Barlaam and Josaphat will be created on June 5th, 2009 at the Funkhaus of Cologne (Germany) within the WDR 3 series.
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One of the most popular medieval legends, the incredible story of Josaphat and his master Barlaam, originating from 3rd-4th c. India, has inspired the creation of this concert programme.
This almost surrealistic tale seems to be a christianized version of Buddha’s life : the story opens with a king, Avenir, persecuting the Christians. When the astrologers predicted that his own son, Josaphat, would one day become a Christian, Avenir decided to isolate the young prince from any contact with human suffering, aging or illness (and confine him in an artificial ideal world, almost like in today’s « reality shows »…).
In spite of his isolation from the real world, Josaphat meets the hermit Barlaam and converts, through a series of colourful and unusual encounters (for instance, in one such encounter we learn of the theological problems being solved by a man who is a professional « word fixer » and can mend the words which are already uttered and have caused damage or hurt somebody!).
The Barlaam & Josaphat story was extremely popular in the Middle Ages; it appears in many manuscripts, even in compilations of saints’ lives such as the famous 13th-century Golden Legend. The popularity of this story was so intense that Josaphat and Barlaam were actually canonised by the Christian church, even if there is no evidence for their existence, Their cult survived well into the 20th century, when their feast was finally removed from the calendar, but not from the popular belief.
The first christianized adaptation of this story was the epic poem Balavariani, created in Georgian and written in the 10th century. It was then consecutively translated into Greek and then Latin in the 11th century, before becoming popular and widespread in Western Europe.
The popularity and cosmopolitan nature of this legend, as well as its universal dimension, inspired the ensemble Dialogos to create a programme in which three performers (Katarina Livljanic, voice ; Norbert Rodenkirchen, flutes ; Albrecht Maurer, fiddle) follow Barlaam and Josaphat on their many wanderings. They perform excerpts of the story through the musical repertoires which served it in the Middle Ages, as found in manuscripts from Greece, the south Slavic countries, southern Italy and France ; they thus share with the audience a strong experience in which different languages and musical cultures meet in a surprising soundscape, like an audible Tower of Babel, of early medieval Europe.
Katarina Livljanic, voice, direction
Albrecht Maurer, fiddle, rebec
Norbert Rodenkirchen, flutes, harp
Musical reconstruction and text adaptation: Katarina Livljanic Instrumental reconstructions: Norbert Rodenkirchen & Albrecht Maurer
• January 24, 2010
UBC Recital Hall, Vancouver, Canada
Early Music Vancouver
Programme: Barlam & Josaphat
www.earlymusic.bc.ca
• February 14, 2010
AMUZ, Antwerpen, Belgium
Programme: Dalmatica
www.amuz.be
• April 6, 2010
Masterclass Katarina Livljanic on Glagolitic chant, Irish World Academy of Music, University of Limerick, Ireland
www.ul.ie
• May 16, 2010
Europäischer Kultursommer Festival, Fellbach, Germany
Programme: Judith
www.kultursommer-fellbach.de