The Sound of the Lectionary: Chant, Architecture, and Salvation in Byzantium
Looking at the interplay between chant, architecture, and manuscript illumination, this talk considers the ways in which notions of salvation were sonically articulated in the Divine Liturgy during the Middle Byzantine period. Tracing the Gospel lectionary from text to illustration to recitation, this lecture looks at how Byzantine artists produced a unified experience that took into consideration not only the text of the Gospel, but also how it would appear to the reader and his audience within the context of the Divine Liturgy. This work looks across text, art, and music to better understand how medieval artists fluidly worked across these categories. The material presented in this talk comes from my recent book Performing the Gospels in Byzantium: Sight, Sound, and Space in the Divine Liturgy (Cambridge University Press, 2021) that richly addresses these matters in further depth.
Part of the Boston Byzantine Music Festival Lecture Series exploring the musical heritage of the Byzantine Empire. The Boston Byzantine Music Festival is a program of the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture.
This lecture will take place live on Zoom, followed by a question and answer period. Please register to receive the Zoom link. An email with the relevant Zoom information will be sent 1–2 hours ahead of the lecture.
Registration for this lecture is closed.
