Various Artists
ATHOS: ECHOES FROM THE HOLY MOUNTAIN
(2LP)
Flee FLEE006
2x12 Inch
ATHOS: ECHOES FROM THE HOLY MOUNTAIN
Side
BPM
Tracklist
A1: Volta Semantron (Inre Kretsen Grupp & Prins Emanuel)
A2: Athos Dub (Holy Tongue)
A3: Garden of Kibele (Esma & Murat Ertel)
A4: Doxology (Daniel Paleodimos)
B1: Idan Kuoromiehet (Jimi Tenor)
B2: Synaptic Riddles (Jay Glass Dubs)
B3: Lile Meteore (Gilbr)
B4: I Swim In Your Dreams (Organza Ray)
C1: Vatopedi Semantron Vespers (Gregoriou Monastery)
C2: Axion Estin, Mode Plagal B (Daniilaioi Brotherhood Choir)
C3: Christos Anesti, Mode Plagal A ((Daniilaioi Brotherhood Choir)
C4: Theoteke Parthene, Mode Plagal A (Daniilaioi Brotherhood Choir)
C5: Doxologia Chourmouzioy, Mode Varys (Daniilaioi Brotherhood Choir)
C6: Osoi Eis Christon, Mode Plagal A (Daniilaioi Brotherhood Choir)
C7: Tas Esprinas Manouel Chrysafis, Mode Plagal A (Daniilaioi Brotherhood Choir)
D1: Doxastikon idiomelon, Mode Plagal A (Father Lazaros of Gregoriou Monastery)
D2: Anoixantos Sou Koukouzelis, Mode Plagal D (Father Germanos of Vatopedi Monastery)
D3: Cherouvical Hymn, Third Mode (Iviron Monastery Choir)
D4: Axion Estin, Seventh Mode (Father Antipas)
D5: Koinonikon, Mode Plagal A (Simonopetra Monastery Choir)
Electronic, Experimental
Mount Athos, known as the «Holy Mountain,» is a monastic peninsula in northeastern Greece, central to Eastern Orthodox monasticism for over a millennium. Its twenty monasteries house around 2,000 monks dedicated to prayer and worship, which songs have echoed across the Aegean Sea for centuries, heard only by visiting pilgrims, isolated from conventional time and global events.
After several years of research, and several visits to the retired community, we are happy to present our new project «Athos : Echoes from the Holy Mountain» dedicated to this liturgic music and repertoire that seems to be evolving outside the usual boundaries of time and space. Rooted in Byzantine chant, this a cappella tradition essential to monastic life featuring intricate yet serene melodies designed to facilitate prayer and contemplation, using a system of modes and scales to create a meditative atmosphere.
Trans-disciplinary, this effort of documentation also comprehends an artistic re-interpretation aspect inviting contemporary Greek and foreign artists to reflect on the subject.
A musical compilation which captures original field recordings from the 1960s and from today capturing the essence of liturgical music on Mount Athos, but also new compositions inspired by them by artists such as Holy Tongue (UK), Jay Glass Dubs (GR), Prins Emanuel & Inre Kresten Grupp (SWE), Jimi Tenor (FI), Gilb’r (FR), Daniel Paleodimos (GR), Esma & Murat Ertel (TUR) and Organza Ray (GR/US).
A trilingual book in English, Greek and French, featuring essays, articles, photographs and artistic comissions reflecting around the theme giving a voice to contributors such as , Stratos Kalafatis, Theodore Psychoyos, Tefra90, Father Damaskinos Ulkinuora, Prof. Thomas Apostolopoulos, Makar Tereshin, Phaedra Douzina-Bakalaki, Michelangelo Paganopoulos and Alberto Cameroni.
The release of the book and the record will be followed by a cycle of exhibitions and conferences, deploying FLEE’s year-long research on Mount Athos, as well as its numerous commissioned artworks.[info sheet from distr.]