3rd Sacred Music Festival
LET ALL MORTAL FLESH KEEP SILENCE
3rd SACRED MUSIC FESTIVAL
42'
From to
Description
Lamentation and the search for the afterlife, from rizitika* dirges to the rational worship of the Byzantines. The separation of the soul from the body and the quest for life’s continuation beyond the conventional limits of time is an issue inherent to the creation of mankind. The exact period of time immediately after expiration and before burial has been sung in various ways through folk poetry and ecclesiastical hymnography. A common feature of the two manifestations of the same culture is the communal nature of human behavior. In rizitika dirges, the Underworld and elements of Nature are personified, the honor of the deceased is praised, and the relatives are comforted for the loss of a loved one. On the other hand, Byzantine hymnographers subject every element of creation to the worship of the Word of God. Creation laments the Passion of the Creator. The hope for coexistence in perpetuity becomes the new horizon. In this quest, the voice serves as a guide, engaging in a dialogical relationship with the breath of the flutes and their interplay with the Ottoman tambour, all in an effort to highlight the universality of the primordial needs of human existence.The funding body of the project is the Ministry of Culture, within the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan "Greece 2.0" with funding from the European Union - NextGeneration EU.
Recorded in the Μuseum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments “Fivos Anoyanakis” – Centre for Ethnomusicology on 14 April 2025.
Creative team – Cast
Nikos Katritzidakis fluteNikos Papageorgiou tambour
Dimos Papatzalakis cantor
John Papatzanis singing, percussion