see end of review for track listing
Musica Antiqua Serbiana/Vera Zlokovich
rec. date and location not specified
No texts included
MERIDIAN CDE84543 [62:06]
The political changes in Europe in the late 1980s which resulted
in the dismantling of the Eastern Bloc had all sorts of implications
and these extended to the world of music. Musicians who lived
in relative isolation all of a sudden had access to sources outside
their own realm, and could become acquainted with the new insights
into performance practice. On the other hand, the West learnt
about developments in a part of the globe they mostly didn't
know, and the results of research on the musical past of that
part of the continent of which they were not aware.
Musicians in Eastern European states sometimes had to confine
themselves to delving into the musical heritage of their own country.
In some cases this was encouraged by the regimes: the awareness
of a rich cultural heritage could unite the people whereas the
state ideology more and more lost its appeal. After the fall of
the Iron Curtain and as part of the process of growth towards
independence interest in local history and culture increased.
In this way people could become more aware of their national identity.
The last decade of the 20th century has shown that interest in
national heritage had its drawbacks, and that notion is especially
relevant as this disc is devoted to music from the Balkans, in
particular Serbia. One cannot read the words of Bishop Danilo
Krstic in the booklet without thinking of the role of the Serbian
Orthodox Church in the war at the Balkans. Milena Miloradovic,
music editor of Serbian radio and television, states in her liner-notes
that "every well-educated singer is a precious bloom in the
Orthodox garden adding colour, but above all promoting faith and
love among people". I will say no more about that.
This disc is devoted to the early stages of Orthodox liturgical
music. These are not that well-known to other than insiders, and
certainly not in the Western part of Europe, let alone elsewhere.
It is a great thing that the fruits of research such as that by
Vera Zlokovich are made available to a wider public. However,
it is a real shame that this comes without any documentation about
the nature of the chants, their place in the liturgy or even the
time of the ecclesiastical year for which they were written. The
texts would have given clues in regard to the latter, but these
are omitted as well. Instead we get a biography - not particularly
objective at that - of Vera Zlokovich and her ensemble and a description
of her activities. This is all very interesting, but not half
as fascinating as the music. That is what I would like to know
more about.
Almost all of these pieces are monophonic. We are not talking
about a single voice alone here. Most of the pieces are performed
by a solo voice, sometimes in alternation with chorus, singing
over a kind of ‘bourdon’ taken by a choir. The rear
inlay indicates that all the pieces are arranged. I would like
to know in what way they have been arranged. Considering the differences
in region and time there is a remarkable stylistic similarity
among the items here and this bears witness to the strength of
the tradition and the relative isolation in which these chants
were sung.
That isolation makes it all the more surprising that some chants
reminded me of liturgical music in Western Europe, especially
the so-called 'Notre Dame School', which is associated
with composers like Perotinus and Leoninus. That goes in particular
for Ize heruvimi - a chant from Bulgaria (track 15).
This piece dates from the 17th century - one again a token of
the strength of the tradition of Orthodox liturgical music. Another
piece which shows some similarity to the organa of the
Notre Dame School, is the Russian chant Blazen muz, also
from the 17th century. The disc ends with a polyphonic piece,
Allilosa.
This is all fascinating stuff. Listening to these chants raises
many questions but the booklet doesn't answer any of them.
Therefore: more of this repertoire, please, but this time let’s
have some useful background information.
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
https://twitter.com/johanvanveen
Track listing
anon (8th Century)
Anastaseus Hemera [2:09]
ROMANOS the Melodist (6th Century)
He Parthenos Semeron [4:03]
anon (15th Century)
Encomion eis tas treis Statias [7:10]
anon (14th Century)
Christos anestié [1:43]
[Chant of archaic Serbia]
ISAIAH the Serb (15th Century)
Agios o Theos [2:38]
anon (14th Century)
Spasi, Gospodi [2:05]
Kyr STEPHEN the Serb (14th/15th Century)
Vkusite [2:42]
JOACHIM the Serb (13th Century)
Alleluia [1:42]
anon (Greacus) (13th/14th Century)
Zeni mironosici [1:58]
NICOLAS the Serb (15th Century)
Blagosoven jesi, Hriste Boze nas [2:05] Kyr STEPHEN the
Serb
Ize Heruvimi [3:45]
[Two traditional chants from Karlovci]
anon (17th Century)
Cto Tebje prinesem, Hriste [2:19]
anon (18th Century)
Volsvi Persidstvi [3:39]
[Old Bulgarian music]
anon (17th Century)
Velicaj, duse moja [2:12]
anon (17th Century)
Ize heruvimi [5:02]
anon (16th Century)
Svjatij Boze [2:29]
[The early Russian prayer]
anon (16th Century)
Blazen muz [1:39]
anon (15th Century)
Ize heruvimi [2:46]
anon (17th Century)
Svjete tihij [2:00]
anon (5th Century)
Allilosa [2:58]
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