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Byzantine music is today, in Romania, undergoing a profound process of rediscovery and revival, after approximately 130 years marked by political changes which, more often than not, exerted a negative influence upon the life of the Orthodox Church and its culture. This return to the psaltic chant of Byzantine tradition, in order to be fully embraced, requires a thorough understanding of the historical events and of the sinuous path which, on many occasions, endangered the very practice of this ecclesiastical music...

The reign of Alexandru Ioan Cuza (1859–1866) marked the onset of profound political, social, and ecclesiastical transformations within the Romanian Principalities, characterized by accelerated modernization and Westernization, as well as a deliberate transfer of power from Church to state. These measures will have a direct impact on Church culture, including musical culture. The early decades of the 20th century continued this process of Westernization in Romanian church music, amidst a gradual erosion of the oral...