Kottos: Songs & Dances (CD)

KOTTOS takes its name from an enchanting, dangerous giant of Greek mythology. The instrumental makeup of KOTTOS is unique: recorders from the lowest bass to the highest sopranino; a grand Russian Bayan concert accordion; the cello, which adds sounds from the avant-garde and Nordic folk music; and a Greek bouzouki adding Mediterranean colour and Celtic sonorities.

The songs and dances of European folk music inspired the late 19th and early 20th-century composers featured on this album, from Bartók to Vaughan Williams, and the journey takes us from the mountain tunes of Europe’s northernmost tip to the melancholy songs of its easternmost reaches, to dances from its southernmost point. The group’s eponymous debut album KOTTOS (2016) received the Listeners’ Prize of the Danish Broadcasting Corporation’s P2 station.

Nikos Skalkottas (1904-1949)
4 Greek Dances (from 36 Greek Dances for Orchestra) (arr. Farmakis)
1 Epirotikos 1.28
2 Kretikos 1.30
3 Kathistos (exc.) 2.04
4 Kleftikos 1.59

Anatoly Lyadov (1855-1914)
Russian Folk Songs Op.58 (arr. Mogensen)
5 Religious Chant. Moderato 2.04
6 Christmas Carol‘Kolyada’. Allegretto 1.22
7 Plaintive Song. Andante 2.59
8 Humorous Song ‘I Danced With The Gnat’. Allegretto 1.07
9 Legend Of The Birds ‘Bylina’. Allegretto 1.28
10 Cradle Song ‘Baju’. Moderato 2.03
11 Round Dance. Allegro 0.47
12 Village Dance Song. Vivo 1.31

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
13 La Folia (arr. Kottos) 6.02

Edvard Grieg (1844-1907)
14 Kulok, Op.17 No.22 (arr. Farmakis) 1.46
15 Norwegian Dance in D minor (arr. Mogensen, Petersen, Opsahl) 6.34

Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
Romanian Folk Dances, Sz.56 (arr. Farmakis)
16 I Stick Dance 1.11
17 II Sash Dance 0.50
18 III In One Spot 1.18
19 IV Dance from Bucsum 0.57
20 V Romanian Polka 0.30
21 VI Fast Dance 0.54

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Six Studies in English Folk Song
22 1 Adagio 1.36
23 2 Andante sostenuto 1.18
24 3 Larghetto 1.36
25 4 Lento 1.39
26 5 Andante tranquillo 1.45
27 6 Allegro vivace 0.52

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)
28 Sadko – ‘Song of India’ (arr. Petersen)3.06
29 Mlada – ‘Lithuanian Dance’ (arr. Mogensen, Petersen) 2.13

Jacob Gade (1879-1963)
30 Tango Jalousie (arr. Mogensen) 3.53

Total time 58.28

KOTTOS
Bjarke Mogensen, accordion
Pernille Petersen, recorder
Josefine Opsahl, cello
Christos Farmakis, bouzouki