Orient Classical Music

Nominated for a Grammy (2002) for best Classical Album, Orient Occident represents the newest and, more importantly, epic portrayal of historical music to date. Regardless of any award, this album will continue its reputation as the most important record of new music in 2002, for the very fact that in the world of new music, Arvo Pärt is a puritan's feast. On the threshold of being a globally resonating composer, Pärt remains full of powerful ideas in film, stage, oratorio and orchestral music. Pärt's talent surmises the infinite variety of spiritual symbolism. He is a composer deeply rooted in the ancestrally religious past of his native Estonia. Further removed from Roman Catholic preaching, the Eastern European Orthodox church took to a more enlightening approach―renunciation. Pärt has, indeed, spent much of his time clarifying his search for richness in life's meaning. His work is as timeless as the art of work is meaningless. This meaningless struggle has dispirited Pärt's yearning soul, and with his newest music we are drawn to his misty, remote retreat. In Orient Occident, not only does Pärt recreate a shameless force of magnitude as a great work (three great works to be exact: "Wallfahrtslied", "Orient & Occident", and "Como Cierva Sedienta"), he has reorganized his approach making this change a revelatory turn from past familiar traits. Having rediscovered himself half dozen times before this year, Pärt introduces a lustrous version of his suffering, and a handsomely classical departure than previously heard. Pärt's climactic reinvention of his artistic path makes this album a sumptuous account of a composer charged with a silent worship.

The compositions presented on this CD belong to two periods of compositional practices. In the first period (2004–06), Haddad (b. 1972) aimed to achieve a synthesis of Arabic and Western music, without the usual Western gimmicks, i.e. tourism, exoticism or even "abstraction". His goal was true existential and transcendental integration, not a juxtaposition or imposition of one tradition on the other. In the latter period (2007–), the ever-questioning composer has been distancing himself from a direct, existential contact with Arabic culture.

The award-winning duo of flautist Silvia Schiaffino and guitarist Renato Procopio present a musical travelogue ranging from Western to Eastern Europe before journeying further afield to Japan, Iran and Korea. As well as masterpieces such as Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances, and a rip-roaring Monti Csárdás, this evocative selection includes the colourful and piquant, such as the music of Sakura, as well as Procopio’s own vibrant arrangement of Korean folk songs.

The award-winning duo of flautist Silvia Schiaffino and guitarist Renato Procopio present a musical travelogue ranging from Western to Eastern Europe before journeying further afield to Japan, Iran and Korea. As well as masterpieces such as Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances, and a rip-roaring Monti Csárdás, this evocative selection includes the colourful and piquant, such as the music of Sakura, as well as Procopio’s own vibrant arrangement of Korean folk songs.

In the margin of official religious institutions, Catholic confraternities and Muslim orders offered a mystical experience. Music played an important role in their rituals, as a way of access to God. Simple, repetitive, haunting, this music sung in groups during processions or devotional meetings was intended to place the assembly in a state of ecstatic trance.

After 1683, when Polish troops saved Vienna from a Turkish siege, Turkey was no longer a threat to Western Europe and became a symbol of the mysterious Orient. For European musicians, however, Turkey was less nebulous, as Turkish instruments (including drums, cymbals, and triangles) entered the European orchestra and composers emulated the sound of the Turkish military band. A charming introduction to eighteenth century musical Orientalism in Europe, this album features exquisite performances by Concerto Köln and Sarband, a traditional Turkish ensemble. The opening track, a scintillating rendition of the overture for Mozart's Oriental opera Die Entfuhrung as dem Serail, features traditional Turkish percussion that adds zest to the performance.

After 1683, when Polish troops saved Vienna from a Turkish siege, Turkey was no longer a threat to Western Europe and became a symbol of the mysterious Orient. For European musicians, however, Turkey was less nebulous, as Turkish instruments (including drums, cymbals, and triangles) entered the European orchestra and composers emulated the sound of the Turkish military band. A charming introduction to eighteenth century musical Orientalism in Europe, this album features exquisite performances by Concerto Köln and Sarband, a traditional Turkish ensemble. The opening track, a scintillating rendition of the overture for Mozart's Oriental opera Die Entfuhrung as dem Serail, features traditional Turkish percussion that adds zest to the performance.