Le Voyage de Sahar Anouar Brahem

• 1 Sur le fleuve 06:33
• 2 Le voyage de Sahar 06:58
• 3 L'aube 05:48
• 4 Vague - E la nave va 06:20
• 5 Les jardins de Ziryab 04:35
• 6 Nuba 03:13
• 7 La chambre 05:01
• 8 Cordoba 05:31
• 9 Halfaouine 02:08
• 10 La chambre, var. 03:47
• 11 Zarabanda 04:27
• 12 Eté andalous 07:06
• 13 Vague, var. 02:31
• Total Runtime 01:03:58

Info zu Le Voyage de Sahar

Jazz oder arabische Kunstmusik? Wenn der tunesische Oud-Virtuose Anouar Brahem zu seiner Kurzhalslaute greift, dann entzieht sich sein Spiel jeglicher begrifflichen Zuordnung. Außerdem sucht Brahem stets die Begegnung mit Musikern, die, wie er selbst, den Horizont der maghrebinischen Kultur überschreiten. Er hat mit dem norwegischen Saxofonisten Jan Garbarek zusammengearbeitet oder mit dem Bassisten Dave Holland und dem Holzbläser John Surman aus Großbritannien. Alle können, wie Brahem auch, als Klangpoeten gelten. Das trifft auch auf die beiden Musiker zu, mit denen sich Brahem für Le Voyage de Sahar zusammengetan hat. Zum einen ist das der französische Akkordeonist Jean-Louis Matinier, der in vielen grenzüberschreitenden Projekten mitwirkt, etwa bei Renaud Garcia-Fons. Zum anderen ist das der ebenfalls aus Frankreich stammende Pianist François Coutourier. Dem Trio gelingt es hier, mit einer höchst ungewöhnlichen Kombination von Instrumenten Klangbilder zu entwerfen, die wie eine Fata Morgana am Scheidepunkt zwischen Morgenland und Abendland wirken. Sanft und entspannt, ja fast meditativ gibt Brahem in seinen Kompositionen die Melodien vor, ein komplexes Spiel aus tausendundeiner Möglichkeiten. Seine beiden Mitstreiter setzen dazu ihre eigenen Konturen, die einzig der Inspiration und Improvisation verhaftet scheinen: fernab jeglicher nostalgischer Orientalismen. Thematisch unternimmt Brahem eine Reise von der Sahara bis hinauf in den arabisch geprägten Süden Spaniens, wo er in der ehemaligen Hauptstadt des Kalifats eintrifft, so besagt es das Stück „Córdoba“. All das klingt elegisch und nach schlichter Eleganz. Bei solcher feinsinnigen Lyrik, wo man auch nach wiederholtem Hören immer neue Facetten entdeckt, lässt es sich trefflich träumen. (Roman Rhode)

'Le Voyage de Sahar offenbart nun einen weiteren Meilenstein der zeitgenössischen arabischen Musik, in die Brahem seine langjährigen Erfahrungen einfließen lässt. Im Trio mit François Couturier und Jean-Louis Matinier entsteht eine entzückend einfache, aber intensive Karambolage mit französischer und spanischer Musik. Hier vertreibt die Emotionalität den Nationalismus und führt am Ende doch beide Strömungen zusammen.' (Klaus Hübner, Neue Zeitschrift für Musik)

'Wie schon auf dem zauberhaften Vorgänger Le Pas du Chat Noir verwebt der 1957 in Tunesien geborene Oud-Spieler auch hier diskret und raffiniert arabische Skalen und Rhythmen mit europäischen Klängen von schillernder Vielseitigkeit. ... Meist parlieren Brahem, Jean-Louis Matinier und François Couturier in wechselnden Zwiegesprächen von vibrierender Intensität, die sich als zauberhaft leichtes Pingpong wunderbarer Ideen erweisen. Sternenklar aufgenommen im Auditorio Radio Svizzera, Lugano, führt diese Reise in eine Traumwelt voll poetischer Echos der Erinnerung: Abstraktionen französischer Muzette-Seligkeiten ebenso wie sanfte Schatten klassischer Kammermusik, gewürzt mit allen Herrlichkeiten des Orients.' (Sven Thielmann, Stereoplay)

Anouar Brahem, oud
François Couturier, piano
Jean Louis Matinier, accordion

Anouar Brahem
was born in 20 th October 1957 in Halfaouine in the Medina of Tunis. Encouraged by his father, an engraver and printer, but also a music lover, Brahem began his studies of the oud, the lute of Arab world, at the age of 10 at the Tunis National Conservatory of Music, where his principal teacher was the oud master Ali Sriti. An exeptional student, by the age of 15 Brahem was playing regularly with local orchestras. At 18 he decided to devote himself entirely to music. For four consecutive years Ali Sriti received him at home every day and continued to transmit to him the modes, subtleties and secrets of Arab classical music through the traditional master / disciple relationship.

Little by little Brahem began to broaden his field of listening to include other musical expressions, from around the Mediterranean and from Iran and India... then jazz began to command his attention. 'I enjoyed the change of environment,' he says' and discovered the close links that exist between all these musics'.

Brahem increasingly distanced himself from an environment largely dominated by entertainment music. He wanted more than to perform at weddings or to join one of the many existing ensembles which he considered anachronistic and where the oud was usually no more than an accompanying instrument for singers. A deepfelt conviction led him to give first place to this preferred instrument of Arab music and to offer the Tunisian public instrumental and oud solo concerts. He began writing his own compositions and gave a series of solo concerts in various cultural venues. He also issued a self-produced cassette, on which he was accompanied by percussionist Lassaad Hosni.

A loyal public of connoisseurs gradually rallied around him and the Tunisian press gave enthusiastic support. Reviewing one of Brahem's first performances, critic Hatem Touil wrote: 'this talented young player has succeed not only in overwhelming the audience but also in giving non -vocal music in Tunisia its claim to nobolity while at the same time restoring the fortunes of the lute. Indeed, has a lutist produced such pure sounds or concretised with such power and conviction, the universality of musical experience'

In 1981, the urge to seek new experiences became ever stronger and his departure for Paris, that most cosmopolitan of cities, enabled him to meet musicians from very different genres. He remained for four years, composing extensively, notably for Tunisian cinema and theatre. He collaborated with Maurice Béjart for his ballet 'Thalassa Mare Nostrum' and with Gabriel Yared as lutist for Costa Gavras’ film 'Hanna K.'.

In 1985 he returned to Tunis and an invitation to perform at the Carthage festival provided him with the opportunity of bringing together, for 'Liqua 85' , outstanding figures of Tunisian and Turkish music and French jazz. These included Abdelwaheb Berbech, the Erköse brothers, François Jeanneau, Jean-Paul Celea, François Couturier and others. The success of the project earned Brahem Tunisia's Grand National Prize for Music.

In 1987, he was appointed director of the Musical Ensemble of the City of Tunis (EMVT). Instead of keeping the large existing orchestra, he broke it up into formations of a variable size, giving it new orientations: one year in the direction of new creations and the next more towards traditional music. The main productions were 'Leïlatou Tayer' (1988) and 'El Hizam El Dhahbi' (1989) in line with his early instrumental works and following the main axis of his research. In these compositions, he remained essentially within the traditional modal space, although he transformed its references and upset its heirarchy. Following a natural disposition towards osmosis, which has absorbed the Mediterranean, African and Far-Eastern heritages, he also touched from time to time upon other musical expressions: European music, jazz and other forms.

With 'Rabeb' (1989) and 'Andalousiat' (1990), Anouar Brahem returned to classical Arab music. Despite the rich heritage transmitted by Ali Sriti and the fact that this music constitued the core of his training, he had in fact, never performed it in public. With this 'return' he wished to contribute to the urgent rehabilitation of this music. He put together a small ensemble, a 'takht', the original form of the traditional orchestra, where each instrumentalist plays as both a soloist and as an improviser. Brahem believes this is the only means of restoring the spirit, the subtlety of the variations and the intimacy of this chamber music. He called upon the best Tunisian musicians, such as Béchir Selmi and Taoufik Zghonda, and undertook thorough research work on ancient manuiscripts with strict care paid to transparency, nuances and details. For more information visit: http://www.anouarbrahem.com

Booklet für Le Voyage de Sahar