Globalquerque! 2008
I was glad that I pre-paid for my tickets, to get a good discount, as many as three months before the event, on September 19 & 20. It was something of a struggle for me to get there, because of my sore knee and aching back, because of the incredibly poor design of the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Usually, I park in the back ("authorized personnel only"), closer to the theater building, in a handicapped parking space, but I thought that wouldn't work this time, because the ticket booth was at the opposite end, near the larger north parking lot. I just assumed that, didn't even check it out. Maybe it was possible to sneak in my usual way. Next year I'll look at it, or ask David, my friend in the box office. However, he didn't offer that when I complained about how far it was to walk, and that there were no people-moving carts to go the distance. His reason was that they were being sued by someone who fell off, because they tried getting off before the vehicle was stopped.
Among all the wonderful musical acts during the festival, one of the most appreciated was Mor Karbasi, from Israel. I saw her on Friday night, in the Fountain Courtyard, where the audience put up with a light rain in order to hear her sing. She's an attractive young woman who was wearing a black lace and satin dress in a traditional style, with bright red high-heeled shoes which she stomped on the stage every once in a while, in the flamenco tradition. Her very long dark wavy hair, cascading down her back, was also an attractive feature.
Ms. Karbasi has a beautiful singing voice (the program described it as stunning). She is descended from both Moroccan and Persian Jews. She sings both traditional Sephardic and more modern songs. I notice in the program that it says "Sephardic Musical Traditions" under Saturday. I don't know if that means I actually missed a different kind of program by only going on Friday night, or if it was a printing mitake. In any case, I saw a lot of Jewish acquaintances at the performance I attended, interested in the historic Ladino music.
Another exciting group was Lo Cor de La Plana from France. The program describes them as a "gritty French ensemble that combine [sic] a cappella singing with stomping, clapping and a variety of hand drums." The group sings in the little-known ancient language Occitan (I never heard of it before), so I couldn't understand any of the words. The leader of the group explained many of them before they sang them.Some of them were folk-song like stories, but they also sing a traditional repertoire usually confined to churches and religious ceremonies. The percussive instruments they use include the North African bendir and the Italian tamburello, as well as clapping on their legs and two of them mostly stomped their feet while seated on a wooden platform. The audience was very enthusiastic. The auditorium was filled to standing room only and the group was called back for several encores.
Among all the wonderful musical acts during the festival, one of the most appreciated was Mor Karbasi, from Israel. I saw her on Friday night, in the Fountain Courtyard, where the audience put up with a light rain in order to hear her sing. She's an attractive young woman who was wearing a black lace and satin dress in a traditional style, with bright red high-heeled shoes which she stomped on the stage every once in a while, in the flamenco tradition. Her very long dark wavy hair, cascading down her back, was also an attractive feature.
Ms. Karbasi has a beautiful singing voice (the program described it as stunning). She is descended from both Moroccan and Persian Jews. She sings both traditional Sephardic and more modern songs. I notice in the program that it says "Sephardic Musical Traditions" under Saturday. I don't know if that means I actually missed a different kind of program by only going on Friday night, or if it was a printing mitake. In any case, I saw a lot of Jewish acquaintances at the performance I attended, interested in the historic Ladino music.
Another exciting group was Lo Cor de La Plana from France. The program describes them as a "gritty French ensemble that combine [sic] a cappella singing with stomping, clapping and a variety of hand drums." The group sings in the little-known ancient language Occitan (I never heard of it before), so I couldn't understand any of the words. The leader of the group explained many of them before they sang them.Some of them were folk-song like stories, but they also sing a traditional repertoire usually confined to churches and religious ceremonies. The percussive instruments they use include the North African bendir and the Italian tamburello, as well as clapping on their legs and two of them mostly stomped their feet while seated on a wooden platform. The audience was very enthusiastic. The auditorium was filled to standing room only and the group was called back for several encores.
Labels: flamenco, Globalquerque, Israel, Ladino, Morocco, music, Spainish
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