Hymns of Kassianí

Early Music America Review

Hymns of Kassianí

melodies ebb and flow over a drone, the lines marked by subtle vocal shakes and scoops that give the music its distinctive sound.

“The chants flow in a measured, metrical style unfamiliar to Western chant but typical of the Byzantine tradition. Other verses, such as the lamp-lighting psalm, take on an urgency in both male and female voices. “The Publican and the Pharisee” involves the women’s voices of Cappella Romana. Here, melodies ebb and flow over a drone, the lines marked by subtle vocal shakes and scoops that give the music its distinctive sound.” 

–Aaron Keebaugh