Emotions Anonymous

Jordi Savall & Hesperion XXI - Bal-Kan - Miel et Sang (2013) {3CD Set Alia Vox AVSA 9902}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.19 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 552 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 322 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2013 Alia Vox | AVSA 9902
Classical / World Music / Chamber Music

The name of the Balkans has an unusually graphic etymology: having discovered the beauty of this pivotal part of Europe, which stretches from Italy to the Bosphorous, and the ruggedness of its people, who put up fierce resistance to invasion, the Turks chose to describe the region with the words Bal (Honey) and Kan (Blood). Honey & Blood: never was there so apt a metaphor! So much richness and drama packed into such a small area is guaranteed to fire the imagination of historians and artists, especially musicians. Thanks to the magic of an ambitious programme built around the cycles of life, Jordi Savall invites us to travel the length and breadth of a region which has always had more than its share of human and historical drama. 230 minutes of music scan the full range of human emotions illuminated by 1001 different musical traditions, all of which nevertheless spring from a common source. "The future belongs to those with the longest memory", wrote Nietzsche. Once more, Jordi Savall brilliantly demonstrates that music is a key component of the collective memory that enables us to face our future. This lavishly documented CD-Book, translated into 12 languages, is a must for any self-respecting collector.

Jordi Savall & Hesperion XXI - Esprit des Balkans (Balkan Spirit) (2013) {Alia Vox AVSA9898}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 411 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 181 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 834 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2014 Alia Vox | AVSA9898
World Music / Chamber Music

Jordi Savall once again enriches our view of a region teeming with history: the Balkans. Following on the success of Spirit of Armenia, Alia Vox, a label acclaimed for revealing hidden gems from the vast history of music, presents Balkan Spirit - a collection of music that sheds light on a little-known repertoire that conveys the whole spectrum of human emotions. Presented with both the iconographic richness and quality packaging that Alia Vox is famous for, this journey of musical discovery is another important milestone in the discography of Catalan master Jordi Savall and his ensemble Hesperion XXI.

This album is the story of a dialogue between two voices: the singing voice and the voice of the cello, which has always been considered the instrument closest to the human voice. It is also the story of two worlds and the meeting of two cultures, East and West. The East we encounter here is Armenia, its thousand-year-old culture, its music and its songs, which resonate with the compositions of Bach, Kodály and Ligeti. For the cellist Astrig Siranossian, vocal melody and the sound of the cello are two voices that she has always combined in her concerts, coupling a dance from a solo cello suite by Bach with an Armenian song that she performs with great sensitivity. East and West, Armenia and Europe: it is her roots and her emotions that the young cellist shares with us here. This recording was made on two different cellos, according to the repertory: an instrument by Francesco Ruggieri dating from 1676 and the famous Giovanni Gagliano of 1756 known as the ‘Sir John Barbirolli’.

The Pera Ensemble, the recipient of enthusiastic critical reactions on account of its refined mixture of fragrances and flavors and a two-way exploration and enrichment of soundscapes, takes its name from a district of Istanbul which has been a melting pot of cultures and religions for more than two millennia.

When musicians of our generation seek to provide musical depictions of the pilgrimages to St. James of Compostela, they turn most frequently to the Middle Ages. The La Fenice ensemble, however, has chosen a different approach by taking a map of the Camino Francès (1648) as its inspiration. Here they bring formal as well as popular repertoire of the time back to life with songs both sacred and secular, combining these with the joyfully festive music that accompanied the travellers from France to Galicia via Languedoc, Aragon and Castile.