“When choosing the title of this CD, we were immediately drawn to the title of the first piece in our recording, Dhipli Zyia by Xenakis, which simply translates as ‘a band of two folk musicians’. After delving more deeply, we discovered that Zyiaderives from the ancient Greek word ‘balance’, which is such a vitally important element of chamber music, and indeed – in any relationship. Fittingly, Zyia is also another name for Hera, the Goddess of marriage from ancient Greek mythology.
This CD symbolises an important part of a journey for us –not only as partners in chamber music –but also as a celebration of our friendship. (…) Our recording centres around pieces which celebrate the joy and vibrancy of folk music, opening with music by Xenakis from the Balkans in Greece, Jonian’s birthplace, then venturing north to Hungary for the Kodály, west to Switzerland/France for the Sonatina by Honegger and finally returning to Greece for a rarely performed duo by Skalkottas. We are both in love with folk music, particularly from the Balkans, and hope to pass on some of the joy it brings us when playing it!” Excerpts from the booklet liner notes by Jonian Ilias Kadesha & Vashti Hunter
A JOURNEY FOR TWO Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) 1 Dhipli Zyia, for Violin and Cello (2000) Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967) Duo for Cello and Violin, Op. 7 (1914) 2 I. Allegro serioso, non troppo 3 II. Adagio 4 III. Maestoso e largamente, ma non troppo lento Arthur Honegger (1892-1955) Sonatina for Violin and Cello, H. 80 (1932) 5 I. Allegro 6 II. Andante 7 III. Allegro Nikos Skalkottas (1904-1949) Duo for Violin and Cello (1947) 8 I. Allegro ordinario e un poco agitato 9 II. Andante molto espressivo 10 III. Scherzo 11 IV. Finale. Allegro vivo Jonian Ilias Kadesha, Violin Vashti Hunter, Cello
Label: CAvi, Vertrieb Harmonia Mundi Order number: 85530175 Release Date: September 04st 2020