[GREEK CHANTS IN BYZANTINE NOTATION SYSTEM BY ROMANIAN PROTOPSALTIS] Antologie care cuprinde cântârî... [i.e., Anthology that includes chants for vespers, matins, liturgy, Lent...]

FRIMU NECTARIE (1804? -1899), Tipo-Litografia Cartilor Bisericesti, Bucuresti (Bucharest), 1898.

COMPLETE TITLE: Antologie care cuprinde cântârî pentru vecernie, utrenie, liturghie, postul mare, etc. Parte compuse, parte traduse de Pârintele Nectarie Shimonahul, protopsaltul schitului prodromu din sf. Munte al Athonului; si de alti autori. Date la lumina prin sirguinta Pârintelui Ieromonah Dometie Ionescu, dela schitul icôna din Bucuresti. Cu aprobarca si binecuvîntarea Sfintului Sinod al Sfintei Biserici Ortodoxe Autocetale Române. [i.e., Anthology that includes chants for vespers, matins, liturgy, Lent, etc. Partly composed, partly translated by Father Nectarie Shimonahul, in the hermitage in St. Mount of Athos].

Original dark green full morocco. “Antologie” lettered gilt on the second compartment of the brown spine of four raised bands. Cross and goblet decorations on the front and rear boards, cross gilded. An Ottoman stamp on the first blank page and a stamp of “Bibliotiki Ethl. Girokomeiou” on the title page. Occasionally stains on some pages, but overall, a very good and fresh copy. Roy. 8vo. (24,5 x 17 cm). In Romanian with musical scores in the Byzantine notation system. [iv], 339 p., portrait of Father Nectarie, and the list of subscribers on pp. 335-339.

Extremely rare first and only edition of Romanian translations of Greek chants in the Byzantine notation system, created by the national hermitage Prodromul of St. Mount Athos, Hieromonach Nectarie. Nectarie lived among the Greeks from 1854 to 1857, during which time he composed many Greek songs that he later translated into Romanian. Compiled and edited by Hieromonk Dometie Ionescu, this 1898 publication from Bucharest includes hundreds of Greek chants in the Byzantine notation system. In his foreword, Ionescu notes that he also included several chants by Dimitrie Suceveanu (1816-1898) and Ieromonahul Macarie (15th–16th centuries) “to create a larger bouquet of church songs.”

Nectarie was born in the city of Huși, Moldavia (also known as Moldovlahia or Bogdania) around 1804. After completing his regular schooling under the same teacher, his parents sent him to study music with a Greek bishop named Gregorios, who had taken refuge in Moldova. Nectarie later entered Neamț Monastery, becoming a student of Hieromonk Dorothei, who was the Protopsaltis (chief cantor) at the time. Dorothei, in turn, had been a student of Visarion, who was still alive when Nectarie was tonsured as a monk. Nectarie’s earliest known manuscript was written in Jerusalem in 1836. One biography suggests that he was tonsured in Neamț after returning from Jerusalem. He then moved to the Wallachian monasteries of Ciolanu and Căldărușani before finally reaching Mount Athos in 1842, where he became a hermit near St. Anna with his brother, carving crosses. There, he began chanting and was invited to many feasts at the great monasteries. In 1852, he moved to the Romanian skete of Prodromu.

He embraced an ecumenical approach to the Byzantine musical tradition, composing chants primarily in Romanian, but also in Greek and Slavonic. Some of his works were published starting in 1897 by his disciple, Hieromonk Dometie Ionescu, one of which became one of the most beloved Byzantine music books in Latin characters. Nectarie served as the protopsaltis (chief cantor) not only of the Romanian skete Prodromul but also earned the title "Protopsaltis of the Holy Mount." Some of his Greek brethren even referred to him as "The New Koukouzeles." Since Prodromul Skete is located on the grounds of the Great Lavra, he was frequently invited to sing there during major feasts. (Monahul & Ocneanu).

Schitul Prodromu (The Skete of Prodromos) is a Romanian coenobitic skete affiliated with the Great Lavra Monastery. Located in the southeastern extremity of Mount Athos, known as Vigla, it is near the cave of Athanasios the Athonite. The name "Prodromos" is Greek for "The Forerunner," a title of St. John the Baptist. It is one of only two Romanian establishments on Mount Athos.

As of October 2024, we couldn’t find any copies in OCLC.