Call To Prayer
Ghalia Benali, Romina Lischka (viol, vocals), Vincent Noiret (double bass, chittara battente)
rec. 13-15 October 2019, Mariekerke, Belgium
Arabic Text with English and French translations included
FUGA LIBERA FUG763 [71:40]
This remarkable CD presents a group of three performers who are breaking new ground in exploring how musical cultures can blend together. The celebrated cellist Yo-Yo Ma was one of the first to head in this direction with his 1998 CD release of Silk Road Journeys. That CD became a popular seller and spawned a series of similar releases from the Silk Road Ensemble. This release is breaking new ground again in that the artists involved have come together and blended the musical identities of three distinct cultural traditions to create wholly new and unique compositions. To label this as a “crossover” CD would be do it a terrible injustice, as my experience of most crossover music is akin to stuffing oneself with potato chips rather than eating a proper meal. I would give this CD the term “crossroads” to describe what it is aiming to achieve.
The booklet speaks to finding what parts of culture bring us all together in a meaningful way. The way they have done this is to take baroque pieces that were composed by Marin Marais and others and overlay that sound with Arabic maqams that one might encounter from a Muezzin alerting the faithful from a minaret. Even more colour is added with a third element in the form of Indian Dhrupad ragas which take an already exotic experience into the realm of heady perfumes. The Arabic texts that have been written are sensual poetic creations of the vocalist Ghalia Benali, and have a great deal in common with the phases of the Song of Solomon. There is a similarity in the language of expressing a longing for spiritual union with God via the all too human experience of passion and longing for a lover.
The opening track Tounes, lays all before it. Ghalia Benali sings this in a voice with a true hypnotic quality. I found myself completely helpless to resist the soulfulness that emanates from her throat. This leads directly into the first piece by Marin Marias which surprisingly echoes the vocal line that we have just heard coming Benali. The effect is stunning. Thereafter the tracks all bring the vocals superimposed over the baroque pieces. If this sounds like an impossible task to achieve I can only state that it all works in a way that I cannot quite grasp as I find myself too busy becoming lost in the richness of it all. Baroque music written for court musicians in the seventeenth century by Forqueray and Marin Marias have virtually nothing in common with prayer songs from the East however the pieces have obviously been selected very carefully and they blend in a truly seamless fashion. The second voice we encounter is the higher range of Romina Lischka as she intones the ragas that weave in and out of the baroque strings and the Arabic prayers. Her writing is equally soulful and her voice is quite clear. If it doesn’t have the deep resonances of Ms Benali everything she does adds splendid colour to create a rich tapestry of sound. The viol, chittara and double bass playing of Ms Lischka and Vincent Noiret are far from having a secondary role here, as the instrumentals are the solid foundation on which the lovely sound weavings have been laid. If there is a star contribution then it is the incredible voice and compositional skill of Ghalia Benail. There is a world of longing buried in her voice which resounds with all of the colours to be found in a souk. The engineers have captured this in sound that is luminous and clear. The CD packaging and booklet are excellent. My sole wish is that someone had thought to include an article in which the three performers spoke about how the working relationship and difficulties they encountered in bringing three such separate sound worlds together. Today, when our world is increasingly being split by divisions, this CD stands out as a bright spot of just what we can achieve when we come together in thoughtfulness and respect for traditions that are other than our own.
Mike Parr
Contents
Ghalia Benali: Tounes
Forqueray, A: Le Carillon de Passy (Pièce de viole, Suite No .4 en Sol Mineur)
Ghalia Benali: Mosabbeb al Asbab
Romina Lischka, Ghalia Benali: Raga Bhairav - Awatadhkourou
Marais, M: Le Moulinet (3e livre de pièce de viole, suite No. 6 en Sol Mineur)
Ghalia Benali, Marin Marais: Nouh Al Hamam - Rondeau moitié pincé et moitié coup d'archet (5e livre de pièces de viole, Suite No. 1 en La Mineur, Arr. Romina Lischka)
Vincent Noiret: Prelude
Romina Lischka, Ghalia Benali: Raga Yaman - Ra'aa Al Barq
Marin Marais, Ghalia Benali: Le Badinage (4e livre de pièces de viole, Suite d'un goût étranger) - La Talumi
Ghalia Benali: Teryaq
Ghalia Benali, Marin Marais: Jaa Rasoul - Prélude en harpegement (5e livre de pièces de viole, Suite No. 3 en Fa Mineur, Arr. by Romina Lischka)
Jean de Sainte-Colombe, Ghalia Benali, Romina Lischka: Prélude en sol - Dama Daiman - Raga Bhairavi
Marin Marais, Ghalia Benali: Les Folies d'Espagne (2e livre de pièce de viole, Suite No.1 en Ré Mineur) - Shahoubat Rouhy
