Brave Festival – Against Cultural Exile - Prayers of the World
Brave Festival – Against Cultural Exile - “Prayers of the World”:
PROGRAM 3-11 July 2009
The Ceremony of Dhikr (Georgia)
Dhikr (Zikir in Turkish and Malay, Zikr in Urdu, Jikir in Bengali and Zekr in Persian. from the Arabic meaning "pronouncement", "invocation" or "remembrance") is an Islamic practice that focuses on the remembrance of God. It is a devotional act which involves the repetition of the names of Allah, supplications and aphorisms from hadith literature and sections of the Qur'an. This ceremony will be performed by a group of nine Kistinian women from northeastern Georgia.
A Filetta – Corsican liturgical songs
Corsican polyphony is world renowned – this is thanks to pioneers such as A Filetta. Born in Balagne in 1978 out of a passion for singing and folklore, the band is deeply rooted in the land of its origin – like the local fern from which it gets its name. In the 1970s the tradition of Corsican polyphony was dying, in danger of being forgotten in its native land. It is thanks to pioneers such as A Filetta that this cultural legacy has been revived and is now in a position of strength. During Brave 2009, the members of A Filetta will present a repertoire of sacred songs and hymns based on the Passion titled “Missa Corsicana”
Alim Quasimov and mugham songs (Azerbaijan)
Alim Qasimov is considered one of the most talented singers in the world. He is a master of Mugham—modal singing popular in the mountains of the Caucasus, as well as among the Turkish-speaking nations of the Middle East. The Azeri folk tradition of Mugham unites the performance of expressive and melodic song with accompaniment on various types of flutes and string instruments such as the tar lute, kamancha, and bendir. These songs are often based on the medieval and modern poetry of Azerbaijan. Although love is a common topic in Mugham, the poems do not primarily deal with worldly love but with the mystical love of god. Mugham seeks to achieve an ascent from a lower level of awareness to a transcendental union with god and thus embodies a spiritual search for god.
Azerbaijani mugham is on the UNESCO list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
Theyyam Performers (India)
The Theyyam, or Theyyattam, is a colloquial expression for daivam, a celestial being, as well as a popular ritual dance of northern Kerala, India, particularly to the Kolathunadu region. As a living cult with several thousand year old traditions, rituals and customs, Theyyam embraces almost all the castes and classes of Hindu society in this region. Theyyam embodies a complex universe centered on the belief that a man can—after suitable mental, physical and spiritual preliminaries and on donning the costume of a particular deity — incarnate that deity. In this elevated state the Theyyam dancer assumes superhuman and divine powers—speaking, moving, blessing and even healing as a god or goddess.
Korean shamanism and the mudang rite
In contemporary Korea, shamanism is known as muism and a shaman is known as a mudang. The role of the mudang, usually a woman, is to act an intermediary between a god or gods and human beings. The most important performance of a mudang is the kut, a trance ritual in which singing and dancing are used to invite happiness and repel evil. The kut usually comprises 12 kŏri (procedures), each of which is addressed to such specific gods or spirits as the god of childbirth, good harvest, and property, the goddesses in control of specific diseases, the patron spirit of shamans, or the protector god of households.
Imzad played by the Tuareg female group (Algeria)
The Imzad is an ancient single string instrument used by the Tuareg of the Sahara. Played exclusively by women the Imzad may not be accompanied by any other instrument but only by hand-clapping and a solo voice. Exceptionally, the Imzad can be accompanied by two voices - in such duets, the singing is sometimes mixed (man and woman), and sometimes men only. More than a musical instrument, the Imzad is a symbol of power, symbolising a music that is born out of a unique social structure, and to a society specific in space and time.
Ahellil chants of the Berbers (Algeria) (to be confirmed)
The Ahellil, specific to the Berber-speaking part of the Gourara of the Algerian Sahara, is regularly performed during collective ceremonies and at religious festivities and during pilgrimages, as well as secular celebrations such as weddings and community events. Known as IZELOUENE before the rise of Islam, the Ahellil's spiritual lyrics originally contained descriptions of the beauty of man and nature and of the numerous good deeds of men and women. Slowly religious influences and the philosophy of the Tariqa masters have also become part of the chants. An Ahellil performance consists of a series of chants in an order decided by the instrumentalist or singer and follows an age-old pattern. It has a threefold structure that is reflected in the chant performance, which begins with a prelude by the instrumentalist, followed by the chorus picking up certain verses, and ending with chanting in a whisper and slowly building into a powerful, harmonious whole.
The Ahellil is on the UNESCO list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
Wagogo Ensemble to praise Milungu (Tanzania)
For the Wagogo people of central Tanzania, Milungu are potentially harmful or beneficial ancestral spirits. There is a great benefit to keeping Milungu happy and this is done by praising the spirits through song and dance, and by sacrifice. By constantly honouring the milungu, the Wagogo feel they can tap the spirits' powers when they and other people living on Wagogo land are in need of healing and prosperity.
Divna – Old Byzantine hymns and psalms (Serbia)
Divna is an outstanding performer of the orthodox liturgical repertoire. Divna focuses on works belonging to Orthodox sacred music, from the oldest monadic or polyphonic Byzantine, Serbian, Bulgarian and Russian pieces, to contemporary works. She learned the art of Orthodox singing under the auspices of nuns, the choir of Vavedenje monastery, where she was trained by the sisters who inducted her into the unique style derived from Karlovatz singing. A style faithful to centuries of cherished tradition.
Sierab Ling monks - sand mandala and lama dances
The sand mandala ('kilkhor' in Tibetan) is a Tibetan Buddhist tradition involving the creation and destruction of mandalas made from colored sand. Of all the artistic traditions of Tantric Buddhism, that of painting with colored sand ranks as one of the most unique and exquisite. In Tibetan this art is called 'dul-tson-kyil-khor', which literally means "mandala of colored powders." Millions of grains of sand are painstakingly laid into place on a flat platform over a period of days or weeks, only to be ritually destroyed once the mandala has been completed and its accompanying ceremonies and viewing are over. This destruction symbolises the Buddhist doctrinal belief in the transitory nature of material life.
Polish ritual music
A concert of Polish ritual music organized by Jan Bernad from “Muzyka Kresów” (“Music for the Borderland”) Foundation in cooperation with Professor Dariusz Kosiński from the Jagiellonian University of Krakow at an all-night vigil by a 25-person choir performing an artistic program composed of Lenten prayers (including Lenten Lamentations and Way of the Cross), Marian prayers (primers and May prayers), and requiems.
Irkutsk Ensemble Authentic Music (Siberia, Russia)
The Irkutsk Ensemble was formed 10 years ago when its members started to collect various musical materials from archive recordings and during their numerous ethnographic research trips to the region of Priangaria from which thousands of villages were evicted due to the development of the Irkutsk hydro-electric power station. The construction of this plant led to the disappearance of not only many ancient local communities but their musical traditions as well. The leader of the Irkutsk Ensemble Alexander Rogachevski decided to revive and continue these traditions which encompass not merely songs but also a true testimony and moral code of ancient times. The Ensemble, who have appeared at the Brave Festival previously, have prepared a special repertoire of ritual Siberian songs for this year’s edition “Prayers of the World”
Song of the Goat Theatre
Song of the Goat Theatre continues the long tradition of Poland ensemble theatre work and, through their dedication to ongoing research in the actor's craft and its vocal and movement techniques has created a unique performance style. Song of the Goat Theatre have been hailed as the most exciting and innovative of the new avant-garde theatre movement in Poland.
ZAR Theatre (Grotowski Institute)
The ensemble of the Theatre ZAR Association was initially formed through almost three years of expeditions and rehearsals working towards their first project: Gospels of Childhood. Members were gathered for the project from training sessions at the Grotowski Centre and their work was directed towards the long-term development of actors’ skills, as well as towards discovering new forms of expression, based mainly on acting through song. Therefore, the character of Zar's project proved to be musicological, but was not so much dedicated to conventional ethno-musicological research as to an attempt to recompose and reshape the musical material acquired during the group's expeditions.
Macbeth performance by the convicts of the Kłodzko prison
PROGRAM 3-11 July 2009
The Ceremony of Dhikr (Georgia)
Dhikr (Zikir in Turkish and Malay, Zikr in Urdu, Jikir in Bengali and Zekr in Persian. from the Arabic meaning "pronouncement", "invocation" or "remembrance") is an Islamic practice that focuses on the remembrance of God. It is a devotional act which involves the repetition of the names of Allah, supplications and aphorisms from hadith literature and sections of the Qur'an. This ceremony will be performed by a group of nine Kistinian women from northeastern Georgia.
A Filetta – Corsican liturgical songs
Corsican polyphony is world renowned – this is thanks to pioneers such as A Filetta. Born in Balagne in 1978 out of a passion for singing and folklore, the band is deeply rooted in the land of its origin – like the local fern from which it gets its name. In the 1970s the tradition of Corsican polyphony was dying, in danger of being forgotten in its native land. It is thanks to pioneers such as A Filetta that this cultural legacy has been revived and is now in a position of strength. During Brave 2009, the members of A Filetta will present a repertoire of sacred songs and hymns based on the Passion titled “Missa Corsicana”
Alim Quasimov and mugham songs (Azerbaijan)
Alim Qasimov is considered one of the most talented singers in the world. He is a master of Mugham—modal singing popular in the mountains of the Caucasus, as well as among the Turkish-speaking nations of the Middle East. The Azeri folk tradition of Mugham unites the performance of expressive and melodic song with accompaniment on various types of flutes and string instruments such as the tar lute, kamancha, and bendir. These songs are often based on the medieval and modern poetry of Azerbaijan. Although love is a common topic in Mugham, the poems do not primarily deal with worldly love but with the mystical love of god. Mugham seeks to achieve an ascent from a lower level of awareness to a transcendental union with god and thus embodies a spiritual search for god.
Azerbaijani mugham is on the UNESCO list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
Theyyam Performers (India)
The Theyyam, or Theyyattam, is a colloquial expression for daivam, a celestial being, as well as a popular ritual dance of northern Kerala, India, particularly to the Kolathunadu region. As a living cult with several thousand year old traditions, rituals and customs, Theyyam embraces almost all the castes and classes of Hindu society in this region. Theyyam embodies a complex universe centered on the belief that a man can—after suitable mental, physical and spiritual preliminaries and on donning the costume of a particular deity — incarnate that deity. In this elevated state the Theyyam dancer assumes superhuman and divine powers—speaking, moving, blessing and even healing as a god or goddess.
Korean shamanism and the mudang rite
In contemporary Korea, shamanism is known as muism and a shaman is known as a mudang. The role of the mudang, usually a woman, is to act an intermediary between a god or gods and human beings. The most important performance of a mudang is the kut, a trance ritual in which singing and dancing are used to invite happiness and repel evil. The kut usually comprises 12 kŏri (procedures), each of which is addressed to such specific gods or spirits as the god of childbirth, good harvest, and property, the goddesses in control of specific diseases, the patron spirit of shamans, or the protector god of households.
Imzad played by the Tuareg female group (Algeria)
The Imzad is an ancient single string instrument used by the Tuareg of the Sahara. Played exclusively by women the Imzad may not be accompanied by any other instrument but only by hand-clapping and a solo voice. Exceptionally, the Imzad can be accompanied by two voices - in such duets, the singing is sometimes mixed (man and woman), and sometimes men only. More than a musical instrument, the Imzad is a symbol of power, symbolising a music that is born out of a unique social structure, and to a society specific in space and time.
Ahellil chants of the Berbers (Algeria) (to be confirmed)
The Ahellil, specific to the Berber-speaking part of the Gourara of the Algerian Sahara, is regularly performed during collective ceremonies and at religious festivities and during pilgrimages, as well as secular celebrations such as weddings and community events. Known as IZELOUENE before the rise of Islam, the Ahellil's spiritual lyrics originally contained descriptions of the beauty of man and nature and of the numerous good deeds of men and women. Slowly religious influences and the philosophy of the Tariqa masters have also become part of the chants. An Ahellil performance consists of a series of chants in an order decided by the instrumentalist or singer and follows an age-old pattern. It has a threefold structure that is reflected in the chant performance, which begins with a prelude by the instrumentalist, followed by the chorus picking up certain verses, and ending with chanting in a whisper and slowly building into a powerful, harmonious whole.
The Ahellil is on the UNESCO list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
Wagogo Ensemble to praise Milungu (Tanzania)
For the Wagogo people of central Tanzania, Milungu are potentially harmful or beneficial ancestral spirits. There is a great benefit to keeping Milungu happy and this is done by praising the spirits through song and dance, and by sacrifice. By constantly honouring the milungu, the Wagogo feel they can tap the spirits' powers when they and other people living on Wagogo land are in need of healing and prosperity.
Divna – Old Byzantine hymns and psalms (Serbia)
Divna is an outstanding performer of the orthodox liturgical repertoire. Divna focuses on works belonging to Orthodox sacred music, from the oldest monadic or polyphonic Byzantine, Serbian, Bulgarian and Russian pieces, to contemporary works. She learned the art of Orthodox singing under the auspices of nuns, the choir of Vavedenje monastery, where she was trained by the sisters who inducted her into the unique style derived from Karlovatz singing. A style faithful to centuries of cherished tradition.
Sierab Ling monks - sand mandala and lama dances
The sand mandala ('kilkhor' in Tibetan) is a Tibetan Buddhist tradition involving the creation and destruction of mandalas made from colored sand. Of all the artistic traditions of Tantric Buddhism, that of painting with colored sand ranks as one of the most unique and exquisite. In Tibetan this art is called 'dul-tson-kyil-khor', which literally means "mandala of colored powders." Millions of grains of sand are painstakingly laid into place on a flat platform over a period of days or weeks, only to be ritually destroyed once the mandala has been completed and its accompanying ceremonies and viewing are over. This destruction symbolises the Buddhist doctrinal belief in the transitory nature of material life.
Polish ritual music
A concert of Polish ritual music organized by Jan Bernad from “Muzyka Kresów” (“Music for the Borderland”) Foundation in cooperation with Professor Dariusz Kosiński from the Jagiellonian University of Krakow at an all-night vigil by a 25-person choir performing an artistic program composed of Lenten prayers (including Lenten Lamentations and Way of the Cross), Marian prayers (primers and May prayers), and requiems.
Irkutsk Ensemble Authentic Music (Siberia, Russia)
The Irkutsk Ensemble was formed 10 years ago when its members started to collect various musical materials from archive recordings and during their numerous ethnographic research trips to the region of Priangaria from which thousands of villages were evicted due to the development of the Irkutsk hydro-electric power station. The construction of this plant led to the disappearance of not only many ancient local communities but their musical traditions as well. The leader of the Irkutsk Ensemble Alexander Rogachevski decided to revive and continue these traditions which encompass not merely songs but also a true testimony and moral code of ancient times. The Ensemble, who have appeared at the Brave Festival previously, have prepared a special repertoire of ritual Siberian songs for this year’s edition “Prayers of the World”
Song of the Goat Theatre
Song of the Goat Theatre continues the long tradition of Poland ensemble theatre work and, through their dedication to ongoing research in the actor's craft and its vocal and movement techniques has created a unique performance style. Song of the Goat Theatre have been hailed as the most exciting and innovative of the new avant-garde theatre movement in Poland.
ZAR Theatre (Grotowski Institute)
The ensemble of the Theatre ZAR Association was initially formed through almost three years of expeditions and rehearsals working towards their first project: Gospels of Childhood. Members were gathered for the project from training sessions at the Grotowski Centre and their work was directed towards the long-term development of actors’ skills, as well as towards discovering new forms of expression, based mainly on acting through song. Therefore, the character of Zar's project proved to be musicological, but was not so much dedicated to conventional ethno-musicological research as to an attempt to recompose and reshape the musical material acquired during the group's expeditions.
Macbeth performance by the convicts of the Kłodzko prison
