A short study on the compositions of the 'mathēma' Ἄνωθεν οἱ προφῆται, from the "Golden Age" of kalophonia (14th–15th centuries) as food for thought on the concepts of eponymity, tradition and innovation in Byzantine music

Authors

• Gregorios G. Anastasiou

Abstract

The present study will transfer us to the era of kalophony and take us back through the post-Byzantine centuries, using as a vehicle the manuscript tradition of the theotokion mathema Ἄνωθεν οἱ προφῆται. Aiming to understand the concepts of eponymity, tradition and innovation as regards Byzantine compositions, in fact, I shall examine the adventures of the most widely-disseminated Byzantine mathēmatarian compositions, which survive even today in liturgical praxis.