An album called In Memoria Eterna by a group called Ensemble Organum might seem likely to be a contemplative, even sedate affair, but in reality, this release is as experimental as any other to appear in 2021. Director Marcel Pérès terms it an "utter utopia," devoted to "deciphering the genetic code of spirituality." Listeners must decide for themselves whether these abstract goals have been met, but the basic musical stuff is plenty interesting. The album took shape in stages over a period of almost 25 years, and one key ...
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An album called In Memoria Eterna by a group called Ensemble Organum might seem likely to be a contemplative, even sedate affair, but in reality, this release is as experimental as any other to appear in 2021. Director Marcel Pérès terms it an "utter utopia," devoted to "deciphering the genetic code of spirituality." Listeners must decide for themselves whether these abstract goals have been met, but the basic musical stuff is plenty interesting. The album took shape in stages over a period of almost 25 years, and one key step was when the singers of Ensemble Organum, who have specialized in various kinds of chant, sang melodies from the Mozarabic chant of medieval Spain to a singer versed in the Samaa tradition of Morocco and found that he knew them and could answer them. Given the influence of Islamic rule in Spain, this is not entirely surprising, but the kinship is nonetheless compelling. The program is organized as a kind of prayer vigil, "comparable to the Sufi ceremonies of our day," in which...
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