That was incredibly interesting. I used to try to study Byzantine chants before I left the church, but I still use elements of it in my personal practice as well as use the scale in my guitar playing. I was glad to learn stuff I didn't know about as well. And of course, I re call cappella Romana CDs being sold when there was a big Byzantine exhibition at the Met back in 2004 so hearing Alexander was definitely a bit of a fanboy moments for me.
Music history major here, and I enjoyed this episode very much! I saw Capella Romana perform at the Indianapolis Early Music Festival many years ago, but I did not know that they originated in San Fran! Btw, it was funny when he was trying to remember where they had recorded the Hagia Sofia CD. I was saying "well, I know one thing for certain... they sure as hell didn't record it in the Hagia Sofia!!"😀😂🤣😥
Sorry to barge in, but the impressions of 'Westerners' hearing Byzantine music should not be considered to be those of Americans or Australians who heard a poorly executed church music by amateurs. In Denmark there were scholars who studied well Byzantine music. French scholar Bourgault Ducoudray went all the way to Constantinople and wrote Musique Ecclesiastique Grecque printed in 1877. Russia does not use a real Byzantine music as the pitches used are the even temperament ones.
