Initiated as early as 2008 by ECM Records founder and producer Manfred Eicher, the Jean-Louis Matinier and Marco Ambrosini duo introduces the rare encounter between the accordion, a modern free reed instrument that has been widely adopted by many folk and popular traditions around the world and the nyckelharpa, the keyed fiddle traditionally associated with Swedish […]
baroque
Birds on a Wire
Birds on a Wire is an enchanting voice and cello duo formed by French-American singer Rosemary Standley (with multinational France-based alt-folk band Moriarty) and young Brazilian singer, songwriter and cellist Dominique Pinto aka Dom la Nena. Initiated by Rosemary Standley in 2011 as “Rosemary’s Songbook”, the project evolved into the Birds on a Wire duo when the […]
Jordi Savall & Hespèrion XX: Llibre Vermell de Montserrat
The Llibre Vermell de Montserrat (the Red Book of Montserrat) is a 14th century codex compiled by monks and still preserved in the library of the monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat located outside Barcelona in North-Eastern Spain. The monastery was at the time an important pilgrimage site and cultural centre in Catalonia. The 137 […]
Jon Balke, Amina Alaoui & Jon Hassell: Thulâthiyat
Nada más bello O andaluces Que vuestas huertas frondosas, Jardines, bosques, rios Y claras Fuentes […] Nothing is more beautiful, O Andalusians, Than your luxuriant orchards, Your gardens, woods and rivers And springs of crystal […] Following a five minute instrumental introduction, the first few lines from “O Andalusin” sung by Amina Alaoui set […]
Yann-Fañch Kemener & Aldo Ripoche: Ar veleien
Since his début in 1977, traditional Breton singer Yann-Fañch Kemener (b. 1957) has made a huge contribution to the popularity of gwerzioù (unaccompanied laments) and to the revival of the “kan ha diskan” style, the traditional call and response singing for dancers. Now one of the most recognizable voices on the Breton music scene, Yann-Fañch […]
Claudio Monteverdi: Lamento Della Ninfa
L’Arpeggiata Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) was an Italian composer in the late Renaissance whose innovative compositions led to the birth of opera as a new style of music. In addition to early operas and church music, Monteverdi published nine books of Madrigals, or Renaissance love poems sung and arranged for several voices. “Lamento Della Ninfa” (the […]
