Music of Ancient Rome and Greece

[Sergey Lenkov]

If you are interested in ancient music I have something new for you:
http://www.musicaromana.de/de/synpan.html
This is the new CD of Musica romana, a project from germany, playing on reconstructed instruments.The cd I linked is very very good, but unfortunately too short...

Due to Susanna`s courtesy I could give you more detailed review of the new CD "Symphonia Panica" by Musica Romana. Subtitles of this record: "Music of Antiquty" and "Sound of Roman Times". So Musica Romana gives us unique possibility to hear re-created flutes of Pan, copies of two flutes of Roman times founded in Germany and Switzerland. The performers tried to give listener a chance to feel sounds of their instruments, so record sounds lively and and not so polished in studio as a la new age or Peter Gabriel-style records by Synaulia or "Melpomen". Sound of this CD seems for me Theocritic... It`s very interesting listening experience.
1 track - XVIII. 3:28
Short beautiful melody by Anonymes of Bellermann.
Firstly you hear pure sound of panflute, after that comes the sound of trigonon (angular harp, which sounds... Celtic for my modern ear), the slow theme repeates and in the end the you hear the Roman tibia in the background. Good start.
2. Cave Carminem! 2:42. It is origianal composition by Musica Romana.
They tries to paint you a picture of Roman Triumph - so we hear tibia and drums, melody is very moving and dynamic.
3. Pandoura Hora 2:46. Also original compostion. Real hit of this CD.
Pandoura or Coptic Lute (by the way the Copts are desendants of the Ancient Egyptians) gives rhythm, groove to the dynamic melody and the sound of panflute pictures us the scene of Bacchic dance.
4. Fistula Thurga 2:40. This original compostion gives you possibility to hear panflute founded in Thurgau. Style of playing and melody seem very lively. While listening to it I thought that I`d prefer to listen to pure sound of panflute without tibia and my wish is fulfilled in the next track.
5. Poem Mor. 3:31. This compostion was attributed to Grigorios Nazianzenos by German Jesuit, musicologist and Orientalist Athanasius Kircher (but as I understands he was the real author). So we are listening to fantasy Byzantine music as it was imagined in the 17th century according to their knowings of Antique music. Panflute and harp... Very beautiful.
6. Fistula Pastorales. 2:25. Musica by Susanna. Pure sound of flute.
7. Careula Bellermanni. 2:25.
This piece is also taken from Anonymes of Bellermann. Harp leads the melody. I think - if to play panflute with hydraulis - it would be real space music of that epoch.
8. And the beautiful song Faunus (2:52), original compostion, based on Horatio verses ends this programme.
In general CD is very interesting and also it`s interesting to compare versions by Musica Romana with playing of the same fragments by Paniagua, Ensemble De Organographia and Ensemble Kerylos.
I think that wish of every listener would be to hear more authenic pieces of Antique music, and on the third live CD by Musica Romana we would hear music by Mesomedes of Crete with this new material. Musica Romana is in the beginning of their way as recording performers - let`s hope that they wouldn`t stop and that they would give us more pleasure to listen to authentic music of Antiquty.