Christian (ed.). Grove Music Online. Revised by Christian Troelsgård. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.04494. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
• Mellas, Andrew (2020). Liturgy and the Emotions in Byzantium: Compunction and Hymnody. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108767361. ISBN 978-1-108-76736-1. S2CID 225623021.
• Patrich, Joseph, ed. (2001). The Sabaite Heritage in the Orthodox Church from the Fifth Century to the Present. Leuven: Peeters. ISBN 978-90-429-0976-2.
• Touliatos-Banker, Diane (Spring 1984). "Women Composers of Medieval Byzantine Chant". College Music Symposium. 24 (1): 62–80. JSTOR 40374217.
• Touliatos, Diane (1996). Schleifer, Martha Furman; Glickman, Sylvia (eds.). Women Composers: Music Through The Ages. Vol. 1: Composers Born Before 1599. New York: G. K. Hall. ISBN 978-0-8161-0926-5.
• Touliatos, Diane (2001). "Byzantine secular music". Grove Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.48192. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
• Velimirović, Miloš (1978). "Two Composers of Byzantine Music: John Vatatzes and John Laskaris". In LaRue, Jan (ed.). Aspects of Medieval and Renaissance Music: A Birthday Offering to Gustave Reese. New York: Pendragon Press. pp. 818–831.

External links

• Digitalized Byzantine Manuscripts (Liturgy) at the Princeton Music Library
• Digitalized Byzantine Manuscripts (Hymns) at the Princeton Music Library