Avi Avital: Between Worlds
Introduction
“Feeling at home in places that seem foreign, even discovering parts of yourself in them, is a deeply moving idea for me. This is the heart of the Between Worlds project.” — AVI AVITAL
Mandolin virtuoso Avi Avital leads his Between Worlds Ensemble (BWE), which challenges the boundaries between classical and folk music.
Each project of BWE is dedicated to a geographical region - the Iberian Peninsula, the south of Italy, the Black Sea - and paints a rich musical portrait of that region in bright colours and detailed nuances. Classical composers from each region are played side by side with traditional music that often inspired their work, performed together with renowned folk vocalists and instrumentalists as guest artists.
The BWE comprises ten international musicians, whose diverse background and remarkable versatility and curiosity let them venture out of the familiar classical sphere to the rhythms and textures of folk traditions.
In creative collaborations with their guest artists, the Ensemble highlights the captivating quality of folk performers as living legacies of ancient art forms. Through classical compositions, elaborate arrangements, and traditional performance, they re-articulate together the particular musical dialect that defines a local region and simultaneously open its borders, investigate its influences, and marvel at its fluidity and reach.The outcome is a celebration of musical variety: old and new, classical and traditional, local and universal.
Programme
Between Worlds | Iberia
Between Worlds Ensemble Marina Heredia - Flamenco singer José Quevedo El Bolita – Flamenco guitar Paquito Gonzalez – Percussions Programme: Isaac Albéniz · Suite española No.1, Op.47 / Sevilla Manuel de Falla · Piezas Españolas / Andaluza Trad. Flamenco · El Uvero Manuel de Falla · El amor brujo / Canción del amor dolido Trad. Flamenco · Malagueña con Fandango del Albaicin Enrique Granados · Danzas españolas / Oriental Manuel de Falla · El amor brujo / Danza del Juego del amor, Canción del fuego fauto *** Manuel de Falla · La vida breve / Danse espagnole Trad. Flamenco · En los brazos de mi madre Trad. Flamenco · Bulerias Trad. Sephardic · Five Ladino Songs Trad. Flamenco · Alegras Federico García Lorca · Canciones españolas antiguas / Zorongo Avi Avital and the Between Worlds Ensemble collaborate with renowned flamenco cantaora Marina Heredia to create an enticing musical portrait of the Iberian Peninsula. Heredia’s passionate flamenco singing, together with guest flamenco guitarist and percussionist, weaves in and out of works by de Falla, Albéniz, Granados and Lorca — pieces that were conceived through the integration of folklore and classical composition styles. By playing with different genres, traditions, and performance cultures, the Between Worlds Ensemble sheds new light on these pieces, offering their own fascinating interpretation of the composers' perspectives on musical intersections. The Ladino lamentations of the Sephardic Jewish community sweep Avital and Heredia into an intimate musical dialogue of roots and cultures, adding another historic layer to the fiery, soulful journey to Iberia. [SEE TRAILER IN "MEDIA]
Between Worlds | Black Sea
Between Worlds Ensemble Rustavi Choir (10 singers) Programme: Trad. Georgian Imeruli Naduri David Bruce Cut the Rug Trad. Georgian Romelni Querubinta Anzor Erkomaishvili Tu Ase Turpa Ikavi Béla Bartók Mikrokosmos No. 113, 128 & 153 Trad. Crimean Tatar Medley of traditional melodies *** Fazil Say Black Earth Trad. Turkish Naciye Naciye Sulkhan Tsintsadze Mstkhemsuri (Shepherd’s Dance) Trad. Georgian Khasanbegura Josef Bardanashvili Prayers Trad. Klezmer Odessa Klezmer Suite Otar Taktakishvili Five Mingrelian Songs A major crossroads since ancient times, the area known as the Black Sea has produced a fascinating range of musical styles that make it a natural focal point for the Between Worlds Ensemble. Bordering present-day Turkey, Ukraine, Russia, Romania, and Georgia, the Black Sea represents both cultural exchange and dramatic oppositions and contrasts. The tension between local and multi-ethnic identities echoes in the diverse music of the region. Béla Bartók’s trademark synthesis of progressive classical music and traditional folk is represented here through an insightful new arrangement of three movements from his “Mikrokosmos”, alongside contemporary classical composers from the region, Traditional Crimean Tatar music, Turkish folk melodies and Klezmer with an Odessan stamp—all originate from the teeming mixture of Black Sea cultures. With a special collaboration with the internationally acclaimed Rustavi traditional men’s choir from Georgia, the Between Worlds Ensemble creates an electrifying musical experience that showcases the bursting life force and unique musical universe of this complex and colourful region. [SEE TRAILER IN "MEDIA]
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