Kassia

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Pre-congregation
Feast7 September

Kassia, Cassia or Kassiani (

Byzantine liturgy.[2] Approximately fifty of her hymns are extant, most of which are stichera, though at least 26 have uncertain attribution.[1] The authenticity issues are due to many hymns being anonymous, and others ascribed to different authors in different manuscripts. She was an abbess of a convent in the west of Constantinople
.

Additionally, many

Anna Comnena.[5] Like her predecessors Romanos the Melodist and Andrew of Crete, the earliest surviving manuscripts of her works are dated centuries after her lifetime.[6]

Name

Her name is a feminine Greek form of the Latin name Cassius. It is variously spelled Κασσιανή (contemporary pronunciation [kaˈsçani]), Κασ(σ)ία (Kas[s]ia), Εικασία (Eikasia), Ικασία (Ikasia), Kassiani, Cas[s]ia, Cassiane, Kassiana. Modern English-language references to her as a composer generally use the name "Kassia," while references to her religious life tend to use Kassia or Kassiani.[1][7]

Life

19th century representation by Valentine Cameron Prinsep of Theophilos' choice

Kassia was born between 805 and 810 in

Virgin Mary. According to tradition, the verbatim
dialogue was:

"-Ἐκ γυναικὸς τὰ χείρω."

Unsatisfied with her response, Theophilos rejected her and chose

Theodora
as his wife.

When next we hear of Kassia in 843 she had founded a

Stoudios, which was to play a central role in re-editing the Byzantine liturgical books in the 9th and 10th centuries, thus ensuring the survival of her work (Kurt Sherry, p. 56). However, since the monastic life was a common vocation in her day, religious zeal is as likely a motive as either depression or aspiration for artistic renown.[9]

Emperor Theophilos was a fierce

scourging with a lash. In spite of this, she remained outspoken in defence of the Orthodox Faith, at one point saying, "I hate silence when it is time to speak."[9]

After the death of Theophilos in 842 his young son Michael III became Eastern Roman Emperor, with Empress Theodora acting as Regent. Together they ended the second iconoclastic period (814-842); peace was restored to the empire.[citation needed]

Kassia traveled to Italy briefly, but eventually settled on the Greek Island of Kasos where she died sometime between 867 and 890. In the city of Panaghia, there is a church where Kassia's tomb/reliquary may be found [10]

Works

Overview

Kassiani wrote many hymns which are still used in the Byzantine liturgy to this day. She became known to the great Theodore the Studite, while she was still a young girl, and he was impressed by her learning and literary style.[9] She not only wrote spiritual poetry, but composed music to accompany it. She is regarded as an "exceptional and rare phenomenon" among composers of her day[11] At least twenty-three genuine hymns are ascribed to her.[9] Her oeuvre as a whole demonstrates influence from classical Greek literature, which she studied early in life.[1]

Sacred music

Hymn of Kassia

The most famous of her compositions is the eponymous Hymn of Kassia (also known as the

Presanctified Liturgy.[12]

Tradition says that in his later years the Emperor Theophilus, still in love with her, wished to see her one more time before he died, so he rode to the monastery where she resided. Kassia was alone in her cell, writing her Hymn when she realized that the commotion she heard was because the imperial retinue had arrived. She was still in love with him but was now devoted to God and hid away because she did not want to let her old passion overcome her monastic vow. She left the unfinished hymn on the table. Theophilus found her cell and entered it alone. He looked for her but she was not there; she was hiding in a closet, watching him. Theophilus, overcome with sadness, cried and regretted that moment of pride when he rejected such a beautiful and intellectual woman; then he noticed the papers on the table and read them. When he had finished reading, he sat and added one line to the hymn; then he left. The line attributed to the Emperor is the line "those feet whose sound Eve heard at dusk in Paradise and hid herself for fear." Legend says that as he was leaving he noticed Kassia in the closet but did not speak to her, out of respect for her wished privacy. Kassia emerged when the emperor was gone, read what he had written and finished the hymn.[13]

The music for the hymn is slow, sorrowful and plaintive, lasting about ten to twenty minutes, depending on tempo and style of execution. It requires a very wide vocal range, and is considered one of the most demanding pieces — if not the most demanding one — of solo Byzantine chant, and cantors take great pride in delivering it well. It is also sung by choirs in unison, often underpinned by Byzantine vocal bass drone. The faithful make a point of going to church specifically "to listen to Kassiani" that evening.[citation needed]

Other hymns

Among the other hymns she composed are the following:

Secular writings

261 works of secular literature are attributed to Kassia, consisting of epigrams and gnomic verses.[16] Never set to music, they were written during the reigns of Theophilos and Michael III.[16] Akin to the rest of her oeuvre, her writings demonstrate influence from classical Greek literature, which she studied early in life.[1] These literary genres were chiefly dominated by men, so her contributions would have been unusual; Byzantinist Andrew Mellas noted that "perhaps this was an advantage for Kassia and accounts for her originality".[3]

The genre of epigrams had existed from

prosody, preferring to discuss more individual and personal issues.[17] In addition to ethnical ideals, the themes Kassia covers include ethnical ideals and weaknesses (her examples include 'foolishness' and 'friendship');[17] social structures;[18] femininity (particularly 'beauty');[17] and the defense of women's rights.[19] This approach would have made the genre more relevant and accessible to the Byzantine people,[3] though the extent of her epigrams' circulation remains unclear.[18] Her epigrams are particularly reminiscent of similar works by her colleague Theodore the Studite, and are characterized by a concise and straight forward presentation,[16] often including witty or humorous elements.[19] According to Mellas, it is probable that they were "a form Catechism for her nuns and perhaps any friends of the monastery."[18]

Kassia's gnomic verses were much shorter, usually a single-verse teachings. They often include moral adages and like the epigrams, were succinct.[16]

Portrayals

Many fictitious stories were created around her relationship with Emperor Theophilos. Contemporary historians such as Glykas, Ptochoprodromos, Kodinos, Zonaras, and Georgios Amartolos described her exile in Italy during the Iconoclasy wars and later settled and died in Kasos sometime between 867 and 890.

She is portrayed by

Vikings
.

In August 2019, English singer-songwriter Frank Turner included a song told from her point of view on his album No Man's Land.

Religious commemoration

The

7 September
.

She is often depicted on the

veneration of icons
.

In 2022, Kassia was officially added to the

Episcopal Church liturgical calendar with a feast day on 7 September.[20]

Recordings

The following are commercial recordings of the music of Kassia:

  • Kronos Quartet: Early Music (Lachrymæ Antiquæ), USA 1997. Includes an instrumental arrangement of Kassia's "Using the Apostate Tyrant as His Tool".
  • Sarband : Sacred Women, Women as Composers and Performers of Medieval Chant. Dorian, USA 2001. Album contains one piece by Kassia, Augustus-Sticheron Idiomelon Doxastikon: Vespers of 25 December (Athens MS 883) which is also recorded on the album by VocaMe.
  • Deborah Kayser & Nick Tsiavos The Fallen Woman CD released 2008. Includes a recording of the Kassia Hymn.
  • VocaMe : Kassia - Byzantine hymns of the first woman composer. Christophorus, Germany 2009. 18 tracks, with full sung texts in Greek script, German and English translations.[21]
  • Choral Settings of Kassiani: with members of Cappella Romana and the English Chamber Choir. Various recordings of the Troparion of Kassiani and When Augustus Reigned. Released in 2011.
  • Hymns of Kassiani, hymns of Christmas, the Triodion and Holy Week. Cappella Romana, Alexander Lingas. Released in 2021.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Touliatos 2001.
  2. ^ Mellas 2020, p. 141.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Mellas 2020, p. 142.
  4. ^ Mellas 2020, p. 149.
  5. ^ Stephenson 2010, p. 66.
  6. ^ Mellas 2020, pp. 24–25.
  7. ^ Touliatos-Banker 1984, p. 65.
  8. ^ "Other Women's Voices" Archived 11 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ , LOC 91-070245
  10. ^ Sanidopoulos, John. "The Tomb of Saint Kassiani in Kasos". Archived from the original on 28 August 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  11. ^ Savas J. Svas, Hymnology of the Eastern Orthodox Church (Byzantine Melodies, 1983), p. 108.
  12. ^ Lenten Triodion 2002, p. 540–42.
  13. .
  14. ^ Festal Menaion 1977, p. 254.
  15. ^ Lenten Triodion 2002, p. 646–51.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h Touliatos 1996, p. 2.
  17. ^ a b c d Kazhdan 2005.
  18. ^ a b c Mellas 2020, p. 143.
  19. ^ a b Brashier 2012, p. 13.
  20. ^ "General Convention Virtual Binder". www.vbinder.net. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  21. ^ Byzantine hymns of the first female composer: Kassia, vocame.de

Sources

Books and chapters
Encyclopedia and journal articles

Further reading

External links

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