My friend, the Russian composer Liudmila Knyazeva, has composed an album of Eastern Orthodox choral music. It’s a wonderful venture with the vaunted hymns the Church is known for. This is an especially nice thing to hear as we as Orthodox prepare for the Marian Fast, as well as for Continue Reading
Choral
The River Voices – Çorovodë, Albania | May 2017
From Remix-Culture‘s Bandcamp site: “Recorded live in May of 2017 by Hatim Belyamani and Bajram “Kafu” Kinolli in Çorovodë, Albania. We are a non-profit organization celebrating musical traditions in harmony with digital remix art. Our mission is to inspire people to reconfigure their relationships with other cultures, communities, and individuals, Continue Reading
Jolanda Moletta – Full Moon Session
Jolanda Moletta is an Berlin-based experimental vocalist who used to sing for the group She Owl. This album features her gently eerie, comforting vocals and not much else. To add to such glorious tones would be a crime. Her voice is delightful as is.
St. Elizabeth Orthodox Church: Chanters and Choir – Pascha: The Feast of Feasts
We celebrate Eastern Orthodox Holy Week and today is Good Friday according to the Julian Calendar. May your Paschal season end peacefully. Thanks to St. Elizabeth Orthodox Church out of Murfreesboro, Tennessee for the wonderful and timely hymns.
Various Artists – Fly, Fly, You Hardened Arrow: Round Dance Songs of “Polish” Old Believers from Altai
The now-legendary Antonovka Records have done astounding work documenting music from Russia’s myriad of ethnic communities. This one is from the so-called “Polish” Old Believers in the Altai region. From the label’s Bandcamp site: “The ancestors of the Altai “Polish” Old Believers were peasants of the Vetka-Starodub territory of the Continue Reading
The Hilliard Ensemble – Codex Speciálník
Your browser does not support iframes. According to Wikipedia, “…the Speciálník Codex (CZ-HKm MS II.A.7) is a 15th-century speciálník (i.e. special songbook) originating from a monastery in the region of Prague.” It is considered something of a ‘missing link’ between medieval and Renaissance music and it features several rather unknown Czech composers. The Hilliard Continue Reading
The Crossing – Carols after a Plague
I knew nothing about the band The Crossing, but after seeing that a composition by drummer Tyshawn Sorey was featured, I thought it prudent to listen to that track and then to the whole album. It is, unsurprisingly, a gorgeous, if dissonant, listening experience. From The Crossing’s Bandcamp site: “Throughout Continue Reading