If your only exposure to Greek music is the background music to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, then this pair of music from the cradle of Western Civilization will open your ears to some wondrous sounds and moods. Give me a note, ANY note, and I’ll show that the root of it comes from Greece!
Pianist/composer/arranger Eleni Karaindrou is best known for her atmospheric film scores, most notably represented on Dust of Time. Here, she performs her music at a concert in Athens with the Camerata Friends of Music orchestra directed by Alexandros Myrat and guest performers Jan Gabarek/ts, Kim Kashkashian/viola, and Vangelis Christopoulos. The moody music is filled with contemplative melodies, agonizing themes that will weave in and out of your mind. Sometimes orchestral, such as on the themes for “The Glass Menageris”, and other moments it’s simply Garbarek’s tenor and Spartan support as on “Adagio for Saxophone.” Kashkashian’s treatment of “Laura’s Theme” is visceral and heart wrenching, making you remember that (as my dad used to tell me) “the Greeks INVENTED tragedy.” Themes and thoughts that will penetrate your meditations.
On the other side of the Greek drachma, spiritual music from Stephan Micus takes you on a journey through the Byzantine church, with music set to a collection of prayers framed around various types of instrumentation and vocalization. The track comes from the Greek name for the Virgin Mary, the Mother (or as the Greeks say, the vessel) of God, and the music is dedicated to her. The album is bookended by Micus’ monastic singing over a simple zither, which echoes like sounds on a sunrise service. The vocal choruses such as on “I Praise You Sacred Mother” (with Micus overdubbing his own voice) give mystical references to liturgical services at the Monastic Mt Athos, while the instrumental passages such as “You Are The Treasure Of Life” are luminous and plaintif. There is a judicious mixing of milieu with the various meldings of voices and instruments, almost Trinitarian in the sense that the three forms of vocal choir, voice and instruments and total instrumental pieces almost display three parts of the musical triangle. In all of the songs, there is a contemplative patience and timeless serenity to the music that not only transcends modernity, but makes the listener feel as if the daily rush of 21st century life is making us miss something important about why we are on earth. It’s like the story of Jacob in the Bible, “God was here, and I knew it not.”
The music presented on these two releases demonstrate a depth of feeling and yearning that, after 2-3 listens, will make you agonize over the lack of it in 90% of what passes for music this age of glib and superficial instrumentation.
ECM Records