Nour Ensemble (FR / IR)

Wednesday, 3. 7. 2013, 20:30
Rogaška Slatina, Grand hotel Rogaška, Crystal Hall

Nour Ensemble (FR / IR)
www.nourensemble.com

Alba
The chant of Light - Ancient European and Persian Music

Christophe Rezai (tenor, Indian Harmonium, direction)
Mostafa Mahmoudi (Persian and Kurdish chant)
Pierre-Yves Binard (baritone, percussion)
Pierre Baranger (tenor, traverso)
Hamid Khosroshahi (bass)
Ali Boustan (oud, shouranguiz, voice)
Reza Asgarzadeh (duduk, recorder, voice)
Jasmin Martorell (vocal advisor)


PROGRAMME
Nour ensemble is trying to recreate a musical dialogue shared by the Orient and Occident inspired by both ancient musical traditions (European Medieval music as well as traditional and folk Persian music). In the 13th century Spain, the Christian, Muslim and Jewish "convivencia" nourished, not without friction, culture and music, and the different influences were mixed together. Perhaps this period was the one when Oriental and Occidental music were closest to each other. Therefore the repertoire of Nour ensemble springs from sources in both traditions, the Persian and the European ones. The predominant colour in Nour's repertoire is white as "Alba", the title of its first album, suggests (Nour means "light" in Persian and Arabic). White symbolizes light, both the interior light of the Persian Sufis and the light reflected onto the faithful by the stained glass windows in Western cathedrals. The diversity of vocal and instrumental colours of the nine artists of Nour ensemble creates a repertoire where the colours get unified as white light is the synthesis of several light rays of contrastung colors. The programme consists of "Cantigas de Santa Maria" (from 13th century Spain, the period of Alfonso X the Wise), Gregorian plainchant and psalmodies from the Quran -- a succession of praise to the Holy Virgin Mary, Mowlana's poems, tales from the Uraman region in the Iraqi Kurdistan and conductus from Saint Martial school of Limoges. A dialogue between civilizations and peoples, tolerance beyond cultural, traditional, social or religious diversities ... Oriental dream? Occidental dream? Human dream or utopia?

Produced by: Žan Cimerman