Andrew talks to Jordi Savall about his recent mammoth recording project, Jerusalem and about future plans.
Jerusalem – La Ville Des deux Paix: La Paix celeste et la Paix Terrestre (City of two peaces: Heavenly peace and Earthly peace)
Singers: Begoña Olavide, Lior Elmalich, Muwafak Shahin Khalil, Razmik Amyan, Lluis Vilamajó, Marc Mauillon; Recitants: Manuel Forcano (Hebrew); Jean Hache (French); Nejat Ferouse (Turkish); Invited musicians: Yair Dalal (oud); Dvir Cohen, Erez Shmuel Mounk (percussion); Yagel Harel (shofar); Wabab Badarne (qanun); Usama Abu Ali (flutes, ney); Kaled Abu Ali (chant); Razmik Amyan (chant); Gaguik Mouradia (kamancha); Dmitris Psonis (santur, morisca, percussions); Omar Bashir (oud); Fahmi Alqhai (viol); Mutlu Torun (oud); Driss El Maloumi (chant, oud): Khaled Arman (rebab); Siar Hashimi (darbouka); Al-Darwish (Sufi group of Galilee); Les trompettes de Jéricho; La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Hespèrion XXI, Jordi Savall (director)
Alia Vox AVSA9863 (2 Hybrid SACDs)
Reviews:
Given electric performances and virile repertoire, early music regularly offers uplifting experiences, but do they hit you like bulletins ripped from today s news? Not often.
Matters are different in Jerusalem. Time and again the 52 tracks of Jordi Savall s bumper project bring you slap up against the continuing tragedy of Gaza of wrecked buildings, wailing people, and faiths at war. There will be a great peace throughout the world, until the end of time, sings Montserrat Figueras on track two, following the Greek text of a Sibylline oracle.
The rest of the programme uses the history of Jerusalem to plead for that elusive world peace. Jews, Christians, Arabs, Turks, Armenians are all given a voice in music and words from across the centuries, with different religions and cultures battling for dominance and a homeland as the end of time ticks closer…
As Savall and Manuel Forcano s collection advances, the heart is still moved, the mind still whirrs. Whatever the language and culture adopted, Figueras throbs with humanity. Instrumentally, Savall, Hespèrion XXI and their guests always give us splendour. Track by track you listen, learn, read and wonder. Jerusalem may not bring world peace any closer, but you ll never read the Gaza headlines in quite the same way again. –Geogg Brown, The Times, January, 2009
As always with Savall, the whole thing has the sense of a scrupulous piece of historical and musicological research…there are certainly some fascinating moments, as well as some striking imagery. –The Guardian, January, 2009
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