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Translated by A.Bursau
HEROIC EPOS
| MEDIEVAL DISCOTHEQUE |
| |||||||||||||||||||
|
Early Middle Ages |
Translated by A.Bursau
HEROIC EPOS
| MEDIEVAL DISCOTHEQUE |
| LITVINS' TREASURES - Middle Ages
| LITVINS' TREASURES - Renaissance |
| ŠLACH
| VERBUM
| WEEL
| LOVING CUP
|| Ladzdzia Rospacy
LITVINS' TREASURES - Renaissance
The Litvins (Lithuanians) is an
old name of the Belarusans. Litva (Lithuania) is an old name of
Belarus. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) is the Litvins’ state.
Vilnia (Vilnius) is the capital of the old Litva. The Litvins’
treasures are the spiritual values of both local and West European
origin.
Renaissance is the
Golden Age of the Old Belarusan (Lithuanian) art that started in the
16th century from a wide interaction of the Old Belarusan and West
European cultures and ended with the "deluge", i.e. the
catastrophic war in the middle of the 17th century.
Polacak Adversaria (1, 4, 9, 10)
is a miscellany of the aulic chamber music of the late 16th –
early 17th centuries, collected in Belarus from then popular
songs and dances of Belarusan and West European (adapted for
the local traditions) origin.
Battle At Vorsa (3)
is a martial song of the 16th century, written to honour the battle
at Vorsa (1514). According to another version, the song was written
to order of King in 1614 to the battle’s 100th anniversary. The
words are found by V.Lastouski in 1916, the music is folk, from
M.Fiedarouski’s collections (the 19th century).
In King’s Army (6)
is an instrumental performance of a Belarusan martial song of the
16th century, written to honour King Stephan Batory’s campaign to
liberate Polacak. Its another title is Stephan The Waywode.
Vilnia Adversaria (11)
is a miscellany of the aulic chamber music written by an unknown composer,
collected in 1600 in Vilnia. Dyjamied Kata, Belarusan composer of the late
16th century, who lived and worked in Vilnia, is one of the probable
authors.
Oakery (13)
is an instrumental performance of a Belarusan ballad of the 16th – 17th
centuries about a soldier’s heroic death.
Armed Knight (16)
is a chivalresque song of the 17th century from M.Fiedarouski’s
collections (the 19th century) with a typical folk melody.
|
Renaissance |
Translated by A.Bursau
HEROIC EPOS
| MEDIEVAL DISCOTHEQUE |
| LITVINS' TREASURES - Middle Ages
| LITVINS' TREASURES - Renaissance |
| ŠLACH
| VERBUM
| WEEL
| LOVING CUP
|| Ladzdzia Rospacy
ŠLACH
ŠLACH is the concert album of STARY OLSA medieval
band. ŠLACH was recorded while some concerts
of 2002 and 2003 year were held.
|
Minsk, January 2003 |
Translated by A.Bursau
HEROIC EPOS
| MEDIEVAL DISCOTHEQUE |
| LITVINS' TREASURES - Middle Ages
| LITVINS' TREASURES - Renaissance |
| ŠLACH
| VERBUM
| WEEL
| LOVING CUP
|| Ladzdzia Rospacy
VERBUM
Old tunes revealed by long-forgotten instruments,
and far-back words of languages reduced to silence
long ago, are taking you into Bielarusan mediaeval
burghs and castles, where the Town Hall Square's vociferance,
the court ball's hubbub, pensive balladry, and elevate
odes can be heard.
Excerpts from avital chefs-d'oeuvre of Bielarusan
written records, such as the Lay of Igor's Warfare
(in Old Slavonic; psaltery; 12th c.; anonymous author),
the Song of the Wisent (in Latin; lute; 1522; Mikalaj
Husouski), the Statute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
(in Old Bielarusan; bagpipe; 1588; Astafij Valovic,
Leu Sapieha), and Pan Tadeusz (in Polish; hurdy-gurdy;
1834; Adam Mickiewicz), are recorded here together
with the 16th century Bielarusan music - works by
Vojciech Dluharaj and the Krakow Royal Library Holography.
A part of the album consists of mediaeval dances'
concert versions with the grandeval instruments' unwonted
combinations, lute and bagpipe, psaltery and monochord,
jew's-harp and mandolin, bagpipe and psaltery, psaltery
and lute, and many others.
|
1. Equine
Branle (mediaeval dance) |
Translated by A.Bursau
HEROIC EPOS
| MEDIEVAL DISCOTHEQUE |
| LITVINS' TREASURES - Middle Ages
| LITVINS' TREASURES - Renaissance |
| ŠLACH
| VERBUM
| WEEL
| LOVING CUP
|| Ladzdzia Rospacy
WEEL
Infrequent instruments, mediaeval reels, numinous
impromptus, instrumental ancientry, club recordings,
and a disco-version.
In this music, there is a devout obeisance to history
and unfirmamented troth to avital instruments, among
which the most unearthly Belarusan instrument bagpipe
is set on the highest pedestal.
|
1. Angel |
11. Bagpipe |
Translated by A.Bursau
HEROIC EPOS
| MEDIEVAL DISCOTHEQUE |
| LITVINS' TREASURES - Middle Ages
| LITVINS' TREASURES - Renaissance |
| ŠLACH
| VERBUM
| WEEL
| LOVING CUP
|| Ladzdzia Rospacy
LOVING CUP
Mysticism of heathen sacramentals, voices of chateaux,
and the vibrant power of mediaeval melismata, interlaced
with the energy, terrene malice, and great heartedness
of the Belarusans" bellicose primogenitors. Pure sonal
music, performed by precise copies of ancient Belarusan
instruments (except for guitar and flute), is mirroring
virtuosities of the gentle folks and knighthood in
Belarus which had keen in war with the Russian princelings-whipcrackers
far back in the Middle Ages. Songs' texts are eidetic
words, taken from the Belarusan folklore and slightly
changed. The music "roughness" and old instruments"
timbre hues have been preserved. The First part of
the CD is a pilgrimage to the early Middle Ages where
one could hear evocative tunes or bagpipe, board zither,
hornpipe, birchbark pipe, reed pipe, jew's-harp, drum,
timbrel, etc. Such a grandeval instrument as monochord
has been replaced here by hurdy-gurdy which sounds
are almost the same. The other part of the album dedicated
to the late Middle Ages where guitar and flute are
added.
|
1. Bewitchment |
10. Vajtouna |
Translated by A.Bursau
HEROIC EPOS
| MEDIEVAL DISCOTHEQUE |
| LITVINS' TREASURES - Middle Ages
| LITVINS' TREASURES - Renaissance |
| ŠLACH
| VERBUM
| WEEL
| LOVING CUP
|| Ladzdzia Rospacy
MUSIC PROJECTS
Ladzdzia Rospacy (Boat of Despair)
The audio play based on the novel Boat of Despair by Uladzimir Karatkievic, classic of Belarusan historical prose. The CD contains an art reading of the novel accompanied by mediaeval music. The music base consists of the band’s works taken from all the albums. The story takes place in the 16th century and is greatly filled with mystery. The main character doesn’t agree to live according with the rules and “comme il faut”, he rebels against predestination in this world, as well as in the realm of Death.
Translated by A.Bursau
