Traditional melodies from Italy, Spain, Greece, Sephardim and Asia Minor.
Like Ulysses, let us take you on a musical journey around the Mediterranean, interweaving traditional Greek songs, the flamenco repertoire, Sephardic melodies, Italian baroque airs, music from Byzantium?
Explorers at heart, Daphné Souvatzi and François Aria initially set course for Andalusia to discover the road that would lead them from classical music to flamenco. Along the way, they ventured to find an idiom common to both fields, and Federico Garcia Lorca?s famous canciones (i.e. "songs") seemed an excellent starting point for a first repertoire. However, these representative pieces of Spanish classical music need to be arranged to bring the fiery spirit of flamenco to the fore. To create a true fusion of genres, it was also necessary to incorporate the most emblematic rhythms and melodies of flamenco. As a result, the structures of the pieces broaden, the harmony takes on new chords and the tempo varies according to the impulses of the vocals. Our two adventurers, already equipped with a precious musical baggage of Spanish colors and sounds, head east with the idea of adapting several traditional Hellenic songs. The fusion of genres intensifies, the singer has the pleasure of singing in her mother tongue, and the guitar adapts to this new repertoire. Audiences discover sublime songs from Cyprus, Greece and Asia Minor. These Mediterranean gems have been passed down orally from generation to generation. They speak of love, but also of the societies of the time, the ravages of emigration and even historical events such as the fall of Byzantium. Finally, the recital also includes instrumental pieces composed by the guitarist himself, giving the flamenco guitar a solo place.
Like a bridge linking past, present and future times, the music will take us to unknown shores.
Daphné Souvatzi, vocals
François Aria, guitar