Interpretation of the Antique Tradition in the Present-Day Musical Culture of the Pontic Greeks
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The interest in the culture and aesthetics of Ancient Greece in the 20th and 21st centuries is expressed by various
diverse comprehensive academic works by such scholars as Alexei Losev, Evgeny Shestakov and Evgeny Gertsman.
The connections between the Ancient Greek and the Modern European traditions are unwittingly brought to light
upon study of the culture of the Pontic Greeks. Their foundation is comprised of a syncretic unity of song, dance and
musical instrumental accompaniment existing as an inseparable unified whole. The relation between the Pontic lyre
with the Ancient Greek specimens of this instrument becomes apparent, as is the role of the lyrist (musician playing
on the Pontic lyre), where he presents himself as a leader of t he performance.
The Pontic Greeks possess a rich dance culture, the basis of which is formed by 110 dances. Those include some
which in used to be prominent in Ancient Greece. These include the dances of “Maheri,” “Pyrrhichius” and “Serra.”
A description of the “Maheri” dance may be found in the text “Anabasis” by Ancient Greek historian and writer
Xenophon. This dance is performed by two warriors, and it includes one of them being stabbed by the knife of the
other, falling down dead. In the present day this dance exists among the Pontic Greeks, bearing the same name.
Xenophon aso describes the dance “Pyrrhichius.” The latter has been preserved in the dance traditions of the Pontic
Greeks, who call it the “Serra.” This is a male military dance, performed by men before going to battle.
Keywords: Antiquity, Pontic lyre, Pontic Greeks, lyrist, dances of the Pontic Greeks, Serra, Pyrrhichius, Maheri.
Article Details
Copyright
The rights on the results of intellectual activity and equated means of individualization are protected in accordance with Part IV of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The authorship, author's name, executor’s name, inviolability of the work and result of execution are protected by the rules of Part IV of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation of the author or executor, regardless of providing legal protection of such results of intellectual activity at the time of their forming.
Copyright laws regulate the civil legal relations for using works of science, literature and art. Such relationships are formed as the result of the author’s writing his or her texts. In this case the author can rightfully claim copyright of the work.
The author has certain rights to reuse the work (see: “Ethical Aspects in Terms of Multifold Publications).
Licenses
All copyrights on the articles belong to their authors. The author transfers the rights on using the article the publisher.
PDF versions of scholarly articles of the journal PMN are published by using the license Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives cc by-nc-nd, allowing loading and distributing works on the assumption of indicating the authorship. The works may not be changed in any way or used for commercial interests.
Criteria for Authorship, Co-authorship
The term “author” refers to all persons (co-authors) who have made a substantial contribution to conducting the research and creation of the manuscript and responsible for its content. The person (author) who has submitted the manuscript to the editorial board shall bear responsibility for the complete list of the group of authors and the changes made to the manuscript in accordance with the results of the peer reviewing and editing.
1. Authorship is based on the following criteria:
1) The author made a substantial contribution to the research activity and development of concept, collected the data, made analysis and interpretation of the data.
2) The author carried out the writing of the text of draft articles and edited it attentively and substantially.
3) The author approved the final version of the article prior to its submission.
4) The author bears responsibility for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript.
2. The authors shall guarantee that the submitted manuscript is the original work.
3. Scholarly reviews for some issue or other should be objective, present material in a wide range and at the same time take into account the views of the author of the review.
4. The authorship of scholarly publications is obligated to reflect accurately the contribution of individuals to the research activity, with specific information about the authors.
5. The authors may not mislead the readers by publishing acknowledgements of gratitude to people who were not actually involved in writing the work. Other persons who made contribution to the work, but are nevertheless not the authors, may be listed in the rubric of “Acknowledgements,” with indications of the type and extent of their activities.
6. Authors are obligated to provide a description of their contribution to the publication.
7. The order of authorship must be a joint resolution of co-authors. The authors should be ready to explain the order of their enumeration and listing.
8. The authors shall be entirely responsible for the correct definition of authorship acting in accordance with the rules adopted in their institution.
9. Investigators must ensure that only those persons who meet the criteria for authorship (that made a significant contribution to the work), shall be considered the authors, and the researchers who do not merit authorship will be excluded from the list of authors.
References
2. Borodin B.B. Musicheskoe iskusstvo v dialoge Platona «Gosudarstvo» [The Musical Art in Plato’s Dialogue “The Republic”]. Uchenye zapiski Rossiyskoy Akademii muzyki im. Gnesinykh [Scholarly Notes of the Russian Gnessins’ Academy of Music.]. 2014, No. (9), pp. 49–57.
3. Gertsman E. V. Muzyka Drevney Gretsii i Rima [The Music of Ancient Greece and Rome]. St. Petersburg: Aleteya, 1995. 175 p.
4. Gomer. Iliada. Odisseya [Homer. Iliad. Odyssey]. Edited by A. Bychkova. Moscow: Khudozhestvennaya literatura, 1967. 765 p. (Biblioteka Vsemirnoi literatury. Seriya pervaya, T. 3) [World Literature Library. First Series, Volume 3].
5. Gruber R. I. Vseobshchaya istoriya muzyki [General History of Music]. Moscow: Muzgiz, 1956. 415 p.
6. Iliadi I. I. Nasledniki Orfeya [The Heirs of Orpheus]. Stavropol: Stavropol’servisshkola, 2007. 359 p.
7. Ksenofont. Anabasis [Xenophon. Anabasis]. Translated from the Greek by S. Lure, M. Maximova. Moscow: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1951. 300 p.
8. Khudekov S. N. Vseobshchaya istoriya tantsa: (antichnaya khoreografiya, karnaval’noe srednevekov’e, balet) [General History of Dance (Ancient Greek and Roman Choreography, the Carnival Middle Ages, the Ballet)]. Moscow: Eksmo, 2009. 606 p.
9. Shabunova I. M. Muzykal’nye instrumenty antichnosti [Musical Instruments of Ancient Greece and Rome]. Orkestr. Instrumenty. Partitura: sb. nauch. tr. [The Orchestra. Instruments. Score: Compilation of Scholarly Works]. Issue. 2. Edited by E. Nazaykinskiy. Moscow: Moscow State P. I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory, 2007, pp. 108–128.
10. Binder B. Art and Science, Beauty and Truth, Performance and Analysis? Society for Music Theory. 2016. Volume 22, No. 2, pp. 22.2.5.
11. Cohn R. A Platonic Model of Funky Rhythms. Society for Music Theory. 2016. Volume 22, No. 2, pp. 22.2.1.
12. Karnes K. C. Recollecting Jewish Musics from the Baltic Bloodlands. Acta Musicologica LXXXIV. 2012, pp. 253–276.
13. McCreless P. Ownership, in music and music theory. Society for Music Theory. 2011. Volume 17, No. 1, 2011, pp. 17.1.5.
14. Pontos news. URL: http://www.pontos-news.gr/ ru/istoria (11.05.2016).
15. Tragaki D. Rebetiko Past, Performativity, and the Political: The Music of Yiannis Angelakas. Acta Musicologica LXXXIV, 2015, pp. 99–117.
16. Ζουρνατζιδης Ν. Ποντιακaχοροι. Αθήνα, 1989. 190 p.