Understanding Byzantine Music, lecture by Cenk Güray (Hacettepe University) and Nevin Sahin (Orıent-Istanbul Institut), Byzantium at Ankara Fall Seminar Series 2020/21 via Zoom, December 23, 2020, 6:00 pm (Istanbul Time Zone)

​Byzantine music tradition, having a millennium of written record and surviving performance practices in the Near East, is among the longest living music traditions in the world. Forming a bridge between past and present among different cultural networks, understanding Byzantine music requires the tools of multiple disciplines. This presentation provides and overview of the history of Byzantine music, answering these questions: How was music performed during the Byzantine period? What do we know about the music of that specific period concerning performers, instruments, and musical events? Through which sources do we gather information on Byzantine music? How was Byzantine music written? Can we understand the written sources on Byzantine music now? Besides looking at the history and study of Byzantine music, this presentation also offers an interdisciplinary path to understand Byzantine music through historical, cultural, and musicological research and examples from re-interpretations of Byzantine music together with examples from Byzantine chant.

Cenk Güray is a Professor of Music Theory in the Music Theory Department of Hacettepe University Ankara State Conservatory. He is also the executive coordinator of the “Association for the Anatolian Music Cultures”.

Nevin Sahin is a team member of the Corpus Musicae Ottomanicae at the Orient-Institut Istanbul

The Byzantine Seminar Series “Byzantium at Ankara” is an event organized and hosted in collaboration by the Department of History at Bilkent University and the Department of History of Art at Hacettepe University which will be held over the entire 2020/21 academic year. It is organized by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sercan Yandim (Hacettepe University) and Asst. Prof. Dr. Luca Zavagno (Bilkent University).

The object of the series of talks is to engage Byzantine scholars from different backgrounds and areas of expertise in a conversation on issues which relate and resonate with the current socio-political and economic situation. The importance of building these connections should put Byzantium in a global, modern and historical perspective.

All the sessions will be broadcasted via Zoom. Pre-registration at byzantiumatankara@hotmail.com is required. A link to attend the seminar will be sent one hour before the start of the meeting.