Chant Wars
Carolingian 'globalization' of medieval liturgical chant
Lombards & Barbarians
Music, wars and liturgy at Monte Cassino and in southern Italy in the Middle Ages
dialogos
programmes
discography
press clippings
photos
The first Benedictine Abbey in the world, founded by Saint Benedict around the year 526, Monte Cassino preserves today a mysterious silence that hides its illustrious and cruel history. In the Middle Ages, it was a place of great political importance: close to Rome, involved in the schism between the Occident and the Christian Orient. The word 'Barbarians' frequently flowed from the pens of the chroniclers of Cassino, but each time it had a different signification. The Barbarians were the 'Others' in a strange history that is always written by the victors.
If one wanted to hear the chant that in the Middle Ages echoed through the great basilica on this enigmatic hill, one would be confronted with a mystery. A small collection of manuscripts has survived all the desctruction. The ancient Beneventan liturgy that attests to the Lombard presence in Southern Italy, the Greek chant, and finally, the new Gregorian tradition – all blended, with quite a surprising unity of musical languages. Monte Cassino is the place where one chants 'cum cantu promiscuo', with an incredible ambiguity in the musical traditions of men who, quite often, did not speak the same tongue, but who were obliged to live together. This powerful encounter with the mysterious Lombard (or Barbarian?) cantors brings a new light on the musical mentality of those virtuoso medieval singers who spoke 'the Gregorian language' with a charming southern accent and left behind them rich chant and polyphonic repertoire of very archaic and rare beauty.
Voices: Benjamin Bagby, Olivier Delafosse, Vincent Pislar, Branislav Rakić, Michael Loughlin Smith
Dixit Isaac patri suo
(MP3, 1:16, 520 KB)
It is an art focused on a dramatisation of a story made of flesh and blood, rich with strong images. This deep, intelligent and sensitive work, perfectly coordinated with a very original theme, is very coherent from the beginning to the end and makes us totally enthusiastic.
Crescendo
Summer 2008
• June 3rd, Cité de la musique, Paris
Amphithéâtre, 8pm
Programme: Judith
Booking: 01 44 84 44 84
www.cite-musique.fr
• June 16th, Dvigrad Festival
Kanfanar, Croatia
Crkva sv. Silvestra, 9.30pm
Programme: Judith
• June 25th, Romanischer Sommer
Köln, Germany
St Pantaleon’s church, 9.30pm
Programme: Judith
www.romanischer-sommer.de
• August 13th, Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland
Greyfriars Kirk, 5.45pm
Programme: Chant Wars
www.eif.co.uk
• August 19th, Festival de música antigua de Sajazarra, La Rioja, Spain
Iglesia de la Asunción, 8.30pm
Programme: Abbo Abbas
Booking: +34 941 320 346
• August 27th, Académie Bach, France
Varengeville sur mer’s church, 8.30pm
Programme: Judith
www.academie-bach.fr
August 28th-30th, 2008, Antwerp, Belgium
International Young Artists Presentation - Early Music
More information at www.musica.be