Mneme
Mneme
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Ex Silentio: Late medieval and traditional music and songs from the Mediterranean countries
“Mneme” by the Greek early music ensemble “Ex Silentio” is an intriguing collection of musical remembrances from all around the mediterranean sea: dances, songs and instrumental pieces from medieval and early renaissance sources.
The musicians of Ex Silentio, being at home both in the traditional folk music and the “classical” early music world, create a colorful portrait of these ancient times, telling of mighty kings, noble knights and beautiful princesses that once populated those countries as well as people’s imaginations then as now.
“Mneme” is as much a historically well-informed performance of this ancient music as it is a visionary and highly creative fairytale derived from Greek mythology and mediterranean psyche.
The musicians of Ex Silentio
Theodora Baka – voice
Tobias Schlierf – voice, hurdy-gurdy, fiddle, organ portative
Dimitris Kountouras – recorder, musical direction
Thimios Atzakas – oud
Andreas Linos – fiddle & viola da gamba
Elektra Miliadou – fiddle & viola da gamba
Nikos Varelas - percussion
Music video
See Ex Silention perform a piece from their album in the recording location:
Release date:
Catalogue number: CD-16306
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tracklist
Tracklist of "Mneme"
01. Da que dues mamo Cantiga de Santa Maria Nr. 77 02:09
02. Rosa das Rosas Cantiga de Santa Maria Nr. 10 09:22
03. Saltarello – Trotto Codex London, British Library, Add. 29987 04.32
04. Puncha puncha Sefardic traditional 05:35
05. Lamma bada yatathana Arab-Andalusian traditional 06:46
06. Zonaradikos Traditional dance from Thrace 02:15
10. De poni amor G. da Firenze (Italy, 14th c.) Squarcialupi Codex 02:47
08. Ghaetta Codex London, British Library, Add. 29987 08:01
09. Aras pot hom Raimbaut de Vaqueiras (1180-1207) 07:21
10. Castle of Astropalia Greek Traditional 11:16
Total time 60:09
booklet text
recording information
press reviews
American Record Guide
"There’s a whirling dervish quality to instrumental dances such as the Ghaetta and Saltarello, led by director Dimitris Kountouras’s excellent recorder-playing, and the sensuous and minimalistic filigree accompaniment in the traditional Sefardic song ‘Puncha Puncha’ (“Pungent, pungent is the rose’s perfume”) is bewitching, as is the dramatic ‘Rosa Des Rosas’ honoring the Virgin Mary as a courtly Lady." Catherine Moore, American Record Guide, January 2016
Pizzicato Journal
"This is a very beautiful CD! Mneme, the second album by the Greek ensemble Ex Silentio, contains a varied collection of music from the Middle Ages and Renaissance around the Mediterranean. Jordi Savall has followers (to use the language of social media), and Ex Silentio is a very good one. In addition to rousing dances, Marian songs, and folk songs, there are gems such as ‘Puncha, puncha,’ a wonderfully atmospheric Sephardic song that Theodora Baka turns into a deeply moving love song with sensitivity and genuine stylistic confidence. It is a pleasure to experience that knowledge of historical performance practice and imagination do not have to be opposites, but can enrich each other. The joy of playing, the sense of sound and the feeling for style offered here are breathtaking."
Supersonic Price 2015 von Pizzicato Journal (Luxemburg)