Endnote 2 – Sung Sermons

The standard Greek texts of Romanos are those of Paul Mass and Constantine A. Trypanis, Sancti Romani Melodi Cantica: Cantica Genuina (Oxford: Clarendon, 1963); and Grosdidier de Matons, Romanos le Mélode: Hymnes I–V (Paris: Cerf, 1964–1981) (= Sources Chrétiennes 99, 110, 114, 120, 283); in this edition there is an introduction to each kontakion and a French translation facing the Greek text. The English translations of Marjorie Carpenter, Kontakia of Romanos, Byzantine Melodist I–II (Columbia: Univ. of Missouri Press, 1970–1973) are unfortunately quite inaccurate and awkward; they are out of print. See my article, “The Sung Sermon,” Worship 47 (1973), pp. 527–539, for an introduction to the topic and a version of “The Passion of Christ” (Trypanis, Sancti Romani Melodi 20; Grosdidier de Matons, Romanos le Mélode 36).