| Specialist
in the realm of Art and Music of Antiquity, Iegor Reznikoff
gave his first concerts in the field of ancient Christian Chant in
1975. Today world renowned, his fundamentally new interpretations of
these ancient Chants, as well as his theoretical and historical
research, have since then greatly influenced the level of understanding
and the interpretation of ancient Christian Chants, and particularly
that of Gregorian Chant. Above all, one owes him the rebirth of the
great ancient Chants for soloist, which he has developed in their full
splendour. His approach to ancient Chant is based on very careful research in the oldest manuscripts and on their neumatic notations, as well as on comparative listening to the great oral traditions of sacred music linked with – and this aspect of his work remains unique to this day – the just intonation of the ancient scales. This approach to the ancient scales was made possible only through a vast comparative study of their specific intonations, for example those of the Oriental Churches or those of the sacred music traditions of Turkey, Iran and above all India, the respective masters of which Iegor Reznikoff has now worked for many years. This research on ancient scales has lead him to delve deeply into the study of the resonance of the various religious edifices, thus rendering to the ancient religious architecture its essential contemplative dimension. Professor Reznikoff is not only a specialist in the realm of antique and medieval resonance, but also in the resonance of Palaeolithic ornate caves and caverns, as well as in that of modern edifices ; through this research, one owes him the new concept of cultural heritage of architectural resonance. Thusly, to hear him sing in a great Romanesque or Gothic resonance space is indeed a musical experience never to be forgotten. One also owes him a new and fundamental approach to sound therapy, in particular that of the human singing voice, giving rise to remarkable and efficient clinical applications for certain pathologies. Furthermore, in linking together his research on architectural resonance, corporal resonance, sound therapy, with ethnomusicology and ancient music practices, he has created a new concept of sound anthropology. This new concept is by all means essential today due to its universal anthropological aspect, which goes well beyond the frontiers of individual cultures. Being an invited guest to numerous international music festivals on ancient music and music of oral traditions, Iegor Reznikoff has given concerts in most all the European countries, as well as in the United States of America and in Japan. Professor at the University of Paris, he is also invited to teach regularly in several prestigious Conservatories but also in religious communities. In addition to this, he has had the honour of singing before the Dalai Lama in Zurich in 1991, and in the Shinto ceremonies for the Millennium festivities in Kyoto in the year 2000, as well as in exceptional architectural sites such as the Temple of Apollo in Delphos, Greece, and in the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi, Italy. Apart from the very learned aspect of his interpretations of the great ancient Chants, his concerts are always characterized by unique moments of prayer and high praise. Furthermore, his research in musicology and, more generally in sound anthropology, has opened new avenues of fundamental study in many different disciplines linked closely with sound and music. |
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