Catalogue Connection: 25135

This is a collection of four spiritual and liturgical hymn- and mass-settings inspired from the Catholic and Orthodox traditions.

The first item is a Concert Requiem Mass with words and structure, as well as the music, by contemporary composer Lydia Kakabadse. The other three items, set to music by Kakabadse, are familiar hymns (Such as the Te Deum, the Pater Noster, the Kontakia and the Theotokia [with O Magnum Mysterium etc.] arranged for unaccompanied voices – whereas the Concert Requiem Mass employs a small instrumental group and a mezzo-soprano voice.

This music is for an acquired taste. It is beautifully produced, with obvious love and devotion, but it may take some time before it stirs the heart among a wide audience.

English composer Lydia Kakabadse (b. 1955) is of Russian/Georgian and Greek/Austrian heritage and was raised in the Greek Orthodox and Russian Orthodox faith. Educated first as a double bassist (an instrument which the biography notes features in nearly all of her chamber music) and composer, she decided to support her musical activities with a career as a lawyer. Now retired from legal work, she focuses exclusively on her music.

Inspiration from the Orthodox faith tradition looms very large in these four cycles for men’s voic­es. The first work, Spectre of the Maiden Scorned, adds a solo mezzo-soprano and instrumental septet to the men. The other three works are for the voices alone. Kakabadse’s straightforward modal style blends influences from early music, Orthodox liturgical music, and other non-Western “world music.”

Spectre of the Maiden Scorned is a programmatic choral work based on an original story set in a monastery involving a monk who falls in love and elopes, leaving his order. He is later convinced by his former abbot to leave his wife, and she then kills herself. The texts are primarily taken from the Latin Requiem mass; the booklet includes a dramatic synopsis of the story. As a pure listening experience (without trying to map it onto the imaginary drama), the work (which feels mostly like a choral Requiem) does not really convey the story in any direct way. However, the work it an appeal­ing concert suite and the most engaging piece on the album.

Cantica Sacra is a setting of traditional sacred texts in Latin and Greek. Kontakia sets Latin texts from the Bible connected to the season of Lent. Theotokia consists of five settings of well-known Marian texts. There is not a great deal of variety across these three works, and listening to them all in sequence does not show them to their advantage. With minimal pause, one movement flows into the next, and they are all entirely within a “neo-Orthodox” mood and sound world. Fans of Alan Hovhaness and other composers (such as John Tavener or Patricia Van Ness) whose work draws from a similar pool of influences will find these pieces very comfortable. Those interested in traditional Orthodox liturgical music will also likely enjoy Kakabadse’s approach to choral writing, as the modal and mood consistency is a feature of that repertoire. There is less here for those listeners who prefer a more dynamic contemporary choral experience. The principal ensemble is a male sextet of alumni from the Clare College Choir, directed by Graham Ross. These composer-supervised performances present the music compellingly. A very enjoyable 2011 disc of Kakabadse’s characterful chamber and vocal music (which displays much greater variety) is available on Naxos, and forthcoming next year will be another album of her chamber work.

Born in Britain, Lydia Kakabadse is included in the Archive of Classical Greek Composers . She was brought up in the Orthodox faith and this influence, together with medieval music, pervades this disc. Her work is finely constructed and can be very beautiful, but she is so submerged by her influences that it is very difficult to detect her musical voice. The Cantica Sacra is scored for unaccompanied male voices and consists of a Liturgical Cycle, Lenten Hymns and Marian Hymns, which are given a stunning performance by the six alumni of Clare College under the perceptive direction of Graham Ross. The remaining work, Spectre of the Maiden Scorned, is a concert Requiem and is an interesting concept. Created from Kakabadse’s own story and using complementary texts, it’s a tragic tale of love, greed and betrayal, scored for mezzo-soprano, male voices and instrumental ensemble. The mood is sombre throughout and the use of the instrumental ensemble heightens the effect. Again the performance is exceptional.

While I thoroughly enjoyed my first listen to this album I was left a little bemused. I was in the car and it certainly made my journey more pleasurable, with some outstanding a cappella singing but as I was unable to look at the CD booklet notes I was not quite sure what it was all about. However at the end of the disc and my journey I was sufficiently intrigued as to want to know more. What we actually get are four separate pieces. The first, “Spectre Of The Maiden Scorned” is a Concert Requiem Mass for mezzo-soprano, male voices and ensemble. It is a story, almost a mini opera, of love, greed and betrayal set in a monastery. The mezzo is Grace Durham who is suitably expressive and the music reminds me somewhat of Karl Jenkins in borrowing from a variety of sources while always remaining tuneful. I enjoyed hearing this and would like to sing it if I can persuade my choir director to try. The three other works, all for unaccompanied male voices, are sung by six Alumni of the Choir of Clare College, Cambridge under their former conductor Graham Ross. Again the standard of musicianship is high but listening without looking at the booklet left me wondering where one piece ended and the next started. For the record they are “Cantica Sacra”, a liturgical cycle, “Kontakia”, Lenten Hymns, and “Theotokia”, Marian Hymns. The composer is Lydia Kakabadse who was born in Southport in 1955 to a Russian/Georgian father and a Greek/Austrian mother and grew up in Altrincham, Cheshire. She was brought up in the Greek/Russian Orthodox faith and inherited a love of languages from her multi-lingual parents as well as a love of different genres of Western and non-Western music, all of which can be heard here. There are certainly echoes of John Tavener – or echoes of the sources Tavener himself borrowed from – and I am confident that listeners who enjoy Tavener’s work within the Orthodox tradition will enjoy this release, as will those who appreciate all fine a cappella singing.

This album of sacred choral works for the 21st century is a delightful CD, with some surprises as far as its background goes: Lydia Kakabadse has her roots in Greece, Austria, Russia and Georgia, but was born in Southport and grew up in Altrincham.

Clearly a compulsive overachiever, she started composing at 13 and after studying music, took up dancing, even appearing on the The Six O’Clock Show . Needing funding for her composing, she took up law, qualified as a solicitor and landed a master of law degree. Her interests include mediaeval music and — to our untutored ears — you’d happily take this as a modern rendering of mediaeval church music, with exotic influences.

The opening piece, the medieval Spectre of The Maiden Scorned, is a story devised by Kakabadse herself, a Game of Thrones tale of a lovelorn monk being stitched up by an unscrupulous abbot, the work using original Latin text. The music features chant, monotonic singing and a two-octave stretch for the maiden’s lament. The next work, the title piece, is Greek orthodox in style and written in memory of the composer’s mother, as moving and solemn a piece as you would expect. It sets the monotonic male voices against the polyphonic choir. The third piece, Kontakia, also features the male voices and has the Greek influence. The closing Theotakia is made up of Marian hymns set to sacred Latin text.

It is performed by former members of Clare College Choir and is out on Divine Art, dda 25135.

Lydia Kakabadse has a name that does not even sound English and in fact she has Georgian-Greek roots and grew up in the tradition of the Orthodox liturgy, which Kakabadse deliberately engages in her music. She does this in a refined and careful way, always with an ear to the sounds of today.

Despite their generally serious and solemn character there is also something invigorating and vivid throughout the music – for example in the ‘Concert Requiem Mass’ where neither sadness nor melancholy take the upper hand. Perhaps there is eventually a lack of fresh ideas in the four works, so the ear becomes less excited. The Alumni of the Choir of Clare College are on top form and their performance could hardly be bettered.

This is an instantly enjoyable CD which will give much pleasure – it makes ideal late-night listening.

Lydia Kakabadse writes in a spirit obviously based on both the serenities of Gregorian chant and Orthodox music. Texts are generally in Latin, though the Pater Noster blends both Greek and Latin versions.

Kakabadse was born in Southport, daughter of a Russian/Georgian father and Greek/Austrian mother, and the influence of these origins is immediately evident. Add to this a mastery of counterpoint and a richness of ideas, and there is a distinctive voice.

The Spectre of a Maiden Scorned is something of an oddity. Subtitled ‘Concert Requiem’, it uses texts from the Latin Requiem (sometimes cut, and much rearranged) to tell the tale of a suicidal maiden who feels betrayed by a young monk. The final piece is in English, a text by Martha Lavinia Hoffman from a poem The Maiden’s lament to her false lover. I found myself rather ignoring the story and concentrating just on the beauties of the music. This concert work is accompanied by a small ensemble (flute, cor anglais, violin, viola, cello, double bass and percussion – one of each). Grace Durham has a lovely voice, sometimes with a boyish simplicity, admirably suited to both text and idiom.

All the other pieces are a capella. The six voices of the Clare College Alumni blend very well, with clear diction, very much in the English choral tradition. It is a bonus that this CD provides full texts for all works. Although the Latin pieces are generally familiar, there are substantial textual cuts in one or two, including the De Profundis, Te Deum , and the doxology used in services is omitted from the Magnificat , though the text is complete. Every piece has a devotional quality, but nothing lingers: the spirit of movement characteristic of Gregorian chant is evident.

I look forward to hearing more from this very gifted and accessible composer.

Here is new music that should appeal to a wide audience. Lydia Kakabadse has a melodic gift, and is able to present an interesting meld of musical traditions into immediately appealing music.

Kakabadse’s musical heritage comes from her Russian/Georgian father and her Greek/Austrian mother, and from her Greek/Russian Orthodox faith. She was born and raised in Cheshire, so the English choral tradition is part of this appealing mix. The music included in this CD is direct and clear, but with exotic overtones, sounding like Orthodox chants or Vaughan Williams’ G Minor Mass one minute, and Carl Orff or 1940s Hollywood fantasy the next. The music is often serious but never bleak, and the mood is often broken by a sprightly tune, like a ray of sunshine in a dark church. The singing by the Alumni of the Choir of Clare College Cambridge, under the direction of Graham Ross, is outstanding. They’re helped out by an excellent instrumental group, and some expert sound engineering.

This disc is highly recommended; I look forward to more music from this fascinating composer.

Contemporary modern composer Lydia Kakabadse brings to us a vision of sacred music that incorporates archaic influences from chant and early polyphony in four sacred works for choir and soloists (plus chamber instruments for the initial work). Canta Sacra (Divine Art dda 25135) is performed with authentic flair by the Alumni of the Choir of Clare College Cambridge conducted by Graham Ross.

Anyone who appreciates the early music “old-in-the-new” approach of Arvo Part and others who follow in his wake will find these four works quite different yet genetically related and compelling in their own way. The opening work “Spectre of the Maiden Scorned” uses the Requiem Mass as the basis for a story of a monk, the woman he loves and those who attempt to prevent their elopement. It is haunting and highly memorable.

The three other items on the program utilize a choir of unaccompanied male voices for a series of new works that take on chant, organum and post-organum styles in nicely wrought recreations. The Liturgical Cycle “Cantica Sacra,” the Lenten Hymns “Kontakia” and the Marian Hymns “Theotokia” give us a genuinely inspired vision of early sacred music with a movingly original modern flair that takes you back many centuries yet de facto and in its encompassing totality belongs to our contemporary present.

Lydia Kakabadse is a phenomenon and a virtual reincarnation of an early music master. Her music is impressively singular. Graham Ross, the Alumni Choir and all the rest give us wonderfully mysterious and detailed performances that one does not forget after several hearings.

Anyone who revels in early sacred music will find this program surprising and very worthwhile.

Heartily recommended.