SPK - ZAMIA LEHMANNI - SONGS OF BYZANTINE FLOWERS

01. invocation (to secular heresies)
02. palms crossed in sorrow
03. romanz in moll (romance in minor key)
04. in the dying moments
05. in flagrante delicto
06. alocasia metallica
07. necropolis
08. the garden of earthly delights
09. the doctrine of eternal ice

graeme revell: all instruments
sinan: voices on 4, 6 & 8
jan thornton: voice on 5
choir of the russian old orthodox church of sydney: voices on 1 & 4

the flower of byzantine culture was a hybrid, enriched with leaves of gold. the 5th century invasion of the western roman empire by the goths had plunged western europe into the dark ages. byzantium became the centre of civilisation and it now laid the foundation for the music of christendom through a fusion of elements, religious and secular, eastern and western. the blend off hellenistic (greek) with semitic (jewish) and arabic (persian) conceptions transmitted its influence into russia via bulgaria and later into western europe. it can be said that not a single musical instrument of mediaeval europe was native but that they were all imported from asia. the migration took place over several centuries and by various routes, of which the most important passed through byzantium and north africa. the much vaunted renaissance in italy was less a re-discovery of classical greek and roman concepts than an embracing of the enduring cultural legacy of the byzantine christian sects. the music and art of western europe blossomed once more upon the opening of the gates to the orient.
wellesz, byzantine music and hymnography

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