Details

The sublime beauty of Ancient Chant collides with the energy and unpredictability of contemporary culture.

Nick Tsiavos is a bassist and composer whose work operates at the intersections of a number of cultural boundaries: from the mystery and beauty of 6th century Byzantium and the 12th century Medieval West, to the instability and anarchy of the present, he explores the deconstructive moment as ancient chant collides with the energies of Modernism, Minimalism and experimental improvisation.

Deborah Kayser performs in areas as diverse as ancient Byzantine chant, Baroque song and contemporary classical music, both scored and improvised. Jerzy Kozlowski studied singing at the Guildhall School of Music and has sung solo with all the major Melbourne choral groups in repertoire ranging from Handel’s Messiah to Verdi’s Requiem.

Percussionist Peter Neville has worked nationally and internationally across a number of genres – from orchestral to rock, music theatre and opera, but has a particular commitment to new music.

Anne Norman is a passionate shakuhachi performer and composer working as soloist and in collaboration with a diverse range of musicians.

About the concert

Their performance in Primrose Potter Salon presents an exploration and critical homage to the massive Akathistos liturgy, the sublime beauty of ancient chant collides with the energy and instability of contemporary culture. The ancient becomes modern as the languages and energies of modernism mix freely with the rapture and danger of sacred byzantine text.

Tsiavos brings together a group of brilliantly creative and intuitively aware musicians that have worked throughout the world across a multitude of styles and genres. The brilliant discordance of new complexity, the quietude of zen, the anarchic tumult of free jazz and the cascading melisma of byzantine chant all meld together into a hypnotic synthesis of a new minimalism.

Praise for Nick Tsiavos

‘An ensemble which embodies a feeling, that feeling of primal ecstasy which music can sometimes convey.’ Sydney Morning Herald

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Artists

Deborah Kayser soprano
Jerzy Kozlowski bass, baritone
Anne Norman shakuhachi
Peter Neville percussion
Nick Tsiavos director, contrabass