The Odyssey o f a Lost and Found Oratorio

Stelian Ionașcu
2018 Altarul reîntregirii  
A b str a c t: Following a tough dispute arisen between the composer Paul Constantinescu and the Byzantinist Pbr. I.D. Petrescu, long-time colleagues in the artistic field -a dispute intensively publicized in the musical milieux -the composer made a firm announcement according to which he had ju st destroyed an impressive score, Passion and Resurrection (Byzantine Easter Oratorio), outgrowth o f a collaboration between the two o f them. Given the fa c t that this polemic was related to the
more » ... rship o f the Oratorio, one can only imagine how deep must have been the tragedy born by Paul Constantinescu, so that he made the radical decision to 'burn' a work to which he had dedicated his vigour and artistical virtuosity fo r more than a decade! Paul Constantinescu rewrote the Oratorio, eliminating from the new version any contribution o f Father Petrescu. Nevertheless, and despite the fa c t that all the influent niche media unanimously disseminated this piece o f information and even the composer's closest friends strongly confirmed the destruction o f the first version o f the oratorio, 70 years after the unfortunate conflict, the score was discovered safe and sound in the Library o f UCMR (Union o f the Composers and Musicologists in Romania* 1 ), proving to have miraculously survived, ju st like baby Moses in the basket, sent adrift * PhD, Lecturer, Faculty o f Orthodox Theology "Patriarch Justinian" Bucharest.
doi:10.29302/ar.2018.1.6 fatcat:mv4ppfzohfaobbflroikx6wxg4