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The Music
Racheal Cogan recorded Sojourn in Greece with celebrated musicians Ross Daly, Kelly Thomas and Angeliki Xekalaki. Sojourn showcases the music that Racheal learnt and performed on the Ganassi recorder during her intensive 18 month journey around Greece, Turkey and Macedonia, where she worked with these extraordinary musicians playing lyras, lavta, bendir and tombak.
Lively syrta from Crete, music from Bulgaria and Turkey with two recorders played simultaneously, and re-workings of medieval music can all be heard on this CD.
The two groups of Syrta and the group of pieces from Bulgaria, Thrace and Turkey are pieces either that Racheal learnt with these musicians, or that were directly inspired by them - as in the case of two short compositions of hers. The Medieval pieces are part of the traditional recorder player's repertoire. Racheal continues to play them because they work so well with the music she has been studying and performing from Greece, Turkey, and more recently, Persia. They are anonymous pieces from a 14th century manuscript found in Italy. We don't really know much about them or what instruments they may have been intended for.
Reviews
Music Forum Vol. 14 No 1, Greg Hurworth, November 2007 – January 2008
The title Sojourn says it all. This recording is an audio diary of her musical journey of composing, performing and learning up to 2002. This journey has taken her via medieval Italy, the Balkans and Turkey to modern Crete in Greece; the results of that journey have come together in this, her first CD. In fact, it could also be called ‘Cogan and Friends’, since the recording is both a result of her study as well as performance relationship with three musicians in Greece stretching over eighteen months. These are Angeliki Xekalaki, Kelly Thomas, and Ross Daly. These companions along the way were also the inspiration for Cogan’s two untitled compositions on this CD and one suspects they are by way of a thank you to them.
The repertoire is presented in five tracks, the first and last of which are entitled ‘Syrta’. Cogan’s clear and precise jacket notes inform us that Syrta is Cretan dance music. Each section of a Syrto is repeated many times, but each time with different improvised and stylistic embellishments. New Syrta are composed all the time, but most originate from an accumulated repertoire stretching back hundreds of years. They were traditionally performed on a sfirohabiolo, an aerophone of similar sound and register to a recorder. This tradition has all but disappeared since they are now also played on lyra (a short-necked, bowed lute) and lavta (a long-necked, fretted, plucked lute, which precedes the Ottoman oud). This is where Kelly and Ross contribute by supporting their student in track five. Angeliki supplies accompaniment on bendir (circular frame drum), daf (Kurdish round frame drum) and tombak (the principal Persian membranophone, a goblet-shaped hand drum, made from a single piece of wood).
Cogan uses recorders made by Michael Grinter. Her principal instrument is the warm-toned Ganassi recorder in G. In Cogan’s words, the Ganassi is “a contemporary instrument inspired by the possibilities of Ganassi’s intriguing treatise of 1536 …” Its modern re-construction is one of the late Fred Morgan’s contributions to the recorder world. In the southwest Bulgarian and Turkish pieces, which constitute track four, Cogan plays two recorders simultaneously; the second is a Ganassi in C. This presents some tuning problems, which she overcomes admirably. Playing two recorders at once has been part of performance showmanship since the early days of Carl Dolmetsch. However, anyone who has ever seen Cogan play complex embellishments and manage two instruments at once can only marvel at her deft technique. She manages to play both by resting them on her legs, while seated.
In fact, in anybody’s book, this is superb recorder playing. It is clear, immaculate yet fluid and engrossing. For recorder enthusiasts and professionals, this recording is a must-buy. When I first listened to it, I wondered if this was a little more than an audio statement of a musical life, and was concerned that it had little appeal. On a second listen, it is the freshness and vitality of the music, particularly the Syrta, which enchants and makes you want to dance. She has certainly captured the spirit of Crete in these recordings, as demonstrated by the confidence her teachers have in happily recording Syrta in Crete with their protégé. The colour of the sounds of the Mediterranean world, the undoubtedly high level of musicianship, and being adept at a musical culture distinct from the traditional Western recorder repertoire, combine to make a delightful experience. We hope that the next phase of Cogan’s musical sojourn encompassing the Middle East is not far away from the recording studio.
 Metro, Sydney Morning Herald Sun, John Shand, July 28 2006"Anyone obliged to play the recorder in school probably has a horror of them. But set those prejudices to one side and let the beauty of this instrument entrance you. Sydney's Racheal Cogan plays music from Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Turkey, plus some medieval Italian pieces. Her sound exudes joy as effectively as it realises a deep sadness. Her playing of two recorders simultaneously is more than a party trick." Four stars (hot stuff)
Radio National's Weekend Planet, Andy Copeman, July 9, 2006
"one of this country's finest exponents of this instrument"
Sydney Recorder Player's Society newsletter, CD Review by Ian Mundy, February 2007
"Racheal Cogan is an Australian recorder player who explores the music of the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries. Her virtuosic playing first came to my notice with the ARIA award-winning haBiBis."
On this recording, SOJOURN, Racheal is primarily playing Ganassi recorders developed by the world famous Australian recorder maker Fred Morgan, and produced by his student Michael Grinter.
The opening improvisation calls us to attend, whilst introducing us to the moods and sounds of music to come. This leads into the exciting compound dance rhythms of the Syrta. These dance tunes are so authentically and beautifully interpreted that my resident belly dancer was inspired to spontaneous movement. The journey has well and truly begun.
The Horo is another energetic dance form from Macedonia. This style of music was introduced to the Celtic world by the playing of Andy Irvine with the band Planxty.
Restful, and more familiar to most recorder players, is the collection of Mediaeval Pieces. These pieces are expertly interpreted and played on the exotic instruments of the ensemble.
The selection of Mediterranean Pieces inspires us to continue dancing as we explore the music of Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey.
Our musical Sojourn in exotic places is brought to an ecstatic conclusion with another collection of Syrta.
A first, and casual listening to this recording, may leave the impression that it is little more than pleasant background music. Although it fulfils this role admirably, the depth of experience develops as we allow Racheal to take us on an ever unfolding journey into complex rhythms, modes and virtuosic improvisations.
Sojourn is a superb recording by one of Australia's leading recorder players. Anyone who is interested in world music, Middle Eastern dance, or folk music played on the recorder should consider this recording seriously. Those who seek a more meditative or spiritual approach may also find it of interest."
The Artists
Ross Daly is a composer and multi-instrumentalist of Irish descent living in Greece. He was brought up in the UK, North America and Japan, but has spent his life travelling extensively throughout India, Central Asia, the Middle and Near East, Greece and Crete, studying the rich and varied classical and folk traditions with master musicians from those parts of the world. Ross Daly is a respected master in his own right and an acclaimed virtuoso on a range of instruments. From his base in Greece he teaches and performs all over Europe, the Near East, North America, and Australia, recording, producing, and bringing together musicians.
Kelly Thoma was born in Piraeus in 1978. Since 1995, she has been studying the lyra with Ross Daly and very shortly thereafter has been travelling with him and his group, "Labyrinth" participating in concerts in Europe, Asia and Australia. She has taken part in many projects with musicians from various different traditions from other countries, a fact which has resulted in her development of a unique and very personal style of playing. Kelly Thoma has graduated from the English Literature department of the Athens University as well as from the "Rallou Manou" Dance School. She has performed with Ross Daly in many important venues and festivals such as: Theatre de la Ville (Paris,2003), Queen Elizabeth Hall (London,2000,2002),Melbourne Festival (Australia2001,2003), Megaron Mousikis (Thessaloniki, 2001) and many others.
Angeliki Xekalaki started studying the percussion with Vangelis Karipis in Greece and continued her studies with Ross Daly playing the bendir. She has been a member of the band Palaina Seferia from 1995 and participated in concerts with Ross Daly and Labyrinth in Greece and abroad from 1999 to 2003.
Instruments
The Ganassi recorders in C and G and the low whistle in D are all made in Victoria, Australia, by Michael Grinter.
The Australian recorder maker Fred Morgan developed the Ganassi recorder in the 1970s. He was initially inspired by the capabilities of a recorder described in 1535 by Sylvestro Ganassi in Vienna in his book Opera Intitulata Fontegara - A Treatise on the Art of Playing the Recorder and of Free Ornamentation. Morgan began to search for a surviving medieval instrument that would play the fingerings described by Ganassi with a range of two and a half octaves. This led to the discovery of a recorder in a museum in Vienna that worked with similar fingerings. This instrument provided some good insight and the superficial exterior was used for the new Ganassi. Morgan based the bore dimensions on some experimentation that another recorder maker, Bob Marvin, from the United States had published. Importantly, these dimensions give the instrument its wide range, which is comparable with the Baroque instrument's range of 2½ octaves. The Ganassi recorder was never meant to be a replica of a museum piece. I think of it as a contemporary instrument inspired by the possibilities of Ganassi's intriguing treatise which shows how to improvise ('make divisions'), lists various fingerings, and also mentions the use of dynamics on a recorder type instrument.
The lyra is a short necked bowed lute, related to the violin. It is played upright, resting on or between the knees, with the strings stopped from the side with the fingernails. One of Kelly Thomas' bows has bells attached that jingle rhythmically as she plays. She uses this bow in the fourth set of pieces. Ross Daly has developed a lyra with sympathetic strings attached, which creates a uniquely resonant and rounded sound.
The lavta is a long necked plucked lute with frets and a round belly. It is known as an instrument that preceded the oud in Ottoman urban music. The tombak is a goblet shaped hand drum, made from a single piece of carved wood, usually mulberry, typically with goat skin stretched over the top. It is the principal percussion instrument in Persian classical music, and is sometimes also referred to as the zarb.
The Kurdish daf is a round rim-type frame drum played with the hands. Circling the inner side facing the player are small metal rings which jingle as the player shakes the instrument. The bendir is a circular frame drum played with the hands.
Tracks
1 Four Syrta (8:04)  (Improvisation)
1.i Untitled (Racheal Cogan)
1.ii Gavalohorianos (traditional)
1.iii Sfakianos (traditional)
1.iv Untitled (Racheal Cogan)
Racheal Cogan - Ganassi recorder in G and low whistle in D
(Racheal has arranged Four Syrta for three recorders)
2 Piperkovo Horo (8:16)
(Tale Ognenovski)
Angeliki Xekalaki - bendir
Racheal Cogan - Ganassi recorder in G
3 Medieval Pieces (11:09)
(Anon. Medieval Italian)
3.i La Manfredina
3.ii Improvisation
3.iii Tristan's Lament
3.iv Istampitta Ghaetta
Kelly Thomas - lyra
Angeliki Xekalaki - tombak
Racheal Cogan - Ganassi recorder in G
4. Mediterranean Pieces (16:32)
4.i Razozko Kalajdzijsko Horo (traditional South West Bulgaria)
4.ii Voitha Panagia (traditional Thrace/Greece)
4.iii Tekez (traditional Turkey)
Ross Daly and Kelly Thomas - lyras
Angeliki Xekalaki - bendir
Racheal Cogan - Ganassi recorders in G and C
5. Syrta (9:39)
5i Leonidas Klados
5.ii Lefteris 'Gallianos'
5.iii Nikolaos Tzengas
Ross Daly - lavta
Kelly Thomas - lyra
Angeliki Xekalaki - bendir and daf
Racheal Cogan - Ganassi recorder in G
 Track one was recorded and mixed at SBS studios Melbourne 2002 and engineered by George Papakotsakis. All other tracks were recorded and mixed at Aeolia Recording Studio, Athens Greece 2001, and engineered by Themis Nikoloudis. The album was mastered by Themis Nikoloudis in Athens 2002. Special thanks Ross, Kelly and Angeliki for your wonderful playing on this CD, and for your friendship and generous support during my stay in Greece.
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