The Kassia Ensemble Premieres Kassia

The Kassia Ensemble, which consists of clarinet, harp and string quintet, commissioned Kassia, their first piece for the entire ensemble, and asked that it reflect on their namesake in some way. Kassia was a 9th- century. Byzantine Abbess, poet and hymnographer, and the only woman whose hymns are included in the Eastern Orthodox liturgy. She is also likely the first woman whose music has survived until now.  This was a fascinating project, reaching back across the centuries, yet very much of our own time.