The distinctly Eastern-sounding music recorded here demonstrates the diversity of cultures flourishing in Italy throughout the Middle Ages. These songs and hymns come from a monastery founded in Rome in the eleventh century, and which was based in the traditions of the Eastern rather than the Roman Church. The monastery, Grottaferrata, has retained its connection to its roots uninterrupted up to the present. The music certainly has little audible connection to the chants of the Western Church. Its exotic, highly ornamented, and darkly modal melodies, the use of drones, and an emphatic delivery link it to the traditions of Byzantium. Most of the chants are performed by a soloist, with the chorus occasionally doubling the line, and sometimes providing a drone accompaniment. The depth and resonance of the voices performing with such vigor and even rawness gives the music a visceral impact not usually associated with monody. Ioannis Arvanitis is a singer as well as a scholar of Byzantine music, and he gives an impassioned performance that's notable for its gravity and power.
Cappella Romana, a men's ensemble based in Portland, OR, led by Alexander Lingas, specializes in this repertoire (as well as contemporary works), and it sings with a fervor that matches Arvanitis'. Recorded in a Portland cathedral, the sound has depth and resonance and it successfully creates a sense of space as the performers sing from various locations in the church.