Hellas - Greek Suite - Istvan Bogar

This splendidly instrumented work successfully combines 20th-century musical language with the antique elements deriving from its theme - for example, in the first movement we immediately find an ancient Greek asymmetrical rhythm. The second movement takes us on an adventurous journey to those astonishing geological wonders, the Meteoras; the third movement presents a picture of the Delphic dancers, in its title the fourth movement indicates the form used in it, which preserves the unity between the thousands-of-years-old building and its contrasting environment, echoing to the music of the bouzouki. In the suite the composer expertly exploits the possibilities of instrumentation offered by the wind orchestra, this extremely effective work can be a rewarding concert piece for any ensemble. (Recorded by Mirasound on CD 'Salute from Hungary' wwm 500.009 for World Wind Music label - www.worldwindmusic.nl ).