These Eastern Winds, which blow towards us as the festive season approaches, carry many different scents. Sacred or profane, vocal or instrumental, to meditate upon or to dance to: these musical reserves, which find origin in four different countries (Bulgaria, Russia, Serbia and the Ukraine), seem unlimited. The voice is at the foreground of this programme, and through it some of the most beautiful choral expressions of orthodox spirituality are presented: from Russia, the Patriarchate Choir of Moscow directed by Anatoly Grindenko, and from Serbia, the singer Divna's ensemble.

But song also finds expression in popular music of rural origins. Accordingly we will be able to hear the twin accents of the Teofilovic brothers and breathe in the perfumes of the Veseli Vujky instrumental ensemble, which is coming from the Ukraine especially for this occasion. The programme will finish up with a workshop and conference on orthodox singing, and some cinema (both acted and animated), an important form of expression for the Slavic countries.

Laurent Aubert
(translated by Emma Johnson)