Description

The Ex Silentio ensemble conducted by Dimitris Kountouras, along with the Children's Chorus of the Greek National Opera led by Konstantina Pitsiakou revive medieval devotional music dedicated to the Virgin Mary, featuring the Cantigas de Santa Maria and pieces from the Llibre Vermell.

Medieval devotional music dedicated to the Virgin Mary is a very distinctive musical genre from that era. Notable examples include the Spanish repertoire of the Cantigas de Santa Maria collection from the court of Alfonso the Wise and Montserrat’s so-called Red Book. This music did not accompany church service rituals but was associated with a secular manifestation of worship and pilgrims while also involving singing, dancing, and, at times, musical instruments. It was a secular testament to the phenomenon known as “Marianism”, which swept throughout Southern Europe in the late Middle Ages. Ex Silentio, in collaboration with the Greek National Opera’s Children’s Chorus, showcases this unique repertoire using period instruments.

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.

Creative team – Cast

Creative team – Performers:
Ex Silentio
Dimitris Kountouras medieval flutes, musical direction
Fani Vovoni medieval vielle
Tobias Schlierf wheel vielle, medieval harp, voice
Nikos Varelas percussion

GNO Children’s Chorus
Music preparation & direction: Konstantina Pitsiakou
Music preparation assistant: Marilena Souri
Co-ordinator: Christina Ntemou

Ionian University Historical Flutes Ensemble
Alkistis Tsitouridou, Katerina Kteniadaki

GNO Children’s Chorus 

Maria-Irini Damati, Melina Georganta, Frideriki-Nadine Giannopoulou, Maria-Phaedra Konstantatou, Magdalene Lambrou, Ilia-Zoi Mavrokefalou, Aigli-Alexandra Papadiamanti, Anna Parthenidi, Simone-Athanasia Sofou, Angelos Tsalikis, Kalliopi Tzanidaki, Dimitra Vasilakopoulou, Natalia-Chrysoula Vassou, Sofia Zachopoulou, Stavroula Zioura