East Empire Light - Liturgical music from the Balkans

The political changes in Europe in the late 1980s which resulted in the dismantling of the Eastern Block 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 in regard to performance practice. On the other hand, the West learnt about developments in a part of the world 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 countries were sometimes forced to confine themselves to delve 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 this 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 dubious 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". During those years we have seen very little of 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 big shame that this disc 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 could give some clue 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 interesting as the music. And that is what I would like to know more about.

Almost all of these pieces are monophonic. That doesn't mean that we always hear a single voice. Most 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 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 many items, which 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 then with some useful background information.


The East Empire Light - Prayer Chants from the XI - XVIII centuries
Musica Antiqua Serbiana/Vera Zlokovich
place and date of recording not mentioned
Meridian - CDE 84543 (71'46")