Aspects of musical life in Bessarabian culture seen by foreigners. Documentary accounts from the XIX century

Th e subject addressed exposes some considerations regarding the musical culture of Bessarabia in the XIX century recorded in literary documents, which come from outside the country. Th e analytical selection is based on the information reported by foreign observers – military, ambassadors, historians, biographers, memorialists, etc. In the extracts from the studied sources, we highlight the fl uency of musical manifestations in the time period we are dealing with, the dominants and the bearers, some of their facets, which, as we move towards the next century, will change in form and content, foreshadowing an evolutionary path, which will create premises for the affi rmation of professionalism in Bessarabian musical art. We also discuss the intensifi cation of the artistic dialogue with the European cultural space, its benefi cial confl uences and infl uences. It is true that those, who visited Bessarabia on diff erent occasions, recorded data about the presence and variety of music in the administrative center of the province in their descriptions. However, these notes are not enough to reproduce the complexity of musical life in the entire space to the left of the Prut. Th e interpretive approach combines new elements, bringing to attention the valuable and historical dimension of the national music and, at the same time, makes some additions to the artistic past in our country with the intention of putting little or not at all known to the reader documents into the scientifi c circuit.