John Koukouzelis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Koukouzelis
|
|
|---|---|
St. John Koukouzelis depicted on a 15th-century musical codex at the Great Lavra Monastery, Mount Athos, Greece.
|
|
| Born | |
| Education | Constantinople |
| Occupation | Singer, composer |
| Known for | Reformer of Byzantine music |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church |
John Koukouzelis (Greek: Ιωάννης Κουκουζέλης, Ioannis Koukouzelis; fl. c. 1300–50) (Albanian: Jan Kukuzeli ) was a Byzantine composer, singer and reformer of Byzantine chant. He was recognized as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church after his death. Among the most illustrious musicians of the Palaiologos dynasty, his music remains held in high esteem by Albanians, Bulgarians, Greeks, Macedonians, Romanians and Serbs.
Life and career
Koukouzelis was born in Dyrrhachium (modern-day Durrës, Albania) in the late 13th century to a father of unknown origins (conjectured citation) and a Bulgarian mother. He was orphaned in childhood.
Koukouzelis' last name is allegedly derived either from the Greek word for broad beans (κουκιά, koukia) or the Albanian word for Red (Kuqe, arb. Cuccia) and a Slavic word for cabbage (зеле, zele).
At a young age, he was noted and accepted into the school at the imperial court at Constantinople, where he received his education and established himself as one of the leading authorities in his field during the time. A favourite of the Byzantine emperor and a principal choir chanter, he moved to Mount Athos and led a monastic way of life in the Great Lavra. Because of his singing abilities, he was called "Angel-voiced".
Musical style and compositions
Koukouzelis established a new melodious ("kalophonic") style of singing out of the sticherarion. Some years after the fall of Constantinople Manuel Chrysaphes characterised the sticheron kalophonikon and the anagrammatismos as new genres of psaltic art which were once created by John Koukouzelis.
Sainthood and legacy
Koukouzelis is regarded as the most influential figure in the music of his period. He was later recognized as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church, his feast day being on 1 October.
A musical school in his native Durrës bears his name, Shkolla Jon Kukuzeli. Also, Kukuzel Cove in Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica is named after Koukouzelis, using the Slavic form of his name.
