YGO
(St. Petersburg, Russia)

Sunday, June 21
Admission: $7, $10 minimum
Showtime: 8pm
reservations are recommended

YGO is a multimedia project involving 3 artists from St.Petersburg, Russia. YGO is a synthesis of experimental music, video art and unique ancient Russian singing tradition “Znamenny Raspev” (Znamenny Chant). One of the goals of the project is to familiarize the general public with the treasures of Russian Spiritual music and liturgical chant.

Znamenny Raspev chants are sung in unison. This style of singing, though less picturesque if compared to polyphony, enables to create an icon-like type of music, a plain laconic 2-dimension melodic pattern instead of a 3-dimension pattern of polyphonic singing, which is definitely richer in colours. Perspective and space inevitably come along with the idea of materiality, tangibility of the world, which is reflected in the wide and deep spacious accords of the polyphonic harmonised vocal, while the monophonic melodic (monodic) line is similar to the ancient icon in creating flat, non-perspective images, which alone establish certain estrangement from the visible, tangible world.

As it happens so often, the musical structure of the half-forgotten ancient tradition of Znamenny Raspev has something in common with modern music concepts. Electronic and 'just intonation' music use the same modes as Byzantine and Old Russian monodic singing. The essence of the YGO project is to achieve the synthesis of these two concepts. Thus the project is neither reconstruction nor restoration of ancient tradition. It's an authentic and distinctive music supported by original video art and may be more likely referred to modern experimental and avant-garde music trends.