 Ce "Pilgrimage" nous invite à découvrir la figure de Krystof Harant, né en 1564 en Bohème et décapité en 1621 sur la place de Prague pour avoir participé à l’insurrection, suite à la révolte protestante des terres de la Couronne de Bohème contre les forces catholiques des Habsbourg qui se terminera par la victoire de ces derniers durant la bataille de la Montagne Blanche. De 1598 à 1599, ce compositeur soldat part en expédition en Terre Sainte afin de visiter le Saint Sépulcre. Le récit de ses pérégrinations sera publié à Prague en 1608 sous le titre de "Voyage de Bohème en Terre Sainte par la voie de Venise et de la mer". Cet album de la Cappella Mariana et de l’ensemble Constantinople en est l’écho, mêlant les propres compositions de Harant et des musiques traditionnelles du Moyen Orient d’origine Perse, Turque ou Soufi (via les poèmes du mystique Hafez). Si Harant possédait une grande culture humaniste et maîtrisait la technique du chant et du contrepoint qu’il étudia à Innsbruck, l’écriture de sa "Missa quinis vocibus" reste assez conservatrice, basé sur le sacro-saint cantus firmus. Des huit chanteurs de la Cappella Mariana au demeurant excellents, on distinguera le timbre éthéré de la soprano Hana Blazikova. L’ensemble Constantinople quant à lui composé d’instruments traditionnels (Kanun, kemençe et percussions) restitue avec gouaille la splendeur de cet orient magique que dépeint Goethe dans son Divan. (Jérôme Angouillant) The subject of different cultures mingling and of the search for a common language is more relevant in today’s globalised world than ever before. However, it has been present in various forms for centuries. An inspiring encounter of rather distant music worlds is the result of the collaboration of Cappella Mariana, focused particularly on Renaissance polyphony, and Constantinople, representing the music tradition of Islam. Their common project imaginarily copies the adventurous pilgrimage undertaken in 1598 by the nobleman and composer, Kryštof Harant, who gave a gripping account of it in his book Journey from Bohemia to the Holy Land, by Way of Venice and the Sea. Harant’s complete preserved oeuvre is combined with the music of the exotic lands of the Ottoman Empire, Syria, Palestine, Sinai and Persia, which completes the atmosphere of the places as Harant himself might have experienced it on his journey. The variety of the Middle East nationalities, contributed to by the presence of pilgrims, monks and wanderers, created a very rich mosaic of sounds. As a result, songs in seven languages can be heard on the recording. Harant’s polyphony is overlapped here with songs by well-known as well as anonymous 16th-century Middle-East music masters, using, for instance, texts by the famous Persian poet, Hafez. Listening to the music of a remote culture can be a surprising experience indicating its inner richness, level of education, emotionality, etc. With an open mind, we may discover in these hitherto unknown realms a source of beauty and deep inspiration for ourselves.
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