In a world of seemingly endless conflict and strife, when the social fabric is being stretched and tattered, the pure, innocent sound of the boys choir arrives on the cold winter air as an audible balm for the soul. For choral singing is not
only a venerable religious tradition — in the sound of massed voices, we
experience an inspiring example of human harmony, cooperation, and
generosity.
The Mass of the Eastern Orthodox church is a
particularly rich source of this nourishment, and though the music for
unaccompanied voices has liturgical roots, so universal is the sound
that you don't have to understand a word to appreciate it. The Welsh
music critic and novelist PAUL GRIFFITHS put it beautifully:
Melodies in these songs are traces dissolving in the waters of eternity,
[an eternity] implied by harmonies that sound like reverberations...
This is harmony seeking silence.
On this transmission of Hearts of Space we dive deep into the choral ocean, on a program called SACRED SONGS. Music is by LIBERA, the CAPPELLA ROMANA, ARVO PART, ERIC WHITACRE, and featuring Ukrainian composer VALENTIN SILVESTROV.
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