1. Medieval Musicians in Genoese Cities of Crimea.
- Author
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Dzhanov, O. and Kuzminskyi, I.
- Subjects
TRUMPET players ,MUSICAL analysis ,CITIES & towns ,ACCOUNT books ,HARPSICHORD - Abstract
The research objective is to uncover written testimonies about musicians who served in the Genoese trading factories in Crimea. These accounts are primarily found in the accounting books of the treasury (massaria) of the city of Caffa. The following step involves comparing the obtained data with similar records originating from Genoa, the metropolis of the Genoese. The final stage is to identify authentic iconographic sources from Crimea and Genoa that depict the musical instruments of that period. The scientific approaches are grounded on the principles of historicism, systematic approach, scientific objectivity, and a dialectical approach, utilizing a range of general scientific, interdisciplinary, and specialized research methods. In the massarias, professional musicians have been identified belonging to two categories of servants: night guards and consul's servants. The former played on trumpets/tubas and nakrahs (small timpanis) and served in Caffa, Soldaia, and Cembalo. The consul's musicians utilized a wider range of musical instruments, including tuba and trumpet players, nakrators, caramelistas (shawm players), zamarists (zurna players), psalterists, lutenists, and organists. Furthermore, the massaria books revealed information about the military tuba players of the first Tatar Khan, Hadji I Giray, and the musicians of Mamai. A comparative analysis of the musical instrument names in Caffa and Genoa indicates almost complete identity, with the exception of zamaras (zurna), which are not mentioned in medieval Genoan written sources, potentially pointing to Eastern influence. The local specifics of Crimea are also reflected in isolated accounts of Greek and Armenian choirs in Caffa. Prospects for further studies lie in exploring the musical heritage of other Italian colonizers of Crimea -- the Venetians. Subsequently, the results should be compared not only with the legacies of Crimea, Ukraine, and Italy but also with other European cities of the 13th - 15th centuries. The originality of the research lies in unveiling a completely new aspect of the musical heritage of medieval Crimea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2023
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