I put on a CD today, with hymns chanted by the Choir of the Russian Church in Ennismore Gardens, London. I so vividly remember this church; it's the place where I used to go every Sunday when I was studying in London, some thirteen (!) years ago.
The music chanted in that church was not, of course, byzantine music, nor was it a typical four-part Russian choir. I am afraid I don't know exactly the origins of this music, but for sure, it was not "set" music (written in full, I mean) but was chanted quite freely, mostly based on certain "modes" which were different every Sunday (quite like the byzantine music). The choirmaster at the time was Fr Michael Fortunato, a very talented musician, an inspiring director, and an excellent tenor with the sweetest voice.
The music could seem monotonous to those not familiar with its quality; but to me, it could convey the solemnity and spiritual depth of the meanings and of the prayers. There were no strict tempo or rythm indications, which gave the melody a certain freedom of movement, quite unlike anything else I'd heard before.
Now I haven't been to Ennismore Gardens for many years. I know that things have changed dramatically (it's a long and sad story), and I wonder if the music has remained the same. More than a decade after I used to go there, all that I have as a reminescance of this beautiful choir, is this CD, that I bought some years ago... I feel always quite moved when I listen to it...
I've written quite a few times about the Russian pianist Arcadi Volodos. I believe he is one of the really great pianists of our time. I was fortunate enough to hear him live in London, where he performed Prokofiev 2nd Concerto - it was a superb performance. (I always wonder why didn't he ever record this concerto?...)
Anyway, I want to say a few words about his transcriptions, and in particular his latest one - Thaikovsky's "lullaby in a storm" which he played/recorded in his Vienna recital. As I've written in the past, when you write a transcription you must have in mind the instrument you are writing for - its sound and its capacities. Volodos is well aware of that, that is why his transcriptions are, in my view, very succesful from a pianistic point of view. His latest one, I believe it's probably his best - definitely more mature that the others. It somehow goes deeper than the previous ones, in terms of richness of sound and atmosphere. Volodos takes full advantage of the piano's inherent capacities; he also enriches the score with a multi-dimentional melodic line (one can easily see Rachmaninoff's influence here). The result is a wonderful piece which does not "look" like a transcription at all... I would very much like to play this piece but I cannot find the score!
Last weekend, I went to a remote Greek mountain village called Artotina. It is really in the middle of nowhere, inhabited by thirty or so people during the winter and many more during August.... This, sadly, seems to be the fate of so many Greek villages - to be deserted except for one month a year. I realised that by simply being there, one gets a clear and distinct feeling of spiritual (and intellectual) freshness. Yet it seems that we (I, at least) are so affected by the busyness of city-life that such feeling cannot and does not last for much longer than a couple of hours after one returns.
No music up there! One evening, we went up to the top (almost!) of the mountain, where I experienced the sound of silence. One could only hear the smooth whistling of the wind accompanied sweetly by the goat bells. Being exposed to so much music throughout the year, I felt that this very "music", this echo of eternity, had a cathartic effect over me... This picture is from there, 1, 800 metres up....
I've written before about byzantine music but these days I have a very good reason to say a few more things... This music is very different to the western music, for sure, not only in terms of notation, rules etc, but also (and most importantly) in terms of the essense and style of the music; byzantine music does not have any dynamics signs (piano, forte and the like). Often, there is not even a tempo indication (though there is always a rhythm); the qualities of this music are not easily accessible to the listener, one has to discover the inner beauty of this music, the aim of which is to facilitate prayer, not to distract the heart and/or the mind therefrom. We should never forget that this music is, first and foremost, a music to be heard only in the church, during a service - not in a concert hall or for any other occasion. So this music is addressed not to an audience but to God.
For the Orthodox Church, the 15th of August is dedicated to the feast of the Dormition of the Virgin. This is not the place to explain what that means (a google search is enough for anyone interested). What I wanted to say is that, for that feast there is a troparion, a doxastikon dedicated to the Mother of God, which, in my view is possibly the best thing ever composed (by Petros Lambadarios) for that music. The really interesting thing is that this doxastikon is not written in one "mode" but uses all 8 musical "modes" that byzantine music consists of. So, every verse introduces a new sound, and, on that respect, this music is the best introduction to the character and difference of these modes. Here is this doxastikon, performed by the Hellenic Byzantine Choir (as I have said, in my view, the best byzantine choir nowadays) and directed by Lykourgos Angelopoulos - a person who has dedicated his life to researching and teaching this music... The words of this doxastikon: Greek: Θεαρχίω νεύματι, πάντοθεν οι θεοφόροι Απόστολοι, υπό νεφών μεταρσίως αιρόμενοι, καταλαβόντες τό πανάχραντον, καί ζωαρχικόν σου σκήνος, εξόχως ησπάζοντο.Αι δέ υπέρτατοι τών ουρανών Δυνάμεις, σύν τώ οικείω Δεσπότή παραγενόμεναι, τό θεοδόχον καί ακραιφνέστατον σώμα προπέμπουσι, τώ δέει κρατούμεναι, υπερκοσμίως δέ προώχοντο, καί αοράτως εβόων, ταίς ανωτέραις ταξιαρχίαις, ιδού η παντάνασσα θεόπαις παραγέγονεν.Άρατε πύλας, καί ταύτην υπερκοσμίως υποδέξασθε, τήν τού αενάου φωτός Μητέρα. Διά ταύτης γάρ η παγγενής τών βροτών σωτηρία γέγονεν, ή ατενίζειν ουκ ισχύομεν, καί ταύτη άξιον γέρας απονέμειν αδύνατον. Ταύτης γάρ τό υπερβάλλον, υπερέχει πάσαν έννοιαν. Διό άχραντε Θεοτόκε, αεί σύν ζωηφόρω Βασιλεί, καί τόκω ζώσα, πρέσβευε διηνεκώς, περιφρουρήσαι καί σώσαι, από πάσης προσβολής εναντίας τήν νεολαίαν σου. Tήν γάρ σήν προστασίαν κεκτήμεθα. Εις τούς αιώνας, αγλαοφανώς μακαρίζοντες.
And an English translation: With a sign by the authority of God, the god-bearing Apostles, having been delivered upon clouds from all around the world and having reached your immaculate and life-delivering body, venerated it resplendently.And the sublime Forces of the Heavens, present along with our Lord, escorted your god-receiving and impeccable relic, filled with awe, preceeding the heavenly procession and resounding invisibly to the Higher Battalions:"Behold, the Queen of all, who bore the God-child, has arrived! Raise the Gates and welcome her celestially, her, the Mother of the eternal Light! Through her came about the deliverance of the entire genre of the mortals. And to gaze upon her surpasses our powers, nor is it possible to offer her a Praise worthy enough. For her excessive glory surmounts every perception."Immaculate Mother of God, you who forever lives along with your life-giving King and son, intercede always so that your people shall be protected and delivered from every assault. For we have been gifted with your protection. Unto the ages of ages, we bless you in all your radiant glory.
On the youtube link here below, one can have an idea of the byzantine notation as well...
Can you believe it? I started looking at the score today! To be honest, I had practiced the piece many years ago but I always hesitated to play it in public for the reasons exposed yesterday. But this time, I have a feeling that something might come out... Yet one can immediately see that this study requires very special technical skills - especially in order to achieve good and even tremolandi. I also realised that I need to learn the score by heart asap - you risk playing too many wrong notes otherwise. I am quite curious to see what will come out of this...
By the way, the best performance of the piece I 've ever heard is by Kissin. Unfortunately, I could not find it on youtube; it's an extraordinary recording, one that really goes beyond a "good" or even an "excellent" performance. Kissin does so many interesting and original things and in such a persuasive way. The way, for instance, he achieves the chromatic "wave-effect" around the middle of the piece, is quite unparalleled. I do admire him just for this 3 minutes recording...
I've just listened to an excellent rendering of my beloved etude by Lizst. It's by Berezovsky and it's a live recording from his recital in Roque d'Anthéron (I must say I don't really like this hall). What I liked in this performance is the sustained pathos, the inner energy and the vast richness of his sound-palette. Especially towards the end of the study (last page), one can really sense this infinite, unbearable nostalgy.
I so much want to play this etude; yet it requires such an emotional sacrifice that I am not sure I can offer! Technically it is hard, of course (though not the hardest of the set). But, interpretation wise, I believe it's one of the most difficult. It's one of these pieces one can study forever... (it does sound a bit hopeless, doesn't it?!!)
I am writing this in Tiptree, a village in Essex-UK, where I am staying with some good friends. Yesterday, Frank took me to a very good concert which happened in St Mary's Church, in a beautiful village called Maldon. The concert was part of the "4th Maldon Festival of Arts", and featured the Pegasus Baroque and the Choir of St Mary's performing works by Purcell, Bach and Handel. The highlight of the evening was the Dixit Dominus HWV 232, a wonderful and very demanding work in 8 parts. I copy from the program: "The work requires extraordinary virtuosity from every performer; singers and players alike, and it may be that Handel was simply experimenting to see just how far his musicians could be stretched".
It was such a pleasant surprise to hear this choir, masterfully directed by Colin Baldy: they were singing with passion and joy and they seemed to so much enjoy making music! (I could actually see them smiling!) From a musical point of view, I think they really did their best to face this most challening score. I think that the tempi were a bit on the presto side (especially in Gloria Patri). But the result was an exciting and explosive sound which reverberated around the thick walls of this old church.
The program included also Vergnugte Ruh by Bach (an interesting cantata). I shouldn't forget to mention the accurate and sensitive performance by the young solo counter-tenor Raffaele Pe. He seems to have a very promising career ahead.
In England there are so many wonderful oportunities to hear good music. I really miss that in Greece, I must say. In the UK one can hear music of the highest calibre even in the most remote village of the country...
