Sephardic
Songs
When the Spanish Jews were expelled from Spain they continued to speak
their language Jewish-Castillian (also known as Ladino) for centuries.
Rosa is doing her part to keep this language alive through her performances.
The melodies are influenced by the music of the countries these Jews moved
to; Bulgaria, Greece and Morocco to name a few.
This performance also includes songs from the Catalan Jews (Catalonia
is the area around Barcelona). Only five songs by Catalan Jews have been
found, all are wedding songs from the 14th and 15th century. These lyrics
were found in 2 manuscripts written with Hebrew letters but the words in
Catalan.
Voice and guitar.
Jaume Riera , in
his book "Cants de noces del jueus catalans" states: "These texts were
to be sung, using melodies already know to the public".
Only the lyrics were found, so Rosa has used melodies taken from traditional
Sephardic songs.
The
Spirit of Al Andalus
This concert includes Sephardic, Muslim (from the Iberian Peninsula) and
Christian songs. While the Sephardic songs are song in Jewish-Castillian
or Jewish Catalan and the Muslim songs are in Arabic, the songs share
the same musical mode, grouped together by their varying rhythms.
The Christian songs are performed with: violin, percussion, guitar and
a choir of 3 voices, they are polyphonic.
This performance can also include spiritual music taken from the 3 cultures:
Sufi, Jewish Sabbath Songs ....
In Spain, during
the early to middle part of the first millennium, the science and culture
of the Muslims, Christians and Jews coexisted in peace and liberty in numerous
places around the country ;in Toledo, located in the heart of Castilla,
Cordoba in Andulucia and in Vic in Catalunya.
Evidence of the common
roots this cultures shared can be found in their music, poetry and other
arts. The influence these cultures had, especially those based in
Andulucia, transformed Medieval Spain into the best example of the union
of European, African and Middle Eastern cultures. It was a time of multicultural
acceptance and a great sharing of ideas and art that influenced the rest
of Europe.
In addition, The Spirit of Al Andaluz includes a performance by the
dancer Lesya Starr. Oriental dance, which has it’s origin in the sacred,
is a dance of the Mother Goddess and one of , if not the most ancient dance.
With the passage of time, this ritual of birth and fertility has been transformed
into the erotic dance seen in the Oriental Cabarets of the past century.
Lesya’s performances return the dance to it’s earthy, feminine origins.
Her contribution symbolizes the union of the spiritual with the sensual,
the body and soul in all their beauty.
Azahar:
from Al-Andalus to Andalusia
Azahar is a performance about the relationship between Andalusí
music and Flamenco singing, and between Oriental dance and Flamenco dance.
Usually, in my concerts of the three cultures, I perform with Lesia Starr,
an exceptional and atypical belly dancer. Her elegant, spiritual and sensual
touch, and her personal interpretation of dancing wins the hearts of the
audience. Seeing her inspired me to offer a contrast between her style
and a Flamenco dancer. Sonia has developed her own individual style of
flamenco dance grounded firmly in the earth. It is strong and emotional,
and like Lesia, clearly demonstrates her own style.
The show takes you through the various classic songs of Al-Andalus, sika,
aârak, etc.. and the Flamenco palos, bulería, fandangos, soleá..
Both the belly dancer and the Flamenco dancer show their Art throughout
the performance. Finally in the last song: “La Tarara”, sung in Arabic
and Spanish, they dance together in an artful duel. It is a recognition
of their mututal admiration, an acceptance of the other. It’s an attempt
at reconciling the two cultures, reflected during this performance of dances
blended with traditional Spanish music.
There are between eight and ten people involved in this performance. The
instruments that the Spanish and Moroccan musicians use include “cajón”,
Spanish guitar, Flamenco guitar, lute, mandolin, violin, “derbuca and daf”.
There are also two dancers and Rosa. One of the Moroccan musicians also
sings with me.
Mystic
Eroticism
Mystics in their trances, and lovers in their ecstasy are human beings
abandoning themselves, transcending their egos by taking part of the whole,
of God.
Mystic eroticism is an attempt by a group of long time friends, to immerse
themselves in the body’s spirituality of the eternal delirium, of the devine
fire we have inside.
The performance is based on tantric rituals (spreading out flowers, dancing,
tatoos, dressing and undressing, feeding, playing, singing, spraying perfume...)
They are only the preliminaries, it is all a prayer.
The connecting elements in the show are Rosa Zaragoza’s songs, this time
with the collaboration of Luis Paniagua and Marcel Casella. Tientos (Flamenco
music), Sufi Mantras, the dance of the seven veils, Saint Theresa of Jesus’
words, Ibn al Arabi and the tantrics’ wisdom, allow us to enjoy a variety
of cultural influences, beliefs and the music which show us how to feel
God in our bodies, our temple.
Rosa Zaragoza and
Carolina Farrés: voices
Nikola Bahna: Didgeridoo
Olga Marquez: Flamenco dancer
Lesia Starr: Belly dancer
Carolina García:
Dancer
Miri Yeffet: Set design
