about the project

musical mirrors
an evening of Spanish and Arabic music
Laure Barras
&
“Just as we look in the mirror to see our own face, when
we want to learn to discover ourselves, we must turn our
eyes to our friend, since a friend is but another self”
Aristotle
Romanza Andaluza………………………………P. de Sarasate (1844-1908)
op.22, no.1
Arr.: Y. Hara/M. Shimane
Perf.: Andrés Ortiz (violin), Pablo Rioja (guitar)
Talou Hbabna……………………………………………Z. Nassif (1918-2004)
Arr.: J. Ichkhanian/Animacorde
Perf.: Andrés Ortiz (violin), Pablo Rioja (guitar)
Ya Sakina el Lail……………………………………W. Gholmieh (1938-2001)
Arr.: Edy and Marie-Ange Dorlian/Animacorde
Perf.: Andrés Ortiz (violin), Pablo Rioja (guitar)
Lamma Bada Yatathanna…………………Traditional song from Al-Andalus
Arr.: Animacorde
Perf.: Andrés Ortiz (violin), Pablo Rioja (guitar)
Al Hilwa Di…………………………………………….S. Darwich (1892-1923)
Arr.: Animacorde
Perf.: Laure Barras (soprano), Andrés Ortiz (violin), Pablo Rioja (guitar)
Trece Canciones Españolas Antiguas…………….F. G. Lorca (1898-1936)
Arr.: V. García Velasco
Perf.: Laure Barras (soprano), Pablo Rioja (guitar)
Anda jaleo
Las morillas de Jaén
Nana de Sevilla
La Tarara
Zorongo
Zourouni……………………………………………….S. Darwich (1892-1923)
Arr.: J. Ichkhanian/Animacorde
Perf.: Laure Barras (soprano), Andrés Ortiz (violin), Pablo Rioja (guitar)
Danza Española nº 1 from La Vida Breve………M. de Falla (1876-1946)
Arr.: F. Kreisler/K. Ragossnig
Perf.: Andrés Ortiz (violin), Pablo Rioja (guitar)
interval
Telet ya Mahla Nourha………………………………S. Darwich (1892-1923)
Arr.: J. Ichkhanian/Animacorde
Perf.: Andrés Ortiz (violin), Pablo Rioja (guitar)
Siete Canciones Populares Españolas…………M. de Falla (1876-1946)
Arr.: J.Torrent
Perf.: Laure Barras (soprano), Pablo Rioja (guitar)
El paño moruno
Seguidilla murciana
Asturiana
Jota
Nana
Canción
Polo
Aidesh Kan Fi Nas……………………………………………Z. Rahbani (1956)
Arr.: Animacorde
Aatini al Naya…………………………………………N. Hankash (1904-1979)
Arr.: Animacorde Text: K. Jibran (1883-1931)
Al Bint al Shalabiya…………………………………Traditional Arabic song
Arr.: Animacorde Adapted by: Rahbani brothers
Perf.: Laure Barras (soprano), Andrés Ortiz (violin), Pablo Rioja (guitar)
Duration: ca. 70 min plus interval
musical
mirrors
This recital is composed of pieces drawn from Spanish and Arabic popular music as well as classical pieces inspired by
them. The similarities between these repertoires, due to the Arab presence in the Iberian Peninsula for centuries, will be
evident to the listener.
The first piece is Romanza Andaluza by violinist and composer Pablo de Sarasate, considered the most important
Spanish violinist of all times. Although he lived in Paris from the age of twelve, his music always reflected a longing
for his native Spain, and is based on its folklore. In this piece, we appreciate the melismas and the melodic intervals so
characteristic of Arabic influence.
The next piece is Lamma Bada Yatathanna, an old song from Al-Andalus, the Arab territories in the Iberian Peninsula. It is a
good example of muwashaha, a song genre originating in Al-Andalus that describes the virtues of the beloved one. “When
she appeared with her proud manner, she seduced me by her beauty. She is like a branch when she leans, oh, she draws me into
such a troubled state”. We present here an instrumental version. Telet ya Mahla Nourha, also arranged for violin and guitar, is a song by
Egyptian singer Sayiid Darwish, considered the father of Egyptian folk music. “Sing me a song, offer me a rose, oh my beloved one”. The next song, Al
hiwa di, by the same composer, is very well known throughout the Middle East and has been sung, among others, by the legendary singer Fayrouz, about
whom we will talk later. We listen here to the voice of the cuckoo, “Coo, coo, coo!”, that accompanies workers on their way to work early in the morning.
The five following pieces are part of the Trece Canciones Españolas Antiguas, collected and harmonised by famous poet and playwright Federico García
Lorca. For him, “songs are creatures, delicate creatures that need care in order for their rhythm not to be altered in any way. Each song is a marvel of
balance that can easily be upset. It is like a coin balanced on the tip of a needle. They are like people, they live, perfect themselves and some of them
degenerate…”
First comes Anda Jaleo, that speaks of the longing for the beloved one. The first verse says: “I climbed a green pine, and tried to see her, and I only saw
the dust created by the carriage that carried her”. Then, Las Morillas de Jaén talks of three beautiful young Moorish women, Axa, Fátima and Marién,
who are going to the fields to collect olives and return disappointed since they had already been picked by someone else. Then comes Nana de Sevilla,
that pictures a small abandoned turtle. It is worth noting García Lorca’s observation that, contrary to other European lullabies which are sweet and tender,
Spanish ones are fundamentally sad, from North to South, except for the Basque Country. The next song is called Zorongo and talks about unrequited
love: “In the night I go out to the courtyard and I cannot stop crying, seeing that I love you so much and you don’t love me at all”. Finally, the best known
in this song cycle is La Tarara, a young woman who dances and seduces men. “My Tarara has a green dress full of flounces, oh mad Tarara, move your
waist for the olive boys”.
With the next song we come back to the Arab world: Zourouni, where a woman expresses her distress due to her loved one, who visits her only once
a year and forgets her immediately. The composer is the Egyptian Sayyid Darwish, about whom we have talked above. This melody was originally
composed for an operetta and has become part of Arabic popular music. Many Arabic singers have rearranged it over the years.
The next piece is the Danza Española No. 1 from the opera La Vida Breve by Manuel de Falla, arranged here for violin and guitar. Falla is considered
the most relevant Spanish composer of the twentieth century. Although he spent a great part of his life in France and Argentina, his native country, Spain,
inspired most of his music. Manuel de Falla and Lorca met in their youth and between them arose a friendship, which was crucial for the development of
Spanish culture.
Then we will listen to two Lebanese melodies in an instrumental version: Talou Hbabna, by Lebanese singer and composer
Zaki Nassif, deceased in 2004 leaving a rich heritage of more than a thousand compositions of varied styles, and Ya
Sakina el Lail, by Walid Golmieh. The latter is considered one of the most remarkable conductors and composers in the
Middle East. He founded the National Lebanese Symphony Orchestra and the National East Arab Orchestra.
The Siete Canciones Populares Españolas by Manuel de Falla is a cycle of folk songs inspired by Spanish folklore that
have been either harmonised by Falla or entirely composed by him. We will listen to them with a guitar accompaniment that
reinforces their folk origins. The first two songs are from the Spanish province of Murcia. El Paño Moruno tells how a shop
has had to lower the price of a piece of fabric due to a stain. The text may allude to a young woman having lost her virginity.
an evening of
Spanish and
Arabic music
The Seguidilla Murciana is a dance telling us that one must not throw stones to their neighbour’s roof and then compares a “light” woman
with a peseta that passes from one hand to another, gets blurred and nobody wants it anymore. The Asturiana, from the North of Spain, is a lamentation:
“To see whether it would console me, I approached a green pine, to see whether it would console me. Seeing me cry, it cried”.
Next we listen to the Jota, written by Falla himself, a good example of jota aragonesa, from the North East of Spain. It is probably the most famous of the
seven songs and it speaks about a secret love and the disappointment of farewell. The Nana is a berceuse from Andalusia that Falla’s mother sang to him
in his childhood. The text is sweet and tender, in contrast to the music, which is sad and somber. Then, the Canción evokes cursed eyes and unrequited
love even though the musical character is light and gay. To finish the cycle, Falla takes us to flamenco’s cante jondo with Polo where feelings of love and
grief are mixed in a passionate song.
The three following melodies are arrangements of Arabic songs. It is important to note that precise transcriptions of these songs on printed scores do no
exist. Therefore, we have made our own arrangements for violin, guitar and voice. We were inspired by several transcriptions, especially those of Nouhad
Haddad, better known for her artistic name, Fayrouz. Born in 1935 in the Lebanese mountains, her reputation rapidly surpassed the borders of her native
country. Nowadays she is admired throughout the Arab world, from the Magreb to the Levant. Despite her success, during the Lebanese Civil War she
rarely appeared publicly in order to avoid showing support for any of the sides. This brought her affection from people of all confessions.
The first piece is Aidesh Kan Finas, composed by Fayrouz’s son, Ziad Rahbani. It is the story of a lonely person who waits for someone who never
comes: “There were so many people at the junction, people who were waiting for someone! And it was raining, umbrellas everywhere. And, even in good
weather, nobody is waiting for me”. Then, Aatini al Naya, by Nagib Hankash, is based on a wonderful poem by Khalil Gibran: “Give me the nay (Arab
flute made of bamboo) and sing, since singing is the secret of existence and the cry of the flute will be heard after existence has perished”. This voyage
through Spain and the Arab world comes to an end with Al Bint Shalabiya, a muwashaha that talks about a young woman from Shalabiya. The origin of
the word Shalabiya is uncertain, but it is believed by many that it refers to the city of Seville, current capital of Andalucía. “The beautiful brunette, her eyes
are almonds. I love you from the bottom of my heart. Oh my heart, you are everything to me”.
Born in Switzerland, Laure Barras spent part of her childhood and early youth in the
Middle East. This gave her a special sensibility for Arabic music and culture that she
deepened by studying Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies at university.
Laure Barras
soprano
She starts her singing career in Switzerland performing roles such as Donna Elvira in
Don Giovanni, Annina in La Traviata and Giulia in Rossini’s La Scala di Seta. Other
projects include her concert performances for the TFI Foundation (Beirut), Arts Global
Foundation (New York), Washington Performing Arts Society (Washington DC) and a
solo recital at Zentrum Paul Klee (Bern).
Among her recent engagements, her debut as Emile in the premiere of Gabriel
Thibaudeau’s Le Quatrième Enfant Lune (VMana Opera, Montreal), Berta in Il Barbiere di
Siviglia (Oper Schloss Hallwyl), Rose in Kurt Weill’s Street Scene (HMTMH, Hannover),
Papagena in Die Zauberflöte (Opéra du Rhône), a cabaret recital (German Forum, New
York), a recital at the Opera of Lyon and a concert with l’Orchestre de chambre de Genève.
Laure Barras is currently a member of the Studio of the Opera of Lyon. There she has
had the chance to sing Laurie in The Tender Land, the Second Niece in Peter Grimes
and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet (B. Blacher).
Engagements for 2015-2016 include: Frasquita in Carmen (Bizet) in Lyon, Barmherzigkeit
in Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebotes (Mozart) at the Luzern Festival, Jemmy in
Guillaume Tell (Rossini) with l’Opéra du Rhône and Clorinda in Cenerentola (Rossini) at
the Lausanne Opera.
Since 2013, Laure Barras has the privilege of being a recipient of Migros Kulturprozent
scholarship. She is the first prizewinner of the Solidarvox competition and is granted
scholarships from the Dénéreaz and Dubuis Foundations. She is also a roster artist of
the Arts Global Foundation.
After an actor diploma from the Cours Florent in Paris, Laure Barras received a Master
in voice interpretation with high honors at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne in
Switzerland and a Master specialized in Opera at the Musikhochschule in Hannover,
Germany.
Animacorde is a violin and guitar duo dedicated to exploring and sharing the rich repertoire composed for this ensemble, as well as
commissioning and performing new works.
One of the duo’s main aims is the promotion of the Spanish and Ibero-American repertoires, to which the combination of these two
instruments serves as an ideal vehicle.
Animacorde also gives great importance to bringing music to an audience as large and varied as possible, and strongly believes that
music must be an integral part of our society.
From its debut in December 2012, the duo has developed an intense concert career. They have given the world premiere of Tapestries
and Nonsenses by Tomás Marco within the Clásicos en Verano concert series in Madrid. In collaboration with soprano Laure Barras,
the duo has appeared at the Grandson Classique concert series in Switzerland, broadcast live by the Radio Télévision Suisse. They
have also offered recitals at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, the Fundación ONCE, the Chamber Music Series of the University of
Málaga, the Sonidos de Primavera Series at Fundación Cerezales Antonino y Cinia and the Los Conciertos de la Ojeda Festival, as well
as two tours of Morocco including concerts in Tangier, Casablanca, Rabat and Larache. Their engagements for 2015 include concerts
throughout Spain and two tours of Switzerland.
Animacorde is formed by violinist Andrés Ortiz and guitarist Pablo Rioja.
Andrés Ortiz
violin
Andrés Ortiz performs regularly as a soloist and as a chamber musician in
numerous concert halls in Europe and the United States, such as the Chicago
Cultural Center, the Phillips Collection in Washington, the Yamaha Salon in
New York, the Palau de la Música in Valencia, the Círculo de Bellas Artes and
the Fundación Juan March in Madrid.
He made live recordings for Radio Télevision Suisse, WTFM in Chicago, the
Phillips Collection in Washington and Yamaha Artist Services in New York.
He has premiered works by important composers such as Tapestries and
Nonsenses for violin and guitar by Tomás Marco, Partita II for solo violin by
Tomás Garrido -dedicated to him by the composer- and the Trio Música de
Cítaras by Jorge Taramasco.
As a member of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, he has performed under
the baton of Sir Colin Davis and Herbert Blomstedt at some of the most
important halls in Europe, such as the Royal Concertgebow in Amsterdam,
the Royal Albert Hall in London and the Musikverein-Grosser Saal in Vienna.
He plays regularly with guitarist Pablo Rioja, with whom he forms Animacorde.
Born in Madrid, he studied at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía,
where he obtained the Prize of the Best Chamber Music with Piano Group
handed by her Majesty Queen Sophia of Spain. He then pursued his studies
at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold (Germany) and at the Guildhall School
of Music and Drama in London, with scholarships from the Spanish Ministry of
Culture, the Community of Madrid and the Isaac Albéniz Foundation. Among
his teachers are Santiago de la Riva, José Luis García, Lorenz Nasturica and
Simon Fischer, as well as Rainer Schmidt, Marta Gulyas and Eldar Nebolsin
in the field of chamber music.
He develops his devotion for teaching with his position as Violin teacher at
the Mater Salvatoris Professional Music School and Co-Director of the Centro
para la Pedagogía de los Instrumentos de Cuerda (CEPIC) in Madrid.
Pablo Rioja
guitar
Pablo Rioja is a professor at Conservatorio Profesional de Música
Federico Moreno Torroba, a position he combines with an intense
performing career. He has offered recitals in numerous halls around
the world, such as the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid; the Abu
Khater Auditorium in Beirut; the Carzou Foundation in Manosque;
the Château de Grandson; the Cervantes Institutes in Marrakech,
Tangier and Lebanon; the Auditorium in Logroño and the Pablo
Gargallo Museum in Zaragoza.
He made live recordings for Radio Nacional de España, Radio
Télévision Suisse, Moroccan Radio Television and Lebanese
Television. Proof of his passion for chamber music is the creation
of several ensembles: Cameristas Alternativos, devoted to the
research and performance of chamber music with guitar; the guitar
duo L’Encouragement, with Herminia Navarro Rivera, and the violin
and guitar duo Animacorde, with Andrés Ortiz.
He obtained numerous prizes at international competitions, such as
First Prize at the III Valle de Alcudia-Sierra Madrona International
Competition (Ciudad Real, Spain), Second Prize at the VI Villa de
Aranda International Competition (Burgos, Spain), First Prize at the
VI Ciudad de Elche International Competition (Elche, Spain).
Born in Madrid, he studied chamber music with Rocío Samper and
the guitar with Luis Briso de Montiano. In 2000 he finished his studies
with distinction at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de
Madrid under Prof. Miguel Ángel Jiménez. In 2009 he completed
his musical training with internationally acclaimed guitarist Ricardo
Gallén at the Univeristy of Cáceres (Spain) obtaining a Master in
Classical Guitar.
Zourouni
Aatini al Naya
http://youtu.be/loTD3nKmLDk
http://youtu.be/m-VHTCSI-eQ
Animacorde
Laure Barras
Multimedia
http://youtu.be/Zl5GCoWHS0c
http://youtu.be/X6A3I04ck9I
Nana
Zorongo
http://youtu.be/36WhbjEUcxg
http://youtu.be/n0tUjZvSaZU
Technical needs:
Two armless chairs
Two music stands
Contact
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.laurebarras.com
www.facebook.com/animacorde
Andrés Ortiz +34 686 38 16 92
Laure Barras +49 176 877 735 57