Hesperion XXI 10/07/14

[Guest]

York Early Music Festival - Hesperion XXI
Duration: 2 hours, 30 minutes
First broadcast:Thursday 10 July 2014Live from Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall, University of York as part of York Early Music Festival

Presented by Adam Tomlinson

Hespèrion XXI:
Pierre Hamon - flute, gaita
Dimitri Psonis - santur, moresca
Yurdal Tokan - oud
Hakan Gungor - kanun
David Mayoral - percussion
Jordi Savall - rebab lira and direction

Kalenda Maya: Folias and Dances from Palace and Desert

East meets West in this colourful evocation of medieval music from all around the Mediterranean. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries Spain was a melting pot, where Christian, Jewish and Islamic cultures co-existed, where Provençal troubadours and Arabic musicians could meet and exchange ideas. Manuscripts associated with the Castilian court of Alfonso X ''the Wise'' show illustrations of musicians playing instruments that look remarkably similar to those still played in North Africa, the Middle East and around the Adriatic today, and this has inspired Jordi Savall to gather together a group of musicians from east and west to recreate the lost sounds of medieval Spain, Provence and Italy in the context of traditional music from Armenia, Persia and Turkey

[Black Swan]

This is the first concert of the York Early Music Festival. I will be there as I am attending the whole festival as usual.

[richardfinegold]

It is nice to see Savall carrying on after the death of his wife and musical partner. I have many of their recordings, but my favorite is the one based on "La Folia".

[Roehre]

This is the first concert of the York Early Music Festival. I will be there as I am attending the whole festival as usual.

Now I am envious enjoy

[doversoul1]

7.30 pm today

Some of Jordi Savall’s recent projects seem to me to be more issue lead than lead by musical interest and some of the songs (to me again) rather like non-Western new folksongs. I prefer these issued to be left to me/listeners to think about rather than being presented.

I am looking forward to this concert as it looks much more focused on music itself (manuscript based).

Also at 7.30 tomorrow, The Sixteen.

The Sixteen revisit the golden age of Renaissance polyphony with a programme of gems by three of the finest English Tudor composers, William Mundy, John Sheppard and Richard Davy

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b048ngp0

[Bryn]

Well it's only been going for half an hour but this is very much a 'keeper'. A real delight to be savoured over and over.

[ardcarp]

Indeed...but one must be in a timeless mood, which is why I choose to play Hesperion CDs when I know I have the space to become almost meditative.

[Beef Oven!]

Really enjoyed that broadcast. Anyone able to give a pointer as to good place to start with these guys, CD-wise?

[EdgeleyRob]

Not the type of stuff I would normally listen to.
Took a time out from Vagn Holmboe and neglected Brits to experience something that turned out to be quite wonderful.

Thanks to Roehre and Doversoul for flagging this up.

[doversoul1]

Really enjoyed that broadcast. Anyone able to give a pointer as to good place to start with these guys, CD-wise?

This is an obvious, as well as a good place to start (leave it until you have time to spare comfortably)

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/advsearch.php?composer=&work=&performer=Hesp%C3%A8rion+XXI&medium=all&label=&cat=

Good for you, Rob. I’ll do the reverse sometime.

[ed] but was that the best the BBC could do with the presenter? He was dire.

[Beef Oven!]

This is an obvious, as well as a good place to start (leave it until you have time to spare comfortably)

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/advsearch.php?composer=&work=&performer=Hesp%C3%A8rion+XXI&medium=all&label=&cat=

Good for you, Rob. I’ll do the reverse sometime.

Thank you very much ds - a lot to choose from!

[Black Swan]

I was there and it was a fantastic concert. A truly a great start to this years York Early Music Festival.

Beef Oven, i have many of Savall's CDs. When I get home from the festival I will check the program against my CDs. He has done several using Sephardic, Ottoman music.

I am glad to hear the radio audience enjoyed. The music really needs to be heard live to get the full effect and to see all the different instruments used.

[Beef Oven!]

I was there and it was a fantastic concert. A truly a great start to this years York Early Music Festival.

Beef Oven, i have many of Savall's CDs. When I get home from the festival I will check the program against my CDs. He has done several using Sephardic, Ottoman music.

I am glad to hear the radio audience enjoyed. The music really needs to be heard live to get the full effect and to see all the different instruments used.

That surely must've been a great festival opener and I can only guess at how it must've been to have heard it in the raw!

Following on from doversoul's link, I've listened to a few minutes of Hesperion's music and I really liked the Dowland CD. A concert programme check against your CDs would be appreciated.

[MickyD]

Hi Beef....this is the Alia Vox website, which Savall set up himself to produce all his recordings...it also bought up many of his older recordings for Astrée and repackaged them, and some of those are really great too.

http://www.alia-vox.com/

You should be able to find all Hesperion XXI's recordings here...but so many to choose from!!

[BBMmk2]

What a marvellous concert! Greatly enjoyed by my wife, the cat and yours truly
!