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Hagios II - Gesange Zur Andacht und Meditation on CD

Where people sing, make yourself at home, bad people

have no songs!". This saying is surely true, one has only to

look at the growing a-cappella and choir scene to see that,

and it is borne out again in the successful concept developed by Helge Burggrabe. In Hagios he invites listeners to be at home with themselves and slip out of the stress of

everyday life. There are songs that the audience can sing

along to, and they transform the hall into a great auditorium

- altogether in the Taize tradition. Sold-out concerts prove

that this concept chimes with the zeitgeist. Together with

the Elbcanto vocal ensemble, pianist Christof Fankhauser

and a string ensemble, he now presents his second album:

Hagios II - Songs of Devotion and Meditation. For song-loving, spiritual people in search of peace, and for all those

who simply want to retreat from everyday life and unwind.

"As far back as I can remember, I hear the voice of my mother. Her bedtime songs, which sent me to sleep at night,

were a comfort to me, they were the sound of safety," Burggrabe recalls. In Hagios II he continues his search for the

invigorating power of song. He discovers melodies that are

hundreds of years old. He comes across works from monastic cultures of all faiths, songs of those in search of peace and stillness, with their roots in ancient Jewish music. Communal singing - also known as "psalmody" - is to be found in Gregorian chant, in the Orthodox liturgy, in Taize songs and sacred songs of the present day. Hymns and prayers in music were always seen as healing and calming. Helge Burggrabe records all this and opens a space that invites the weary and troubled to reflect, to dream, to rest.

The album covers a wide musical range. From peaceful, meditative pieces to lively songs of joy, Helge Burggrabe conveys inner peace, security and positive energy. Choral singing, piano and string ensemble are enhanced by the timbres of flute, accordion and organ, expanding the warm and heartfelt tone.