by A. L. Lloyd illustrated by field recordings
Produced by Douglas Cleverdon
It used to be said that polyphony was invented by west European monks in the ninth century. But modern research shows that medieval polyphony had its powerful forerunners, remote in time and space. Multi-part singing has been a worldwide phenomenon since prehistoric times. It flourishes among primitives and peasants from the Solomons to Sardinia, in many ingenious forms from the organum of Naga head-hunters to the astonishing counterpoint of Caucasian mountaineers.