Reviews
Fasl-i Rembetiko
Deep currents are crossing the blue Aegean – the Greek economic crisis and the Turkish ascent are altering old balances,...
Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2012
If Like Birds and Angels I Could Fly
Hossein & Raha Alizadeh with the Hamavayan Ensemble
Perhaps the most striking aspect of this recent album by Hossein Alizadeh & the Hamavayan Ensemble is its showcasing of...
Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2012
Twinklings of Hope
I first heard Iranian sisters Mahsa & Marjan Vahdat in Istanbul in 2006. The power in their voices, so perfectly...
Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2012
Soundshades
This is an intriguing album with moments of genuine excitement, beauty and ingenuity. Soundshades is the first recording from Yaron...
Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2012
Sufiyan
This is quite an extraordinary project for fans of the Turkish ney – the reed flute that is at the...
Reviewed in issue July/2012
Georgia: Sacred & Secular Vocal Polyphony
Georgian polyphony is one of the most glorious sounds in the world – a dozen or so singers (usually male)...
Reviewed in issue July/2012
Chante Adonis
Both the singer Abed Azrié and the poet Adonis (the pen-name of Ali Ahmad Said Esber) are typical of a...
Reviewed in issue July/2012
Trio
The tanbur is a longnecked, fretted string instrument with a hemispheric body. It came to epitomise classical music for the...
Reviewed in issue June/2012
Mare Nostrum
Jordi Savall is a leading specialist in early music, the styles of the 12th to 18th century. In those times...
Reviewed in issue June/2012
