Three Where East Meets West

I. Liqufacta est (Ensemble Naya/Yaniv d'Or). Naya CD 667.

Fascinated by the musical heritage of Jewish culture, Yaniv d’Or founded Ensemble Naya with Nora Roll and Anders Ericson in 2008. Now a group of eight, Ensemble Naya creates a mesmerising dialogue between early western music and musical traditions from the entire world. 

Naya’s unique sound is attracting growing popularity and invitations to perform at major international venues such as Wigmore Hall London, Carnegie Hall New York, Handel Festsipele in Halle and Göttingen and Israel festival, to name but a few.

A follow-up to Latino Ladino (8.573566), which focuses on music of the Sephardic diaspora after the 1492 expulsion of Jews and Muslims from Spain, the programme for Exaltation is drawn from Medieval and Baroque Europe, Turkey and the Near East, and includes beautiful examples of the Sephardic and Sufi traditions. This essentially joyful album, which combines instruments from different cultures and ages to include distinctive timbres such as the didgeridoo, ney flute, flamenco guitar and more, topped by Yaniv d’Or’s haunting countertenor voice, celebrates the spirit that binds the wandering communities, the gods they worship and the hopes they share for a harmonious co-existence.

Yaniv d’Or (countertenor)

Ensemble Naya:
Anders Ericson (theorbo)
Laurence Cummings (organ)
Yair Dalal (oud)
Nora Roll (viola da gamba)
Avi Avital (mandolin)
Erez Mounk (percussion)
Yotam Haimovitch (sitar)

II. The Spirit of Bulgarian Traditions. (Ens./Stoimenka Nedyalkova, s.). Alia Vox AV 9962

Stoimenka Nedyalkova vocal
Nedyalko Nedyalkov kaval, vlashki duduk, percussion | Petar Milanov tambura
Nikolay Krachmarov vocal, kaba gaida (bagpipe), dvuyanka (double flute), percussion
Angel Angelov gadulka | Ivan Panchev vocal, percussion

On the CD The Spirit of the Bulgarian Traditions, my colleagues and I embarked on a journey to capture the essence of songs and instrumental pieces from various ethnic groups within Bulgaria. Sadly, the languages of these groups, including the Gagauz, Kopanari, Vlasi, Karakachan, and Pomak peoples, although still present in Bulgaria, no longer have a public platform. Their folklore, rich in history and tradition, remains elusive in our national media, where it is rarely encountered, heard or witnessed.

I am profoundly thankful for the opportunity to shed light on these often overlooked cultural treasures. It is my fervent hope that through this album, more people will have the chance to experience the folklore heritage of these ethnic communities, which is a significant part of Bulgaria’s authentic musical culture.

Once again, ALIA VOX remains true to its boutique offerings and reveals the secrets of Bulgarian minorities thanks to one of the geniuses of contemporary eth-no-music, Nedyalko Nedyalkov. The Spirit of Bulgarian Traditions is a project that pre-sents in summary form the exquisite and exceptionally intriguing melodies of ethnic groups that have settled in and inhabited Bulgarian lands. Over the years some of these minority groups have disappeared, while others still survive and create their own inimitable and often misun-derstood folklore. Therein lies the key to this successful project, which combines a skilful selection of ostensibly diametrically opposed geographical regions, all perfor-med in Nedyalko Nedyalkov's exceptional interpretation. The album magnificently interweaves melodies and songs from Aegean Thrace, Gagauzia (from the Varna re-gion and settlers from the Orestiada region), the Shoppe region near Sofia, Vlachia, the Pazardzhik region, a unique strip between the western Rhodope Mountains and Eastern Pirin Macedonian region (Pomak music), the music of Greek itinerant shepherds who inhabit Bulgarian territories (Karakachani), the Kopanari Roma, and others. Besides its ethnic diversity, the album also impresses with its natural sound, as it was recorded in a Catholic cathedral with no modern multi-tracking recording technology, which makes this product unique in terms of documentary content. The instruments used will also pique listeners' cu-riosity and showcase the possibilities of the Bulgarian three-register kaval, the Vlach duduk, the kaba (large) and dzhura (small) bagpipes, dvoyanka, gadulka, tambu-ra, tupan, daire and tarambuka.

III. Ija Mia (East of the River). Avie AV2665.

East of the River, founded by internationally-renowned recorder players Nina Stern and Daphna Mor, explores the virtuosic and haunting melodies of the Sephardic diaspora, the traditions of the Middle East, Armenia, North Africa and the Balkans as well as the timeless gems of the Medieval European classical repertory. East of the River’s music is arranged and interpreted by musicians steeped in jazz, folk and classical traditions.

The group has performed on concert series at the National Gallery of Art (Washington D.C.), Chautauqua Institution, San Francisco Society for Early Music, Seattle Early Music, Da Camera Society (Los Angeles), Early Music Now (Milwaukee), Madison Early Music Festival, Academy of Early Music (Ann Arbor), Indianapolis Early Music, Five Boroughs Music Festival (New York, NY), Peak Performances (Montclair State University), the Logan Series at Penn State Erie, and in New York City venues as varied as Bargemusic, Joe’s Pub, Le Poisson Rouge, and the Brooklyn Public Library. East of the River has been featured on several occasions at WQXR’s annual Chanukah celebration at The Greene Space. 

Stern and Mor, called “recorder virtuosos” by The New York Times, each have impressive careers as soloists and chamber music players and have appeared as a duo with the New York Philharmonic, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Music Before 1800, The American Classical Orchestra, and at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine’s renowned New Year’s Eve concert for Peace. In East of the River, Stern and Mor are often joined by acclaimed performers such as Ara Dinkjian on oud, Shane Shanahan and John Hadfield on percussion, Zafer Tawil on violin, Tamer Pinarbasi on kanun, Kane Mathis on oud and kora, Tal Masiasch on bass. East of the River’s various musicians have recorded and performed with artists including Yo-Yo Ma, Philip Glass, Jordi Savall, Sting, Natalie Merchant, Paul Simon, Joyce DiDonato.

The spirited New York City-based ensemble East of the River debuts on AVIE with Ija Mia: Music of the Sephardic Diaspora.

Directed by the dynamic duo of internationally renowned "recorder virtuosos" (The New York Times) Daphna Mor (regular collaborator with Apollo's Fire) and Nina Stern, the album is inspired by love and commemoration of the musicians' collective cultural backgrounds - Nina's Venetian Jewish ancestry, and Daphna's Ladino heritage.

Spanning a vast range of Sephardic folk and traditional musics - stories and dances, prayers and anthems - Ija Mia is by turns haunting, soulful and exuberant. Daphna and Nina's cosmopolitan collaborators include an astonishing assortment of musicians including renowned Armenian-American oud player Ara Dinkjian, Silk Road percussionist Shane Shanahan, the phenomenal Israeli bassist Tal Mashiach, and Palestinian multi-instrumentalist Zafer Tawil on qanun, violin, and percussion.

Nina Stern, recorders
Daphna Mor, voice, recorders
Ara Dinkjian, oud, cümbüş
Tal Mashiach, bass
Shane Shanahan, percussion
Zafer Tawil, violin, qanun, percussion
John Hadfield, percussion (1, 12)