The story originating from India, translated from Greek, Latin to Old Croatian, Italian, Church Slavonic…
‘Barlaam & Josaphat: Buddha – a Christian Saint?’ by Dialogos and Katarina Livljanić [INTRO]
‘Barlaam & Josaphat: Buddha – a Christian Saint?’ by Dialogos and Katarina Livljanić [THE STORY]
| Could you ever imagine that one of the most popular saints in the Christian calendar of the Middle Ages was – Buddha? After ten years of research in a multitude of libraries worldwide, Katarina Livljanić and the ensemble Dialogos, faithfull to their exploratory and fearless spirit, bring yet another surprise from the less known medieval lands, after its award-winning albums such as Dalmatica: Chants of the Adriatic (A395), Lombards & Barbares (A319), La vision de Tondal (A329), Judith: A Biblical Story from Renaissance Croatia (Alpha702). It is the incredible story of saints Barlaam and Josaphat, a christianized version of Buddha’s life, which crossed over at least four religions and was transmitted through almost all the medieval languages. Powerful songs – incarnated by voice and instruments, sing the legend about the king’s son, prince Josaphat, who leaves the noisy world of opulence to search for inner peace – songs which follow the path of his story from one medieval language to another, from Greek, Latin to Old Croatian, Italian, Church Slavonic… This project is a unique new experience: a multimedia e-book, in French and English, is included in this CD. It tells the story of Barlaam & Josaphat and leads the listener/reader through one of the most intriguing labyrinths of medieval world. Through a rich and original video, audio and iconographic material, it opens the doors into the artistic creative process which transformed a medieval legend into a music performance. From Katarina Livljanić’s description acompanying the above video |
‘I poide Barlaam’ by Dialogos and Katarina Livljanić [sung in old-Croatian]
A Christian Buddha: Story of Barlaam and Josaphat (Buddha as a Christian Saint)
