A vividly theatrical mix of Eastern folk traditions & 17th century Italian music: MOURN from Alkanna Graeca & Figure

MOURN: music by Monteverdi, Strozzi, Cesti, Gesualdo plus folk music from Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean; Figure, Frederick Waxman, Alkanna Graeca 
Reviewed 16 April 2026

Pairing Eastern European folk traditions, many polyphonic, with 16th and 17th century Italian music all exploring loss and lament might seem unlikely but the performances from both singers and instrumentalists were vivid and theatrical, gripping us from start to finish 

Somebody could write (or probably has written) a thesis on the way the lament and music of mourning from 16th and 17th century classical music was indebted to folk traditions, looking at the way these traditions of mourning continued in the folk traditions of the Balkans. But instead of that, Frederick Waxman‘s period ensemble Figure, who are never ones to shy away from risk-taking, joined forces with the vocal trio Alkanna Graeca (Alexandra Achillea, Irini Arabatzi, Dunja Botic), whose repertoire blends raw folk traditions from the Balkans, to create MOURN, a music-theatrical exploration of the experience of loss. We caught the first of two performances of MOURN at Stone Nest on 16 April 2026.

The three singers, Alexandra Achillea, Irini Arabatzi, Dunja Botic, mix classical, jazz, improvisation and folk. They demonstrated their chops in the challenging folk music of the Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean by starting the evening dressed in black, standing in half darkness on the balcony at Stone Nest singing Mirgangula, a piece of polyphonic folk tradition from Georgia. The result was a thrillingly raw sound that captured the visceral nature of this type of folk music. Frederick Waxman and Figure followed this with the Passacaille from Lully’s Armide, a juxtaposition that should not have worked but did, the Georgian folk piece having a greater complexity than we might have imagined and the Lully gaining in directness. It helped that Figure was configured as a small but mighty ensemble of Naomi Burrell and James Toll, violins, Sergio BUcheli, lute, Jan Zahourek, double bass, and Waxman on chamber organ. 

The instrumentalists were joined by Konstantinos Glynos in kanun, a member of the zither family played with picks held in the hands (Glynos’ seemed to be playing with metal ones). Rather disappointingly, he appeared to only play in the folk pieces. But overall the ensemble blended between the two with the string players supporting the singers in the folk pieces and sometimes contributing vividly, and then in the other direction the vocalists took centre stage in works by Monteverdi, Cesti and Strozzi.

Alexandra Achillea directed, whilst movement and dramaturgy was credited to Konstantina-Maria Spyropoulou and though there were no overall narrative, the various movements flowed into each other. The audience chose to applause after each number, but the evening would have worked rather well without. Some elements of drama were present, a bride being dressed and then bleeding in the next number, a moment where two of the singers seemed to be sewing. But though this was artful, with dramatic lighting, the music remained a constant presence and the vibrancy of the performances from singers and instrumentalists ensured we were gripped. 

The second folk piece, Janines c’i pane syte from Albania gave us the chance to hear Glynos’s kanun in action, then this led rather strikingly into Gesualdo’s O vos omnes with the vocalism bringing those expressive raw elements from the folk pieces into Gesualdo’s more polished world to striking effect. Skaros from Epirus followed.

Then whilst the three women sang Monteverdi’s Lamento della ninfa, making the piece rather edgier than we are used to, they dressed a bride in elaborate folk costume, but she came to pieces in Disserratevi Abissi from Cesti’s opera L’Argia where her actions in what could have been self-harm (and involved fake blood) matched the words – Throw open your gates, abysses, I have come to weep. I am guilty of betrayal, I have wrought deceptions.  This was immediately followed by a fabulous piece from Thrace, Giati poul m’den kelaidis where the three vocalists throaty style of singing was a fabulous contrast to and comment on the preceding pieces. This sequence seemed to end with Barbara Strozzi’s Lagrime mie staged dramatically to mirror the edgy intensity of the singing. Here, I must single out Sergio Bucheli’s theorbo playing throughout the evening he managed to fill the auditorium in a way that balanced the vivid vocal performances.

Folk pieces from the Vlach people and from Epirus moved theatrically and provided a visual commentary to some thrilling singing. This sequence ended with a powerful, unaccompanied account of Mor’Deropolitissa from Epirus which was contrasted with an instrumental transcription of Lascia ch’io pianga from Handel’s Rinaldo. It shouldn’t have worked but it did. The show ended with a final folk piece from Croatoslovenia which brought everyone together.

The sight lines at Stone Nest were not always ideal and this would be a show that might benefit from a more sympathetic auditorium. But that said, the sound quality was vivid indeed and the atmosphere in the former church was definitely right for the show. 

This was one of those evening sui generis where the vivid nature of the performances grabbed you and where the unlikely juxtapositions proved to be not unlikely at all. Alexandra Achillea and Frederick Waxman’s ideas seemed to develop into a memorable evening indeed.