| 1. Posa Somata, Posa Pneumata |
| 2. Paean |
| 3. Katolofirome (Glory to the Battlefields?) |
| 4. Hymn to Nemesis |
| 5. Song of Seikilos |
| 6. Chorus of Athenaious |
| 7. Musa |
| 8. Morning |
| 9. Remembrance |
| 10. Miroloi |
| 11. Invocation |
| 12. Song of Tecmessa |
| 13. Prosodion |
| 14. Theologismos |
| 15. Poema |
| 16. Song of Seikilos (Reprise) |
| 17. Paean (Reprise) |
Editorial Reviews
From the Artist
Featured Artists: Nicole Gordon: Vocal; Marina V: Vocal; V.K.Lynne: Vocal; Album includes samples of the voice of a surviving September 2004 Beslan hostage, a 7 year-old first-grader Diana Alikova (Track 2 "Paean") Used by permission; Elmar Mamedov: Vocal; Boris Elkis: Vocal; Max Ofitserov: Vocal; Albert Vartanyan: Armenian Duduk, Paku; John Allan: Bagpipes, Chanter; Thomas Chess: Neys; Arturo Solar: Trumpets; John Roberts: Trombones; Taylor Catlin: Clarinetti; Ludmila Adzhemova: Violini; Lev ‘Ljova’ Zhurbin: Viole; Jakub Omsky: Celli; Alex Kharlamov: Vocal, Spectrasonics Atmosphere, Cloud of Chandeliers, Detuned Autoharp, Egyptian Mijwiz, Chinese Si, Indian Nigara Drum, Mexican Djembe, Egyptian Darbuka, Persian Duf, Bells, Tambourines, Indian and Persian Zills, Magic Wands, Tibetan Bowl, Greek Bouzouki, Armenian Pipe, Percussion Programming, Sound Design. Selected percussion samples used by license from VR Sound & Bolder Sounds. Created and composed by Alex! Kharlamov (ASCAP), except where noted otherwise. Based on ancient Greek songs and melodies. Poem in Track 2 "Paean" (c) 2004 Diana Alikova. "Paean" and "Song of Tecmessa": Reconstructed phrases and harmony progression by Philip Neuman of ensemble De Organographia. Used by their kind Permission. "Fear" photo by Veronica Leoni. Greek pronunciation consultations by Aristos Theoharides. Produced, arranged, orchestrated, recorded, mixed and mastered at Arvum by Alex Kharlamov.
Product Description
Album is dedicated to the victims of terrorist attacks in Russia, including the school siege on September 1 - 3, 2004 in Beslan, North Ossetia – Alania, Russia. All proceeds from sales of this album go directly to survivors of the attack and families of those who died in the tragic events. More than 1200 children, parents and teachers spent 3 days and nights in the school’s sport hall without food and water under the terrorists’ guns, with hanged bombs over the hostages. On the third day, 2 bombs have exploded right above the hostages, leaving many children and adults dead and most others badly injured, some impaired for the rest of their lives. People have burst into jumping out of the broken windows and running out of the school’s doors, with terrorists shooting everyone in their backs. Children and adults ran on broken glass under gunfire, helping each other. Several mothers, who lost their children in the attack, have committed suicides. After this tragedy, some children have lost their ability to talk, some cannot walk, and most children do not want to ever come back to school again. Track 2 "Paean" is build around samples of the voice of a surviving 7-year-old hostage, first-grader Diana Alikova (with her mother’s permission), sampled from her brief interview, given to the Russian TV a month after the tragic events. When journalists arrived, she could not talk for an hour. She is one of the very few surviving children, who want to go to school next year.
First, I want to thank all of my friends and fans who have posted awesome reviews on this page and on Vangelis' album's page. I am a big fan of a lot of music by Vangelis, especially Blade Runner and Chariots of Fire. Music from these films take a special place in my childhood.
It's good to have a balance of different kinds of reviews. Otherwise, it would be like a monopoly: everybody loves the album, while the artist himself hates it half of the time, and is able to listen to it at another point in time.
I would like to clarify some points, addressed in Mr. S. Radice's review. I think his review was written down to the point. Being a musician who's done not-to-be-mentioned work of small and large scales beginning at a very young age, I think I might have a relatively good idea about the musical and conceptual aspects of the album that I have created, "Alexander the Great: Posa Somata, Posa Pneumata." This is the only "customer review" I can post here, so hopefully I'll be able to clarify enough points that may need to be addressed.
Yes, I do give this album 5 stars. This is way more than MY album. My personal contribution to it is limited. Please see above for the amount of the music artists that have contributed their time and artistry to this album. Their efforts, along with the majority of the original material that has been composed by the Ancient Greeks (compared to the modern composers in the same ratio that Homer may be compared to modern poets), looked at against the sonic quality and time spent researching the ancient music and working on the 17 recordings, plus learning the unique instruments and building one that is unique to the entire world, multiplied by the album's budget (none!) I begin to feel confident that the work, dedication and passion of these people deserves this many stars. If anybody feels otherwise, I can only enjoy the diversity of opinions and feelings that we all have. It's a good thing.
Pretentiousness: does the album have any connection with the tragic events in Beslan? Let's see what the lyrics for the first piece "Posa Somata, Posa Pneumata" say. This is an ancient choral piece of music that I have restored. I've restored only the missing parts of the music - keeping the lyrics intact. The booklet's translation reads, "How many bodies, how many souls... won is grave... later bodies will be washed... there are infants, also to be put in graves... this is us aiming weapons at ourselves, all on the same Earth." Please compare this ancient poetic writing to the above "Discription of the album."
More pretentiousness: is the album related to Alexander the Great in any way? This part may not be as simple. Yet it is very apparent. Here is what the first two pages of the CD booklet tell:
SPLENDOR OF LIVING
... After the battle of Issus, he sent to Damascus to seize upon the money and baggage, the wives and children, of the Persians, of which spoil the Thessalian horsemen had the greatest share; for he had taken particular notice of their gallantry in the fight, and sent them thither on purpose to make their reward suitable to their courage. Not but that the rest of the army had so considerable a part of the booty as was sufficient to enrich them all. This first gave the Macedonians such a taste of the Persian wealth and women and barbaric splendour of living, that they were ready to pursue and follow upon it with all the eagerness of hounds upon a scent.
(Plutarch's Parallel Lives, ALEXANDER)
A SACRIFICE TO GHOST
... When he came to Ecbatana in Media, and had dispatched his most urgent affairs, he began to divert himself again with spectacles and public entertainments, to carry on which he had a supply of three thousand actors and artists, newly arrived out of Greece. But they were soon interrupted by Hephaestion's falling sick of a fever... At this misfortune, Alexander was so beyond all reason transported, that to express his sorrow, he immediately ordered the manes and tails of all his horses and mules to be cut, and threw down the battlements of the neighboring cities. The poor physician he crucified, and forbade playing on the flute, or any other musical instrument in the camp a great while, till directions came from the oracle of Ammon, and enjoined him to honor Hephaestion, and sacrifice to him as to a hero. Then seeking to alleviate his grief in war, he set out, as it were, to a hunt and chase of men, for he fell upon the Cossaeans, and put the entire nation to the sword. This was called a sacrifice to Hephaestion's ghost.
(Plutarch's Parallel Lives, ALEXANDER)
ALEXANDER THE GREAT IDEOLOGY TODAY. BESLAN.
[Track Listings...]
---------------------
Brutality for the sake of having unlimited sex and/or power. Old story that keeps repeating itself and will never sieze to happen. A part of history that we sometimes admire, unless one of our family members or friends suffers from it. Besides the 'personalized' aspects of this history, we have lost several great cultures due to Alexander's conquest for the world. However, he did not win the battle against India, and thus we are awarded with being able to enjoy the untouched Hindu culture until this day. He also did not go as far as, for example, Japan. So we still have the Japanese culture intact. Many other cultures have been cut-out by the Alexander's army, and the ancient Greek culture forced in place of original ones. I come from a culture that has been influenced by the enciant Greek culture in a very strong way, but we kept our origins (Russian). That's how you keep your culture: by preserving and developing the origins. Alexander the "Great"'s ideology was: destroy what's there and force what's ours. Please don't get me as a Russian nationalist or a buddist - I am not one or the other. I am only trying to convey the message that, while we have been tought to perceive Alexander Macedonean as a Great conquieror and leader, this has been dropped on our brains by the political players who want you and I to believe that if a new leader tells us that they'll go and kill a few bad folks out there so that they can build a new city and library - we believe that this is good, because we already have such wonderful examples in history as Alexander the Great, embedded in our brains from our childhood. This is called political technology. It's a real science that is dropped on us every day like a bomb. This is what Aristotle knew and didn't want Alexander to get into, having been disappointed by Alexander's doings later down the road. Somebody 10 years from now may say that Bush Jr. was trying to establish democracy in Iraq. It's the same lame political game play, as Alexander was doing at his time. This never changes.
And, of course, if you hold the high power - polit-techno, money and human resources - you may allow yourself to slaughter some humans here and there, whenever you please to, like when you feel blue because your best friend dies. Or when you want to show your generals why they would want to go into the battle: you can take the women and children that you have captured and make them your slaves: order them to go clean your dishes and shoes, and rape them a little later in the day. Later, based on this psychology (developed by the beautiful politicians, namely Alexander) the Romans have adopted the early age sex idea and proclamed that they can start having family life with 10 year-old girls - but only in the royal circles.
Lack of musical structure: I really like Aphex Twin's Ambient Works vol II. Also Penderecki's dedication to Hiroshima and Schnittke's first symphony. Maybe they mess up too much with my ear, making me to feel weird and explore the world of the unknown. I agree, all music albums must have the same logical and pleasant musical structure. For example, Britney Spears or Celine Dion. Or a good Hollywood score album, written by ghostwriters who never get credited on 99% of Hollywood score albums. I work in the film music biz in Hollywood and have the right to tell you this first-hand.
Arvo Part's symphonies - bad music structure. Too loud, then too sort. Too long, too. Celine Dion sounds pleasant to everyone. Down to the point, and doesn't waste anyone's time. So much passion in singing, too. Calculated to perfection. We all strive for perfection.
Terrorist acts lack a logical structure. First, people are alive, then something happens, they are dead, then there's grief, then there's a glimpse of hope... Then time very slowly starts to erase the pain little by little. After a while, all that becomes a history, nothing more. If you reflect that in a music album, you may risk of following that sort of structure in the music development. Maybe that was my mistake. Maybe I should have created a smooth, pleasantly outlined structure that pleases everyone. Just like a terrorist act.
How little can be done in the studio: this album is based on ancient Greek melodies and songs. The way ancient Greeks performed music was very simple, almost primitive. Yet very elaborate in its essence. Listen to the real ancient Greek music reproductions: "Musique de la Grece Antique" by Gregorio Paniagua, and the ancient Greek music album by ensemble De Organographia at emgo.org - listen to them more than 2-3 times, and you'll understand what's going on. The music of those times has been based on completely different values. Today, you want to hear music that sounds full, well-produced, with a major sound and well-thought-through arrangements. Ancient Greek music was based on great ideas. Listen to my album's track 2, Paean. No one has ever written a more beautiful mediterranean melody than that. I did not write it. We only performed it. It was performed by the duduk player who has tought at the Yerevan Conservatory (Armenia) for most of his life and who is one of the most passionate and expressive duduk players in the world. I can say this with complete confidence because, while working in Hollywood, I have recorded the best session duduk players who work here on the regular basis and make big bucks. They do not come anywhere close to the way real duduk performance should sound and feel like. And this is what you hear on all major films, in which you hear duduk. The real duduk, in its turn, should sound like a cross between a very heartfelt vocal and a real passionate aulos - the signature instrument of the ancient Greece. The energy and passion of performance, along with the right techniques (yes, plural and very much so) makes a huge difference. Or, if we take, for instance, "Song of Tecmessa". There is only one vocal. But listen to the way it's performed. The expression of feeling to its fullest form within the appropriate form is what matters. We've recorded countless takes of vocals for these pieces. It took us 10 months to put this album together, while keeping the ancient Greek artistry intact within today's means of music creation. Track 5, "Song of Seikilos" could not be performed this way in any other studio in the world - a special glass bell instrument was built for reproducing that ancient Greek piece. Out of glass chandeliers. We called it Cloud of Chandeliers. The idea has originated from the instrument built by Harry Partch - his Cloud Chamber Bowls. If music is not arranged with the use of 10, 20 or 50 instruments, that doesn't make it any less significant than a 120-piece orchestral symphony. The heart of the music always drives its orchestration and arrangement. Needless to say, some of the pieces on this album have been recorded with layering 15-30 instruments, and many vocals.
On the other hand, look at the instumentations above (in the section "From the artist... Featured artists..."). Then, if you are in doubt in regards to the fullness of the sound of the album, let me ask you to listen to track 1 "Posa Somata, Posa Pneumata" (a large chorus sung by only 3 vocalists), track 3 "Katolofirome (Glory to the Battlefields?)", track 4 "Hymn to Nemesis", track 6 "Chorus of Athenaious" (a mid-size ancient Greek chorus chant done by one vocalist), track 13 "Prosodion", track 14 "Theologismos" - a symphonic piece... I will post the mp3 samples of all tracks on kharlamov.com within the next 2 days. Amazon doesn't allow indie musicians to have previews for all tracks here - only full track downloads at artist's will.
A lot of what's heard out there today, sounds simple. Off-beat instruments and voices may sound boring. But the idea behind this album is what drove its creation and completion. This is not a commercial album. If I've missed anything here, please ask me in my forum at kharlamov.com. I won't be able to answer here after you read this, since this is the only 'review' space I have on my album's page at Amazon.
Thank you,
ak
In the same way that these often dark forces were real then and now, this seems to be a melding of ancient themes and instrumentation with this composer's own ideas and palette. Not long after my first listen, I thought a bit about the CD "Adiemus" - Karl Jenkins' exploration of the round song form with invented language and classical instrumentation and even more so about the CD "Vision: The Music Of Hildegard Von Bingen" where Emily van Evera and Sister Germaine Fritz masterfully perform 12th century chant to added trance tracks. In Kharlamov's work, the "then" and "now" both in composition and instrumentation are more indistinguishable, more closely intertwined, yet clear, yielding something highly original.
The recording quality of the CD is superb. The nearly a cappella voices of the first track flow in from nowhere. The beautiful female and male vocals on this CD rival the best I've heard on the best period recordings. The clarity is stunning. Sounds from the left, right, front, back, close, far, and right in the middle of your head. There are many kinds of interesting wind sounds here, from various instruments, but also voices and bells as wind. There are also some very interesting percussion sounds: bells, winds, voices used as percussion and other non-standard percussive effects (ala Peter Gabriel) used in many different ways. And the timing is impeccable. Although every instrument is crystal clear, the often rich texture of sounds combined with the motion of melody and rhythm often challenge the listener as one voice or instrument takes over another. The liner notes name some of the more period instruments. There are some beautiful string passages in the short piece "Theologismos," as well as a powerful combination of Armenian, Egyptian, Persian, Indian and Chinese instruments in "Hymn to Nemesis." The ancient Greeks would be amazed if they could hear today the performances of Albert Vartanyan and Thomas Chess on "Paean." Chess' masterful and gentle performance on the Ney is complimented with a heartfelt solo by Vartanyan on the Duduk. Vartanyan's work here blows away any of the best Duduk performances I have ever heard, including those used in million-dollar Hollywood blockbuster soundtracks, such as "The Passion of Jesus Christ." "Invocation" is a very ancient sounding piece with a wonderfully effective droning beat overlaid with sad, but enticing vocals. Themes such as this must have been used for special rituals or events. Another favorite is "Poema" with its subtle bell and tinkling glass sounds; if you happen to drift off to sleep to this you are sure to have enchanting dreams. There is a very nice female vocal solo on "Musa." And on "Morning," the bagpipe sounds are beautifully distant and soft.
Most of the pieces really place you in an ancient place. Others, with subtle voices from the present, a little closer to this world, but the general theme of Ancient Greece is consistent. I read on Kharlamov's web site that he wrote some music for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney and thought how interesting that he wrote this music during the same year the Olympics returned to Athens. A very original and fine work of art!
Featured Artists: Nicole Gordon: Vocal; Marina V: Vocal; V.K.Lynne: Vocal; Album includes samples of the voice of a surviving September 2004 Beslan hostage, a 7 year-old first-grader Diana Alikova (Track 2 "Paean") Used by permission; Elmar Mamedov: Vocal; Boris Elkis: Vocal; Max Ofitserov: Vocal; Albert Vartanyan: Armenian Duduk, Paku; John Allan: Bagpipes, Chanter; Thomas Chess: Neys; Arturo Solar: Trumpets; John Roberts: Trombones; Taylor Catlin: Clarinetti; Ludmila Adzhemova: Violini; Lev ‘Ljova’ Zhurbin: Viole; Jakub Omsky: Celli; Alex Kharlamov: Vocal, Spectrasonics Atmosphere, Cloud of Chandeliers, Detuned Autoharp, Egyptian Mijwiz, Chinese Si, Indian Nigara Drum, Mexican Djembe, Egyptian Darbuka, Persian Duf, Bells, Tambourines, Indian and Persian Zills, Magic Wands, Tibetan Bowl, Greek Bouzouki, Armenian Pipe, Percussion Programming, Sound Design. Selected percussion samples used by license from VR Sound & Bolder Sounds. Created and composed by Alex! Kharlamov (ASCAP), except where noted otherwise. Based on ancient Greek songs and melodies. Poem in Track 2 "Paean" (c) 2004 Diana Alikova. "Paean" and "Song of Tecmessa": Reconstructed phrases and harmony progression by Philip Neuman of ensemble De Organographia. Used by their kind Permission. "Fear" photo by Veronica Leoni. Greek pronunciation consultations by Aristos Theoharides. Produced, arranged, orchestrated, recorded, mixed and mastered at Arvum by Alex Kharlamov.
Product Description
Album is dedicated to the victims of terrorist attacks in Russia, including the school siege on September 1 - 3, 2004 in Beslan, North Ossetia – Alania, Russia. All proceeds from sales of this album go directly to survivors of the attack and families of those who died in the tragic events. More than 1200 children, parents and teachers spent 3 days and nights in the school’s sport hall without food and water under the terrorists’ guns, with hanged bombs over the hostages. On the third day, 2 bombs have exploded right above the hostages, leaving many children and adults dead and most others badly injured, some impaired for the rest of their lives. People have burst into jumping out of the broken windows and running out of the school’s doors, with terrorists shooting everyone in their backs. Children and adults ran on broken glass under gunfire, helping each other. Several mothers, who lost their children in the attack, have committed suicides. After this tragedy, some children have lost their ability to talk, some cannot walk, and most children do not want to ever come back to school again. Track 2 "Paean" is build around samples of the voice of a surviving 7-year-old hostage, first-grader Diana Alikova (with her mother’s permission), sampled from her brief interview, given to the Russian TV a month after the tragic events. When journalists arrived, she could not talk for an hour. She is one of the very few surviving children, who want to go to school next year.
Posa Somata, Posa Pneumata,Alex Kharlamov,Arvum
Average customer rating: 
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Posa Somata, Posa Pneumata
Manufacturer: Arvum ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD  General
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ASIN: B0006A046E Release Date: 2004-11-07 |
Tracks:
- Posa Somata, Posa Pneumata
- Paean
- Katolofirome (Glory to the Battlefields?)
- Hymn to Nemesis
- Song of Seikilos
- Chorus of Athenaious
- Musa
- Morning
- Remembrance
- Miroloi
- Invocation
- Song of Tecmessa
- Prosodion
- Theologismos
- Poema
- Song of Seikilos (Reprise)
- Paean (Reprise)
Album Description
Album is dedicated to the victims of terrorist attacks in Russia, including the school siege on September 1 - 3, 2004 in Beslan, North Ossetia - Alania, Russia. All proceeds from sales of this album go directly to survivors of the attack and families of those who died in the tragic events. More than 1200 children, parents and teachers spent 3 days and nights in the school's sport hall without food and water under the terrorists' guns, with hanged bombs over the hostages. On the third day, 2 bombs have exploded right above the hostages, leaving many children and adults dead and most others badly injured, some impaired for the rest of their lives. People have burst into jumping out of the broken windows and running out of the school's doors, with terrorists shooting everyone in their backs. Children and adults ran on broken glass under gunfire, helping each other. Several mothers, who lost their children in the attack, have committed suicides. After this tragedy, some children have lost their ability to talk, some cannot walk, and most children do not want to ever come back to school again. Track 2 "Paean" is build around samples of the voice of a surviving 7-year-old hostage, first-grader Diana Alikova (with her mother's permission), sampled from her brief interview, given to the Russian TV a month after the tragic events. When journalists arrived, she could not talk for an hour. She is one of the very few surviving children, who want to go to school next year.Customer Reviews:
Great Cd, but what!?.......2005-09-21
Authentic yet Original.......2004-12-05
From alex kharlamov.......2004-12-03
First, I want to thank all of my friends and fans who have posted awesome reviews on this page and on Vangelis' album's page. I am a big fan of a lot of music by Vangelis, especially Blade Runner and Chariots of Fire. Music from these films take a special place in my childhood.
It's good to have a balance of different kinds of reviews. Otherwise, it would be like a monopoly: everybody loves the album, while the artist himself hates it half of the time, and is able to listen to it at another point in time.
I would like to clarify some points, addressed in Mr. S. Radice's review. I think his review was written down to the point. Being a musician who's done not-to-be-mentioned work of small and large scales beginning at a very young age, I think I might have a relatively good idea about the musical and conceptual aspects of the album that I have created, "Alexander the Great: Posa Somata, Posa Pneumata." This is the only "customer review" I can post here, so hopefully I'll be able to clarify enough points that may need to be addressed.
Yes, I do give this album 5 stars. This is way more than MY album. My personal contribution to it is limited. Please see above for the amount of the music artists that have contributed their time and artistry to this album. Their efforts, along with the majority of the original material that has been composed by the Ancient Greeks (compared to the modern composers in the same ratio that Homer may be compared to modern poets), looked at against the sonic quality and time spent researching the ancient music and working on the 17 recordings, plus learning the unique instruments and building one that is unique to the entire world, multiplied by the album's budget (none!) I begin to feel confident that the work, dedication and passion of these people deserves this many stars. If anybody feels otherwise, I can only enjoy the diversity of opinions and feelings that we all have. It's a good thing.
Pretentiousness: does the album have any connection with the tragic events in Beslan? Let's see what the lyrics for the first piece "Posa Somata, Posa Pneumata" say. This is an ancient choral piece of music that I have restored. I've restored only the missing parts of the music - keeping the lyrics intact. The booklet's translation reads, "How many bodies, how many souls... won is grave... later bodies will be washed... there are infants, also to be put in graves... this is us aiming weapons at ourselves, all on the same Earth." Please compare this ancient poetic writing to the above "Discription of the album."
More pretentiousness: is the album related to Alexander the Great in any way? This part may not be as simple. Yet it is very apparent. Here is what the first two pages of the CD booklet tell:
SPLENDOR OF LIVING
... After the battle of Issus, he sent to Damascus to seize upon the money and baggage, the wives and children, of the Persians, of which spoil the Thessalian horsemen had the greatest share; for he had taken particular notice of their gallantry in the fight, and sent them thither on purpose to make their reward suitable to their courage. Not but that the rest of the army had so considerable a part of the booty as was sufficient to enrich them all. This first gave the Macedonians such a taste of the Persian wealth and women and barbaric splendour of living, that they were ready to pursue and follow upon it with all the eagerness of hounds upon a scent.
(Plutarch's Parallel Lives, ALEXANDER)
A SACRIFICE TO GHOST
... When he came to Ecbatana in Media, and had dispatched his most urgent affairs, he began to divert himself again with spectacles and public entertainments, to carry on which he had a supply of three thousand actors and artists, newly arrived out of Greece. But they were soon interrupted by Hephaestion's falling sick of a fever... At this misfortune, Alexander was so beyond all reason transported, that to express his sorrow, he immediately ordered the manes and tails of all his horses and mules to be cut, and threw down the battlements of the neighboring cities. The poor physician he crucified, and forbade playing on the flute, or any other musical instrument in the camp a great while, till directions came from the oracle of Ammon, and enjoined him to honor Hephaestion, and sacrifice to him as to a hero. Then seeking to alleviate his grief in war, he set out, as it were, to a hunt and chase of men, for he fell upon the Cossaeans, and put the entire nation to the sword. This was called a sacrifice to Hephaestion's ghost.
(Plutarch's Parallel Lives, ALEXANDER)
ALEXANDER THE GREAT IDEOLOGY TODAY. BESLAN.
[Track Listings...]
---------------------
Brutality for the sake of having unlimited sex and/or power. Old story that keeps repeating itself and will never sieze to happen. A part of history that we sometimes admire, unless one of our family members or friends suffers from it. Besides the 'personalized' aspects of this history, we have lost several great cultures due to Alexander's conquest for the world. However, he did not win the battle against India, and thus we are awarded with being able to enjoy the untouched Hindu culture until this day. He also did not go as far as, for example, Japan. So we still have the Japanese culture intact. Many other cultures have been cut-out by the Alexander's army, and the ancient Greek culture forced in place of original ones. I come from a culture that has been influenced by the enciant Greek culture in a very strong way, but we kept our origins (Russian). That's how you keep your culture: by preserving and developing the origins. Alexander the "Great"'s ideology was: destroy what's there and force what's ours. Please don't get me as a Russian nationalist or a buddist - I am not one or the other. I am only trying to convey the message that, while we have been tought to perceive Alexander Macedonean as a Great conquieror and leader, this has been dropped on our brains by the political players who want you and I to believe that if a new leader tells us that they'll go and kill a few bad folks out there so that they can build a new city and library - we believe that this is good, because we already have such wonderful examples in history as Alexander the Great, embedded in our brains from our childhood. This is called political technology. It's a real science that is dropped on us every day like a bomb. This is what Aristotle knew and didn't want Alexander to get into, having been disappointed by Alexander's doings later down the road. Somebody 10 years from now may say that Bush Jr. was trying to establish democracy in Iraq. It's the same lame political game play, as Alexander was doing at his time. This never changes.
And, of course, if you hold the high power - polit-techno, money and human resources - you may allow yourself to slaughter some humans here and there, whenever you please to, like when you feel blue because your best friend dies. Or when you want to show your generals why they would want to go into the battle: you can take the women and children that you have captured and make them your slaves: order them to go clean your dishes and shoes, and rape them a little later in the day. Later, based on this psychology (developed by the beautiful politicians, namely Alexander) the Romans have adopted the early age sex idea and proclamed that they can start having family life with 10 year-old girls - but only in the royal circles.
Lack of musical structure: I really like Aphex Twin's Ambient Works vol II. Also Penderecki's dedication to Hiroshima and Schnittke's first symphony. Maybe they mess up too much with my ear, making me to feel weird and explore the world of the unknown. I agree, all music albums must have the same logical and pleasant musical structure. For example, Britney Spears or Celine Dion. Or a good Hollywood score album, written by ghostwriters who never get credited on 99% of Hollywood score albums. I work in the film music biz in Hollywood and have the right to tell you this first-hand.
Arvo Part's symphonies - bad music structure. Too loud, then too sort. Too long, too. Celine Dion sounds pleasant to everyone. Down to the point, and doesn't waste anyone's time. So much passion in singing, too. Calculated to perfection. We all strive for perfection.
Terrorist acts lack a logical structure. First, people are alive, then something happens, they are dead, then there's grief, then there's a glimpse of hope... Then time very slowly starts to erase the pain little by little. After a while, all that becomes a history, nothing more. If you reflect that in a music album, you may risk of following that sort of structure in the music development. Maybe that was my mistake. Maybe I should have created a smooth, pleasantly outlined structure that pleases everyone. Just like a terrorist act.
How little can be done in the studio: this album is based on ancient Greek melodies and songs. The way ancient Greeks performed music was very simple, almost primitive. Yet very elaborate in its essence. Listen to the real ancient Greek music reproductions: "Musique de la Grece Antique" by Gregorio Paniagua, and the ancient Greek music album by ensemble De Organographia at emgo.org - listen to them more than 2-3 times, and you'll understand what's going on. The music of those times has been based on completely different values. Today, you want to hear music that sounds full, well-produced, with a major sound and well-thought-through arrangements. Ancient Greek music was based on great ideas. Listen to my album's track 2, Paean. No one has ever written a more beautiful mediterranean melody than that. I did not write it. We only performed it. It was performed by the duduk player who has tought at the Yerevan Conservatory (Armenia) for most of his life and who is one of the most passionate and expressive duduk players in the world. I can say this with complete confidence because, while working in Hollywood, I have recorded the best session duduk players who work here on the regular basis and make big bucks. They do not come anywhere close to the way real duduk performance should sound and feel like. And this is what you hear on all major films, in which you hear duduk. The real duduk, in its turn, should sound like a cross between a very heartfelt vocal and a real passionate aulos - the signature instrument of the ancient Greece. The energy and passion of performance, along with the right techniques (yes, plural and very much so) makes a huge difference. Or, if we take, for instance, "Song of Tecmessa". There is only one vocal. But listen to the way it's performed. The expression of feeling to its fullest form within the appropriate form is what matters. We've recorded countless takes of vocals for these pieces. It took us 10 months to put this album together, while keeping the ancient Greek artistry intact within today's means of music creation. Track 5, "Song of Seikilos" could not be performed this way in any other studio in the world - a special glass bell instrument was built for reproducing that ancient Greek piece. Out of glass chandeliers. We called it Cloud of Chandeliers. The idea has originated from the instrument built by Harry Partch - his Cloud Chamber Bowls. If music is not arranged with the use of 10, 20 or 50 instruments, that doesn't make it any less significant than a 120-piece orchestral symphony. The heart of the music always drives its orchestration and arrangement. Needless to say, some of the pieces on this album have been recorded with layering 15-30 instruments, and many vocals.
On the other hand, look at the instumentations above (in the section "From the artist... Featured artists..."). Then, if you are in doubt in regards to the fullness of the sound of the album, let me ask you to listen to track 1 "Posa Somata, Posa Pneumata" (a large chorus sung by only 3 vocalists), track 3 "Katolofirome (Glory to the Battlefields?)", track 4 "Hymn to Nemesis", track 6 "Chorus of Athenaious" (a mid-size ancient Greek chorus chant done by one vocalist), track 13 "Prosodion", track 14 "Theologismos" - a symphonic piece... I will post the mp3 samples of all tracks on kharlamov.com within the next 2 days. Amazon doesn't allow indie musicians to have previews for all tracks here - only full track downloads at artist's will.
A lot of what's heard out there today, sounds simple. Off-beat instruments and voices may sound boring. But the idea behind this album is what drove its creation and completion. This is not a commercial album. If I've missed anything here, please ask me in my forum at kharlamov.com. I won't be able to answer here after you read this, since this is the only 'review' space I have on my album's page at Amazon.
Thank you,
ak
Pretentious.......2004-12-02
Beautifully dark ride through ancient times!.......2004-11-13
In the same way that these often dark forces were real then and now, this seems to be a melding of ancient themes and instrumentation with this composer's own ideas and palette. Not long after my first listen, I thought a bit about the CD "Adiemus" - Karl Jenkins' exploration of the round song form with invented language and classical instrumentation and even more so about the CD "Vision: The Music Of Hildegard Von Bingen" where Emily van Evera and Sister Germaine Fritz masterfully perform 12th century chant to added trance tracks. In Kharlamov's work, the "then" and "now" both in composition and instrumentation are more indistinguishable, more closely intertwined, yet clear, yielding something highly original.
The recording quality of the CD is superb. The nearly a cappella voices of the first track flow in from nowhere. The beautiful female and male vocals on this CD rival the best I've heard on the best period recordings. The clarity is stunning. Sounds from the left, right, front, back, close, far, and right in the middle of your head. There are many kinds of interesting wind sounds here, from various instruments, but also voices and bells as wind. There are also some very interesting percussion sounds: bells, winds, voices used as percussion and other non-standard percussive effects (ala Peter Gabriel) used in many different ways. And the timing is impeccable. Although every instrument is crystal clear, the often rich texture of sounds combined with the motion of melody and rhythm often challenge the listener as one voice or instrument takes over another. The liner notes name some of the more period instruments. There are some beautiful string passages in the short piece "Theologismos," as well as a powerful combination of Armenian, Egyptian, Persian, Indian and Chinese instruments in "Hymn to Nemesis." The ancient Greeks would be amazed if they could hear today the performances of Albert Vartanyan and Thomas Chess on "Paean." Chess' masterful and gentle performance on the Ney is complimented with a heartfelt solo by Vartanyan on the Duduk. Vartanyan's work here blows away any of the best Duduk performances I have ever heard, including those used in million-dollar Hollywood blockbuster soundtracks, such as "The Passion of Jesus Christ." "Invocation" is a very ancient sounding piece with a wonderfully effective droning beat overlaid with sad, but enticing vocals. Themes such as this must have been used for special rituals or events. Another favorite is "Poema" with its subtle bell and tinkling glass sounds; if you happen to drift off to sleep to this you are sure to have enchanting dreams. There is a very nice female vocal solo on "Musa." And on "Morning," the bagpipe sounds are beautifully distant and soft.
Most of the pieces really place you in an ancient place. Others, with subtle voices from the present, a little closer to this world, but the general theme of Ancient Greece is consistent. I read on Kharlamov's web site that he wrote some music for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney and thought how interesting that he wrote this music during the same year the Olympics returned to Athens. A very original and fine work of art!
World Music:
- Prodigal Son [Import]
- Queens of Fado, Vol. 2
- Rai Rebels
- Rirmi Dell'america Latina [Import]
- Road from Erin: Ireland's Musical Legacy
- Romane Serda [Import]
- Samba e Bossa Nova-Saudaçoes Do Rio [Original recording remastered]
- Scoraggiando [Import]
- Shared Moments
- Solo
World Music
Ballroom Dance, Vol. 3 [Import]
Hauntings:Scream of Consciousness
Il Mio Nome E Nessuno [Original recording remastered] [Import]
Fly Away From Here [CD-single] [Import]
h2O Productions presents..."While U Wait"
Georg Philipp Telemann: Funeral Music for Garlieb Sillem
Founder of the Jazz Vibes: 1930-1944