Pilgrimage, subtitled “Musical Journey of Kryštof Harant to Jerusalem c1600”, combines the skilled forces of the vocal group Cappella Mariana and Constantinople, an ensemble specialising in early music from the Middle East.
The Czech-born nobleman Kryštof Harant (1564-1621), writer, traveller and soldier as well as composer, travelled to the Holy Land, publishing a journal about his adventures. The mix of music here suggests the different styles and languages (seven are represented) he encountered as he crossed different lands towards Jerusalem. His name now little known, Harant was a dominant Bohemian composer of the period, though not progressive: his liturgical music, written for church performance, is strongly influenced by earlier Renaissance styles. Converting from Catholicism, he fought in the Protestant Bohemian revolt against the Habsburgs, and was executed in Prague’s Old Town Square, aged 57.
On this album, parts of Harant’s mass settings – beautifully performed by the Czech Cappella Mariana singers – are interspersed with modal-based vocal and instrumental music from Ottoman and other traditions. The five-strong ensemble Constantinople play Turkish fiddle, Persian long-necked lute, Middle Eastern psaltery and percussion. An album of unfamiliar music such as this, well performed and built around a particular subject, is always fascinating for the curious.
