Gh.Ciobanu is one of the most prolific Moldovan composers from the last 20 years.
Through his interest in different cultures and periods of music art, his creation fits perfectly
into postmodern context which combines the heritage of the past and present-day openness to
new trends. This article analyses his "Cântări uitate sau închinare lui Dosoftei" work
("Forgotten chants or praise to Dosoftei"), for voice and instrumental ensemble. The creation
is a monocycle, a series of 7 episodes which reflect the rich personality of Metropolitan
Dosoftei – as theologian, poet, statesman, philosopher. In order to describe the environment
Dosoftei lived in, the composer uses the modalism and the monody characteristic to
Romanian folklore and Byzantine music. The voice and the clarinet are used as Dosoftei's ego
and alter-ego because the clarinet "gives a voice" to everything that can't be expressed in
words, including those ideas and feelings (theologian, poet, philosopher) that can't be
expressed due to social circumstances of the XVII century. It is due to this reason that the
clarinet part is much more personalized and suggestive than the voice track.
