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Ibn Arabi: Morada De La Luz
Tasabih [4.41]
Mi Corazon adopta todas las formas [7.44]
Mi Corazon adopta todas las formas [8.15]
Almuedano interior [2.57]
Saludo a Salma [2.04]
Estado do passion [4.34]
Las sombras de la noche [2.33]
Al-Andalus abre sus puertas [4.08]
Brillo el ralampago [2.53]
El secreto encuentro [6.04]
Senor de los senores [4.43]
Sus laderas son suaves [5.00]
Musica Sufi Andalusi/Eduardo Paniagua
Recording details not provided
No translations provided
PNEUMA PN-1520 [55.55]

This disc presents works inspired by and which set the words of Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, the twelfth-century Andalusian Sufi mystic, poet, philosopher and dragoman. This great teacher - the 850th anniversary of whose birth this recording celebrates - travelled widely and left what are counted at between three and eight hundred works (including the seminal work al-Futuhat al-makkiyya – The Meccan Illuminations), expounding his philosophy, based on the Koran and on traditional teachings, sciences and knowledge. The works presented here are a mixture of instrumental episodes inspired by Ibn Arabi and his teachings and songs taken from The Interpreter of Desires, which speak of divine yearning and passion.

The performances, featuring the group Musica Sufi Andalusi, directed by Eduardo Paniagua, are very authentic, employing traditional instruments (such as the kanun, daf, atabal and nay) and styles of singing. There is nothing at all polished about this recording – it is very much from the heart and full of passion, rather than precision, as is surely only right in a disc whose emphasis is purely on the spirituality of the music that the musicians are conveying, and on communicating this element above all to the audience. Voices (and instruments), therefore, are beautiful, but just slightly rough and harsh at the edges.

The booklet doesn’t give much away at all – there is a rather cramped section on the back with some information about Ibn Arabi, but absolutely nothing about performers or the music whatsoever. The inside of the meagre and poorly-presented four-page booklet is in Spanish and Arabic, without any English translations of the poems. Hence, except for what may be worked out from the titles, the listener never actually really finds out what it is that he/she is listening to, what it is about, or anything about the interpreters. Nor do we know where or when the works were recorded.

I found this disc highly enjoyable to listen to, but other listeners might find the lack of information frustrating and off-putting.

Em Marshall-Luck

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