Research Center for Music Iconography, The Graduate Center, City University of New

York

Wind and Percussion Instruments in Romanian Mural Painting

Author(s): Anca Florea
Source: RIdIM/RCMI Newsletter, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Spring 1997), pp. 23-30
Published by: Research Center for Music Iconography, The Graduate Center, City
University of New York
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/41605020
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 Spring 1997
Wind and Percussion Instruments in Romanian Mural Painting*
Anca Florea
Bucure§ti
Probably nowhere else in the world has Byzantine civiliza-
tion left behind so many traces of history and tradition in the
material and spiritual culture of a people as it has in the Romani-
an lands. In the Byzantine view, also adopted in the Romanian
Principalities, the arts - subordinated to religious necessities and
doctrines - could only resort to imagination and creativity, being
reduced to the task of representing archetypes, looked upon as
ultimate goals. According to this approach, iconographie repre-
sentations had to be remarkably stable, limited to expressing
essential ideas, which was the very reason that the well-known
traditional models have been preserved for centuries, with chan-
ges being almost insignificant.1
In the music played both at princely courts and in rural
communities, wind and percussion instruments were frequently
used. Military music was also played, battle signals having been
mentioned as early as 1207 by the French chronicler Geofroi de
Villehardoin2 or, later on, by Simion Dascãlu who, in describ-
ing the Battle at Podu Inalt (1475), noted that "Stephen the Great
(Rom. , §tefan eel Mare) had called only a few soldiers to the
Birlad plain, in order to lure [the Turks] with their bugles
(i buciume , a Romanian shepherd's musical instrument consisting
of a very long conical tube), horns, and trumpets ( trunbife ),
blowing the battle signal" .3 Such bugles and trumpets were also
used for playing military music, according to the chronicle of
Jean de Wavrin, who described the Romanian armies stationed
along the banks of the Danube;4 "drums (dobe) and trumpets"
were in evidence at the court of John the Terrible (Rom., loan
Voda cel Cumplit) at the end of the 16th century (1570). 5
Princes were accompanied by military music on the festive
occasions of their lives, such as Stephen the Great's visit to
Poland6 or Michael the Brave's (Rom., Mihai Viteazul) glorious
entry into Alba lulia, the latter being preceded by a large
orchestra including trumpets, drums, flutes, and violins.7
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Bugles, trumpets, fifes ( surle ), and drums were permanent
fixtures in ceremonies, receptions of high officials, or proces-
sions. Radu Popescu mentions the arrival of Ban Mare§ in
Craiova (1669) with "drums, trumpets and fifes",8 Neculce
writes about Dimitrie Cantemir setting out on his voyage to the
Ottoman Empire in 1684 accompanied by a huge procession,
with "fifes and trumpets playing and drums keeping the beat",
while Radu Greceanu describes a procession at the court of
Constantin Brâncoveanu (1703) accompanied by "fifes, trumpets,
and all the princely pomp".9 Even the procession that accompa-
nied Constantin Duca Vodã into exile included fifes, drums,
"and even Polish trumpets".10 The travelogue of Paul of Alep
indicates that princely feasts were also accompanied by music.11
The integration of musical elements in aulic ceremonies or
their representation in medieval imagery, together with features
specific to court life, can be found in a great number of scenes
taken from religious "stories" transposed on the walls of church-
es under the influence of the things seen and experienced by art-
ists at court. It was only natural, then, that those who played
music should be pictured in poses typical of the time: accom-
panying processions, sounding battle signals, playing their instru-
ments during feasts etc. Researchers have often remarked on the
use of images with historical content, with primarily battle
scenes and the Last Judgment episode, which became actual
battle calls against the Turks, who were represented as sinners
who had gone to Hell. The military character of the paintings
has often been noted, as they celebrated moments in the history
of the Romanians in their fight for independence, under the
pretext of representing scenes from the Bible or adapting them
to local social-historical specificities.
At the St. Cross-Patrauji church (built by Stephen the Great,
1487) the archangels are blowing their bugles in the scene of the
Last Judgment, while in Rî§ca (completed in 1540 by Petru
23
 RIdlM/RCMI Newsletter XXII/ 1 Spring 1997

1. Angel with a short bugle. The Last Judgment in the church

{hora).{corn).
Rare§), they are blowing their horns Thus, in
Onthethe
Col{ea church in Bucure§ti (1
southern
facade of the Arbore church (1502), princely round dancesare
the archangels are replaced
depicted, the first probab
by two angels blowing their horns. panied
In thebyMoldovija
a flute (fluier ) and a(also
church two-headed drum, w
second
built by Petru Rare§ 1532), there are a fife, a
alphorns ( two-headed
tulnice , a drum,
sortandof two small kett
bucium in the shape of a truncated the Mîntuleasa
cone used church in Bucure§ti
mainly in the(1734), there is als
Apuseni mountains), while in the Probota
trumpet amongchurch (1532),
the instruments, and in the Negustor
Bucure§ti
trumpets again appear. In Humor (built by there are three
the boyar fifes and a two-headed
Theodor
Verneçti-Buzãu
Bubuiog, 1530), in the third register, (1721),
archangels as well
are as in §ube§ti-Cîmpu
blowing
we can
short bugles [fig. 1], while in Vorone{ again see
(1547) serpent
long ones trumpets. At the Cetäjuia ch
[fig. 2].
In Suce vita (1548), the bugles are crooked. In the churches in
Walachia, serpent or twisted trumpets were pictured most
frequently. In the case of the paintings in Clocociov or Rucãr-
Muscel, where, in the open porch, an archangel blows an
enormous twisted trumpet of a strange shape reminding one of
naive painting. At the Cretulescu church in Bucure§ti, the Last
Judgment painted in the church porch was partially destroyed in
December 1989, but one can still see the angels blowing their
trumpets around the kingly throne. The Bible says that "the Lord
himself will descend from Heaven with a cry of command, with
the archangel's call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.
And the dead in Christ will rise first" (The First Letter of Paul
to the Thessalonians, IV: 16). At the Corne§ti church in
Maramure§, the Archangel Uriel blows a horn, calling the souls
to the Last Judgment.
2. Angel with buciune. The Last Judgment in the
The illustration of David's Psalms include the painting of
Voronet (1547). The entire composition see in this N
wind instruments in the bands that accompany the round dances
XIX/2 (1994), p. 55.

Л A

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Spring 1997

Near Moses, groups of men and women clap their hands and,
maybe, sing, accompanied by timbrels (Exodus XV:20-21).
At the same church, the bringing of the ark of God to
Jerusalem is represented with an exquisite pomp in the central
register. The painter thus gives us an opportunity to get ac-
quainted with the musical instruments played and the garments
worn in Moldavia in the seventeenth century during the reign of
Duca Vodã. The biblical text describes the event as follows:
"And they carried the ark of God upon a new cart; ... David
and all the house of Israel were making merry before the Lord
with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambou-
rines and castanets and cymbals", and later mentions the horns
(2 Samuel VI: 15). In this scene, painted by Mihai and Çtefan
Zugravu, there are tambourines, a canun, and serpent trumpets,
accompanying groups clapping their hands or dancing in a round
dance.

Moses appears in the scene representing God's covenant

with Israel, or the scene of the ten commandments: "As the
sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and
God answered him in thunder" (Exodus, XIX: 19). The image is
painted in the Miraci church in Suceava, erected in 1380 by
Petre Mu§at and recently redecorated in neo-Byzantine style. It
appears as if the new decoraters respected the original iconogra-
phy, although the inscriptions are in Romanian, in total contrast
to the time when they used to be written out in Slavonic. In this
scene, two angels blow their straight trumpets, and in an adjoin-
ing scene Salomon is erecting God's temple accompanied by the
sounds of a serpent trumpet and maybe a lute (alauta).
The Virgin with the Child and the Pantocrator are perma-
nent images in Orthodox churches, while in Moldavia scenes
taken from the life of Jesus (the Mockery, the Via Crucis, and
the Crucifixion) are more frequent.
3. A shepherd with the cavai in the scene of the Bi
In the narthex of the Humor church (erected by Petru Rare§,
Church in Sãraca-Timiç (1730).
1530) the scene of the Birth of Christ includes a long and rather
strange-looking shepherd's pipe (cavai). A different representa-
we have a fascinating representation of Psalm
richness of instruments: two serpent trumpets
canuns (a sort of / ambal , an instrument with
rectagonal resonance box and metal strings pla
hammers), and drums. In the upper register we ha
of the Creation: Adam blowing a huge fife, su
animals that came together at his call. It may well
scene represents Psalm 148, which says: "Moun
hills, fruit trees and all cedars! Beasts and all ca
things and flying birds! Kings of the earth an
princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men
together, old men and children! Let them praise th
Lord."

The Psalms are often illustrated in Moldavia and Walachia,

and musical instruments are often those specifically mentioned
in the biblical text. In the burial chapel of the Sucevi{a church,
the Crossing of the Red Sea is pictured by the transposition of
Psalm 15 to the Exodus: "Then Miriam, the prophetess, the
sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in hej: hand; and all the women
went out after her with timbrels and dancing. And Miriam sang
to them: 'Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously'."
4. Seizing of Christ. Chruch of St. Ilie Suceave (1488).

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 RIdlM/RCMI Newsletter XXII/ 1 Spring 1997

5. Seizing of Christ. Church in Dragomima (1602-09).

in the manner
tion of the pipe, included in the same of the paintingis
context, fromin
Dobrovãt,
the the church
arrangement
of figures
in Saraca-Timi§ (painted 1730) [fig. 3]. and their movement sharing the same features [fig. 8].
The scene of the Seizing of ChristIn thewhich
nave of the Moldovija
includes church, the painting includes a
trumpets
and cymbals (talgere), is painted in the church of bugle,
tambourine, a trumpet, and probably a short St. while
Iliethe
dance looks very much like the
Suceava (1488) [fig. 4] and possibly in the Patrauji church, both one from Sucevija.
commissioned by Stephen the Great, Feastson scenes
of include Salome's Dance
Bogdan (Sucevi{a church,the
Voivode, in
the upper register), or the
Prince of Moldavia. This would be "the first accomplishment ofFeast of Herod, where Salome dances
the iconographie program specific to theto
sound Moldavian
of trumpets and drums. In the porch of the §ube§ti-
churches",12
and according to Tiberiu Alexandru, Muscel
the church in Walachia (painted
painting, in 1783), the Marriage
restored in the at
Cana is scene
eighteenth century, is similar to the depicted withfrom
a very original
the ensemble which includes
sixteenth
century in the St. George Church fifes, canun, and cinele. On the in
in Nagoričano partially destroyed painting in
Macedonia.
the Fundenii Doamnei
The Via Crucis is a scene specific to the mural paintingschurch in Bucure§ti (also decorated
induring
Moldavia, sometimes becoming thethe 18th century),of
center it appears
the that,whole
among the characters
compo- present
at the feast given at the
sition, as in the case of the St. Cross-Pátrauji rich man's house trumpeters
church.13 In the and
drummers were initially included.
paintings at the Bucovãf church, the St. Nicholas church in Bãli-
ne§ti (1493), 14 and the Arnota church In a rural enviroment, wherethe
(1633-36), the socialscene
context is different,
in-
cludes trumpets. At the Dragomirna we have several representations
church (erected of the parable
byofAnasta-
the Prodigal
sie Crimea, and Luca and Simion Stroici in 1602,
Son, who is making then
merry with his friends todecorated
the sound of fiddle
in 1609), the first episode of themusic.Via It seems
Crucis that thisincludes
scene is characteristic
serpent of Moldavian
trumpets and two groups of soldiers painting. At the southern wall
surrounding of the Arbore
Christ in the church, people
perform the round
center [fig. 5]. In the nave of the Humor dance to the
church, thesound of a serpent
scene hastrumpet and
the same symmetrical arrangement probably
and a a large
cobza. Atnumber
the same time,of up instru-
on the hillside, the
brother of the prodigal
ments (drums and trumpets), reminding one of son isthe
sorrowfully blowing his horn
Dobrovãt
church [figs. 6 and 7]. The Via Crucis
(corn). At theresembles again
Humor church, although the is in bad
the painting
ceremony from Petru Rareç's time.shape, a groupsecond
In the of dancers accompanied
register by aof
violin and a serpent
the
left apse in the Sucevija church, the scene
trumpet can be seems to
identified. On thebe conceived
northern wall of the Voronet

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Spring 1997 RIdIM/RCMI Newsletter XXII/1

6. Seizing of Christ. Church in Dobrovãt (1503).

church, the very faded painting thestill

scene of allows
the Last Judgment,
one painted
to see in theachurches
round of On-
dance, with the movement of the ce§ti and
legsCrasna, an angel blows
clearly a huge trumpet calling people
distinguishable.
However, instruments can no longerto judgment.be At the
seen Sîrbi-Joseni
in thoseChurch, two archangels hold
paintings.
trumpets in their hands,
Besides these scenes, medieval music iconography in Roma- in resting positions. A trumpet also
appears in the Mockery scene,
nia includes a series of others which, more or less incidentally, painted in the nave of the Vatra
Moldovijei church.
represent characters holding musical instruments. For instance,
Wind instruments.of
at Filipe§tiide Pãdure, Prahova, a depiction After an overview
the Parable of the main
ofscenes,
the
which usually include
Talents includes a picture of a trumpeter wind instruments,
{trimbi¡a§) [fig.an analysis of those
9]. The
porch of the Sucevija church images hasseems to be in order. Fifes
a special ( surle ) appear frequently
significance in and
Romanian musical iconography, the players -many
since the titers - of
are present
theinimages ensembles accompanying
there
are unique. On the right-handfeasts, side,in cavalcades,
there and are
in battle scenes.
six The surla is a
archangels
primitive oboe,
blowing long trumpets, with flared similar to
bells. Tothe Oriental
the best zurna, made
ofof our
a single
knowledge, such an ensemblepiece of wood,
does with aappear
not flared bell and
inseven or eightother
any finger holes,
Romanian mural painting. the last of them being placed at the back of the pipe, between the
two upper
An extremely interesting image holes.15
regarding the freedom of
expression and of the presence of Inthebiblical texts trumpets are
folkloric mentioned inin
element the reli-
context of
battles, worship,
gious mural painting, is the image or feasts. They
in Olari, have different
Vîlcea shapes, butin
(painted most
1729). On the outer walls of thefrequently
church are inathe shape of the
round letter S, or
dance is"twisted
depict-all around,
like the number eight".16
ed, accompanied by a serpent trumpet, a keman,The fact thatandthe Bible
maybeof 1688, the
a
drum. Below, there is an image first
of translation
a bear of the Bible into
dancing to Romanian,
the sound mentions the
of a dairea (a sort of tambourine withledmetal
Russian trumpet circles,
to the idea that used
the instrument to
is of Russian
mark the rhythm). These scenes origin.
areYet, there is a Romanian
certainly trumpet as well,
connected andjust asthe
there
is also a Polish version
originality of the latter is indisputable, althoughmentioned initconnection
can also with the be
seen at Bogdãnesti-Gura Vãii. procession that accompanies Constantin Duca Vodã into exile. It
The interiors of some wooden churches are decorated with seems that almost all the instruments in the trumpet group used
scenes from the Bible, where we find the same instruments: into be called by their generic name "rîmbite" which persists today

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 RIdlM/RCMI Newsletter XXII/ 1 Spring 1997

7. Seizing of Christ. Church in Dobrovãt.

8. Via Crucis. Church in Dobrovãf

comes from "trombica"

in the texts of traditional songs (some nanded in Slavonic,
down circulated in forms "trîm-
from time
immemorial). The same Romanian biîa" word "rîmbiîa"isused
and "trãmbitã". in the
The instrument bucium can be straight,
Highlands of Northern Transylvania crooked,toor inlaid
designate
with metal, while the
a sort
trímbitã can
ofbe cone-
bugle
( bucium ). To describe the playing ofstraight,
shaped, thecrooked,
bucium, either of the
twisted, or coiling.18
two verbs can be used: "a buciuma" From or "a
Coresi's trîmbiîa".
Psaltirea As
, produced in 1570, we far
find out that as
these two instruments are concerned, Grigore Ureche's writings
at that time there existed only bugles with horns ( bucium cu
provide certain confirmation that the
com). Thebugle
term "bucium"and the trumpet
was sometimes used to designate thewere
individualized as far back as thehornlate{corn) as well, both instruments being trumpets. It seems is
fifteenth century. It
mentioned here that Stephen the that
Greatthe phraseis said
"bucire to
de cornu" have
mentioned decided
in the Schei Psalter
"to lure the Turks with bugles and trumpets
was used giving out battle
to designate a horn.19
signals".17 The siege of the city of Jericho is described in the
As far as bagpipes ( cimpoi ) were concerned, Coresi wrote
Bible as follows: "The people shouted as the horns were plown.
in his version of the Four Gospels: "I played the bagpipe
When the people heard the blare of the trumpets, they shouted
(cimpoiat-am) for you and you did not dance to its music."
with a loud acclaim." (Joshua 6,20). A specific reference to
Eliade Rãdulescu claimed that the bagpipe was, in fact, a fife
seven trumpets of rams' horns is made here. This terminological
(surlã). However, in a painting in the Brãdiceni church (1832),
confusion, which still persists, might have its origin in the
there is a bagpipe together with a violin. According to Lucilia
ambiguity of the translations that have sometimes made use of
Georgescu, a reference dating back to 1725 talks about "lads that
terms known only in limited regions. Still, the verb "a buciuma"
were swimming in the Prut with a girl on their back and were
is used for playing the bucium, but one uses both verbs "a
playing a cobuz" . The author considers the instrument called
buciuma" and "a trîmbiîa" for playing the trîmbiîa. In any case,
here a cobuz, to be in fact, a bagpipe, since "kobza" in Polish,
it is certain that the Romanian word "bucium" is etymologically
Ruthenian, and Russian means both a sheep or a goat and the
derived from the Latin word "bucinum", and this name has been
instrument, which got its name after the bag made from the skin
circulating in several forms: "buciu",
of these animals. "buceu", "bucinu",
"bucim", or "bucium", while the Romanian word "trîmbiîa"

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 Spring 1997

other icon before did

Mateu Strikowski speaks in we seehis
the panpipe, which is so cherished
writings of th
correct translation of by the
the Romanian word
people and which isbeing
never absent frombagpipe
the r
boy ars' folk bands, we are rightly led
as it appears in the translation of to believe that the painter,
Bogdan Petri
deeds of famous people are
choosing not to follow celebrated
the guidelines of Erminia , took as a guide by so
violins ( viori ), lutes
and for (< aläute
effect, the ),played
folk music bands which cobze,
at the feasts and
mistakenly started out of his time."21
from Still, Tiberiuthe
Alexandru informs
phonetic us that the term equiv
"muscala" is mentioned in the Bucure§ti Bible:
kobza/cobzã. Petriceicu-Ha§deu's "ney" or "nay"
statement is a
fact that, at the time,in Persian,
theArabic and bagpipe
Turkish means reed flute, was the panpipe very p
courts.20 Miron Costin being indeed a member of the pipe family.
mentions The term was to
bagpipes at t
Vodã (1591-1594) with replacethe
the initial name
bag of museal, coming from Orientalin urçin
dressed
from Italy. languages, as "miskal", "musikar", "musical", "musqau" all
The flute (fluier) played by a shepherd appears often in the meant panpipe; more than that, in Persian, "nay mus" means
Nativity scenes (the Doamnei church in Bucure§ti, and the panpipe.22
Humor cnurch). In the Balce§ti church, the flute is included in
the context of Abraham's Sacrifice. In Psalm 150, believers are Percussion instruments. Drums ( tîmpene ) includes a large
urged to praise the Lord "with strings and pipe ( cavai )". The number of percussion instruments: kettledrums (i timpane ), small
etymological origin of the Romanian word "fluier" is uncertain. drums hanging from the neck ( t obit e ), two-headed drums beaten
It has been associated with words "fl'oere", "fl'ojere", and simultaneously with a mallet and a stick ( tobe cu donä fe¡e),
"fuel" from the Albanian, which are considered an autochtho- dairea, etc. Various terms designating these instruments ( tîmpi -
nous pre-Roman term attested to both by the phonetic quality of ne , tâmpine, tãmpane , tîmpanele) derived from the Slavonic
the word and the fact that it was borrowed by other languages. word "timpanu" or the Latin "tympanum".23 These percussion
Proof that painters of the biblical scenes were not willing to instruments in ensembles with trumpets are used to play "Chris-
completely accept the church tradition is the presence of a tian music for the princes, being also present in the military
panpipe with a row of seven to eight pipes in the painting of St. brass bands of the time" . The scenes in which the painters have
John the Baptist, in the deserted church in Ostrovi-Greci. included percussion instruments are the Mockery of Christ,
Constantin Bobulescu said about this painting that "because in no David's Psalms, the Bringing of the Ark of God (the church of

9. The Parable of the Talents. Church in Filipeçtii de Pãdure.

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RIdlM/RCMI Newsletter XXII/ 1

Cetã{uia-Ia§i) or the Arta veche romäneascä

Crossing of athe Banatului (Timi§oara,
Red 1980) 64.
Sea.
2 Geofroi dea
The Via Crucis recreates Villehardoin,
sort Histoire
of des croisades
princely , mentioned in proce
Octavian Lazar Cosma, Hronicul
mounted soldiers and trumpets. The muzicii romàne§ti. I : Epoca
Mockery of C
strãveche, veche§imedievalà
is pictured in most Moldavian churches, (Bucure§ti: Editura Muzicalã,
is someti1973)
to the Via Crucis, and
133. the painting in Dobr
indicative along these lines.
3 Simion Christ
Dascãlul, Letopiseful appears
Tàrii Moldovei pìnà la Aron Vodà , su
soldiers; some of them are thrusting
of
cf. ibid., 150. the crown
holy forehead and others dance in grotesque
4 Jean de Wavrin in the 1445 Chronicle, cf. ibid., 150. posit
nied by drums, kettledrums, serpent trumpets, ta
5 Nicolae Costin, Domnia lui loan Vodà , cf. ibid., 150.
dairea. The scene in the Dragomirna church is sim
one in the nave of the 6 "When
Moldo the prince vi{a
of Moldaviachurch
came, the princely Moldavian
includes
bugles sounded", cf.
a trumpet, and a short bugle. The same instrument ibid. 150.
princely feast in 7 Ibid. , 150.
honor of St. George, the pa
Moldavia. 8 Radu Popescu, Istoria domnilor Tãrii Romãnesti, cf. ibid., 240
9 Ibid., 241.
Unfortunately, many Romanian monuments depicting instru-
10 Ibid.
ments have been destroyed, mural paintings have been covered
11 Ibid. 243.
with new layers of paint or have been whitewashed, and the
1 2 Tiberiu Alexandru, Privire istoricã asupra instrumentelor
initial pictures have thus disappeared. Some monuments have
de tradire oralä din Tarile Romanesti, manuscript ob
been restored in an unsatisfactory way, severely damaging the
courtesy of the Uniunea Compozitorilor din Romania, 14
valuable initial paintings. Still, we can confidently claim that the
13 The scene is painted on the western wall of the narthe
outside walls of churches also carried paintings in the thirteenth
the door.
century. Proof of this, for instance, are the remnants of mural
14 The church in Bãline§ti was painted inside and outside by Gavril
painting that can be seen on the southern walls of the Strei
church in Hunedoara. Ieromonahul, one of the most famous Romanian medieval artists.

Interior walls of sacred buildings were decorated from very Together with the church in Voronet, its decoration is the richest
and best-preserved dating from the time of Stephen the Great.
early times; in Walachia, the earliest preserved one is in Corbii
de Piatrã-Arge§, a monument that we owe to Basarab I the Corina Nicolescu, Monumente bisericeçti din Mitropolia Moldovei
Founder. The princely church of St. Nicholas, which has the §i Sucevei (Ia§i: Editura Mitropoliei Moldovei §i Sucevei, 1974)
131.
most majestic mural compositions created in the classic Byzan-
tine style, was added to this church around the middle of the15 The surlã used in the 1930s by the group Junii Bra§ovului is
fourteenth century. mentioned by Ion Mu§lea in Obiceiurile junilor braçoveni (Cluj,
1930). This instrument has six finger holes, is made of a bronze-
Still-preserved monuments reveal splendid mural paintings
created centuries ago and confirm, on the one hand, a permanent like alloy, and is 35 cm long with a bell diameter of 11.5 cm. It

concern for erecting and decorating churches which lasted from is equipped with a double reed called "ftifazä". Cf. Tiberiu
the thirteenth to the nineteenth century, and on the other hand, Alexandru, op. cit., 31 . Alexandru states that the surlä was used

the power and originality of their painters, frequently influenced for a long time in military bands together with drums.
by artists of the Western Renaissance. Being placed at the 16 Constantin Bobulescu, Lãutari §i hori în pictura bisericilor
crossroads of three major sources of inspiration, in addition to noastre (Bucure§ti, 1940) 55.
specific elements of provincial sites, Romanian mural painting 17 T. Alexandru, op. cit., 14-18.
has been constituted into an original art, which has unequivocally
18 Ibid. , 17.
imposed its personal, authentic note that can be seen in its
19 C. Bobulescu, op. cit. 56.
essence all over the country. The monuments in Transylvania,
Walachia, and Moldavia thus proved once again the unity 20 ofLucilia Georgescu. "Relaya läutä-cobzä în pictura mînâstiriler din
Moldova de Nord", Revista de folclor XII/2 (1967) 133-145.
thought and sensitivity that characterized the whole history of the
Romanian people. 21 C. Bobulescu, op. cit., 55.
22 T. Alexandru, op. cit., 25.
Notes 23 "Extremely valuable from an artistic and historical point of view,
the paintings here also constitute the first remarkable achievement
of the Moldavian school of painting, which started developing
* The complementary article, focusing on the string instruments in
strongly together with the inauguration by Stephen the Great of
Romanian mural paintings, was published in this Newsletter XIX/2
his major construction campaign", Corina Nicolescu, Monumen-
(fall 1994) 54-65.
te..., 48.
1 "The painting was not conceived of as an ornament, but it was
24 Vasile Drãguj, Pictura muralâ în Transilvania (Bucure§ti: Editura
'something written' at the beginning, only inscriptions, translated
Meridiane, 1970) 19.
as early as the first centuries into images that illustrated the ritual
of burial and pictured hymns and prayers". loan D. Stefänescu,

30

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