De los álamos vengo, madre, de ver como los menea el aire,
de los álamos de Sevilla, de ver a mi linda amiga.
(I’ve come from the poplar groves, Mother, to watch them quiver in the wind. I have come from the poplars of Seville to see my beautiful friend.)
IMAGO MUNDI :
Amel Sdiri, voice
Sofie Vanden Eynde, lute & theorbo
Saad Mahmood Jawad, oud
Seville is a city that captures the imagination. The Greek hero Hercules is said to have founded it. Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Moors and Romans left their traces there. Columbus is buried there. It was from the local cigar rollers that Bizet drew his inspiration for the opera Carmen. The world-famous character Don Juan already appeared there in the 17th century. Flamenco flourishes as never before…
While wandering through the city, the Moorish influences are particularly striking. The Arabs ruled there for centuries. The music of this piece of Arab Andalusia has lived on in North Africa, where many Muslims fled after the Christian reconquest.
This new programme is built around two great Sevillian vihuelists. Fuenllana and Mudarra make their Renaissance instruments sound in all their glory. Saad and Sofie arrange their inventive fantasia, virtuoso diminutions and stately dances. Together with Tunisian singer Amel Sdiri, they perform romances and canciones that muse on the past and melancholically sing of life, love and the city. Classical Arabic music and Sephardic and Maghrebian songs complete this diverse musical picture.
Early music by A. Mudarra and M. de Fuenllana
Sephardic and Maghrebian songs
Arabic classical music
Arrangements by S. M. Jawad
