Unheard Frequencies: Medieval Music Revived in Naples

On Saturday, March 16th, as part of the 'Unheard Frequencies' season, the Pietà de' Turchini Foundation brings to Naples one of the most renowned international interpreters of medieval music, Katarina Livijanic, an extraordinary alchemist of medieval music in a theatrical key, leading the vocal ensemble Dialogos. At 7:00 PM at the Church of Santa Caterina da Siena, the ensemble presents 'Barlaam and Josaphat', a Christian reading of the life of Buddha. The program highlights in a musical key the legend of Saint Josafat and his master Saint Barlaam, characters who probably lived in the 3rd or 4th century in India. The intent is to offer a new experience, through a polyglot interpretation of this legend: Dialogos follows the story of Barlaam through his numerous pilgrimages, interpreting the pieces drawn from his medieval translations in Greek, Latin, Old Croatian, Old Russian, Old French, Italian, or Medieval Occitan. 'The Legend of Barlaam and Josaphat' tells that King Avenir persecuted Christians. When the astrologers predicted to him that his own son Josafat would one day become a Christian, Avenir isolated him from any contact with human suffering, old age, or illness. Despite his imprisonment, Josafat met the hermit Barlaam and converted. This story was very popular in the Middle Ages and appears in some works like the Golden Legend. Josafat and Barlaam were canonized by Christian churches - however, there is no proof of their existence. The first Christianized adaptation of this story was the epic of Balavariani written in Georgian. It was later translated into Greek, then Latin, before becoming very popular in Western Europe. The program also included compositions belonging to medieval musical repertoires directly related to this legend, as well as songs whose 'incantatory' dimension is notably striking. These are poetic and musical masterpieces that create a dense and intense atmosphere, like a shamanic percussion involving a strong experience in which the languages and musical cultures of the medieval world meet in an incredible Babel of sound. The Ensemble Dialogos, formed in 1997 by Katarina Livljanić, a Croatian singer and musicologist, is dedicated to the interpretation of the sacred repertories of medieval Europe. Thanks to the union between thorough musicological research and a strong stage presence, the programs of Dialogos offer with sensitivity a new approach to ancient music.