SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

 

The theme of this year’s Greyfriars series is the cross-fertilisation of music between Spain and its new world colonies. If last Tuesday’s concert from the Tallis Scholars brought the high-minded music of church and nobility, then Jordi Savall brought us the other side of the picture. In this collection of music from Latin American composers Savall and his musicians inhabited a completely different sound world, springing surprise after surprise in a programme that fizzed with life.

 

Where Guerrero and Morales give ethereal purity and endlessly evolving vocal lines, the composers of Latin America seem to swing with an earthy sensibility that keeps them rooted firmly on the ground. Even the religious music here, by composers from the Cathedrals of Mexico, is gustily popular, with rhythmic syncopations that make you want to dance rather than pray. From the opening bars Hespèrion XXI revelled in the foot-tapping swing of the beat and the musicians seemed to play with nonchalant virtuosity, especially the guitarists and the wonderfully characterful arpa llanera, a form of harp originating from Venezuela. Hespèrion XXI make you feel like you are eavesdropping on something entirely unique and unrepeatable, helped by the wonderful improvisatory quality to their music-making, though it never ceases to be captivatingly beautiful. Likewise there is more than the usual unity of purpose in the singing of La Capella Reial, who also seemed to be bouncing ideas off one another over and above what was written on the musical page. Montserrat Figueras’ utterly unique vocal style has been honed on such repertoire and she sings it like no-one else singing today, entirely distinctive in diction, timbre and manner, and boy, does it work!

 

This was a somewhat surprising but really exciting concert, but then, this year’s festival theme, Oceans Apart, could easily have been conceived with Savall in mind, a cultural polymath who loves to break down barriers, challenge preconceptions and find links in surprising places.

 

The Edinburgh International Festival runs until Sunday 5^th September in venues across the city. For full details and to book tickets go to www.eif.co.uk.

 

Simon Thompson

 

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