Boris Kovac – Profana Liturgija

This massive composition by the Yugoslavian composer Kovac is a stunning masterpiece which combines classical, contemporary, (indigenous) folk, jazz and improvisational musical traditions in a well-integrated whole. Todays, there is a fascination with non-Western music cultures, but, as Kovac demonstrates, the wellspring of European musical traditions is far from exhausted. The work is for a quintet comprised with violin, cello, accordion, reeds, percussion and samplers, transcending the progressive Jass work that he produced in the past. While it is not credited, a hammered dulcimer (perhaps similar to the Hungarian cimbalom) also plays an important role, as it did in the work of Bartok, another Eastern European composer who thoroughly investigated his musical heritage and created a new hybrid. As the title suggests, Kovac’s work is imbued with a transcendent spiritualism, yet there is an undeniable earthiness that characterizes his music.

Dean Suzuki (Audion)