UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
Two women voices between trad and soul sufi
with Catherine Braslavsky and Nawal Mlanao
See video of "Roses des Vents" new clip Live
Friday 15 November, 7 pm
Bibliothèque Couronnes Naguib Mahfouz, 69 rue des couronnes, Paris XIX
Here are two women singers and composers born on opposite sides of the world, who have followed an unusual path: that of rediscovering the traditional sources of their cultures in order to better compose a music of today. Nawal has returned to the sounds of her popular, classical and spiritual Comoros, while Catherine has immersed herself in the songs of the Mediterranean, the Middle Ages and antiquity. Their meeting is that of two continents, two women, two universes, for the greatest good of the humanistic values which they defend".
With the help of the Ile-de-France Drac and Region. A co-production with Villes des Musiques du Monde and with the "Chantier", Center of creation for new traditional musics and world musics (Correns - 83 - France)
RECENT PERFORMANCES
Thursday, August 8 at 8 pm, St Catherine church in Ballons (Drôme, France)
Saturday, September 21, at 8:30 pm, St Germain church in Pantin (93, France) as part of the European Heritage Days
A narrative concert and a voyage in time and space, through the great musical and mystic traditions all along the Mediterranean, through songs, stories and poetic texts.
Catherine Braslavsky: singing, bendir, doulcimer
Thomas Vandevenne: spoken word, hang, laminophone, drums, Tibetan bowls, African mbiras, tanbura
(more info on this show down below...)
A celebration of the musical and mystical traditions in and around the Mediterranean, from ancient Judaism and Paganism, to medieval Christianity and Islam. Ancient and original music sung in Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, Greek, Medieval Spanish, Occitan, and Arabic. Instrumental accompaniment with Middle Eastern percussion, oud, dulcimer, Tibetan bowls, Indian tampura, and African mbira. Short poetic and story texts in English (or French), including both original material and quotations from Hildegard of Bingen, Meister Eckhart, Ibn 'Arabi, Yehuda Halevi, etc. The narrative thread woven through the performance evokes a rarely-perceived common ground, and an alternative view of sacred traditions which have so often been in conflict.
More than 500 performances around the world...
"A one-of-a-kind performance ... both a message of tolerance and a voyage of initiation, a musical narrative which makes us feel in our depths that all the sacred chants of humanity, past and present, are animated by the same vibration"
More than 500 performances around the world...
"A one-of-a-kind performance ... both a message of tolerance and a voyage of initiation, a musical narrative which makes us feel in our depths that all the sacred chants of humanity, past and present, are animated by the same vibration"
Caroline Lachowsky, Radio-France International (RFI)
“Beyond mere entertainment, this concert is a deepening of time." Régis Debray, French author and philosopher
"A fascinating performance, with great spiritual power." La Repubblica, Italy, nationwide daily newspaper
"A remarkably successful voyage in sound, depicting those rare times when Jews, Christians and Muslims have lived together in peace and dialogue." Jacques Attali, French author and music critic
● Sacred Songs of Mediterranea
Sunday, September 22, at 4 pm, Notre-Dame du Travail in Paris
as part of the European Heritage Days
After "From Jerusalem to Cordoba", this second concert of the week-end will be dedicated to a musical program exploring a new compilation of songs from antiquity, Middle-Ages and recent compositions
Catherine Braslavsky: singing, bendir, doulcimer
Thomas Vandevenne: hang, laminophone, drums, Tibetan bowls, African mbiras, tanbura
Conception and author of the texts by Joseph Rowe
Listen to samples
Sunday, September 22, at 4 pm, Notre-Dame du Travail in Paris
as part of the European Heritage Days
After "From Jerusalem to Cordoba", this second concert of the week-end will be dedicated to a musical program exploring a new compilation of songs from antiquity, Middle-Ages and recent compositions
Catherine Braslavsky: singing, bendir, doulcimer
Thomas Vandevenne: hang, laminophone, drums, Tibetan bowls, African mbiras, tanbura
Conception and author of the texts by Joseph Rowe
Listen to samples
on Tour in the Indian Ocean, september and October 2023, and
at Festival des Guinguettes du monde in July 2022,at the Abbey of Pontigny in August 2022, at the Chantier of Correns in September 2022, at the Festival Villes des Musiques du Monde in November 2022, at the Abbey of Noirlac in May 2023, at the 360 Paris Music Factory in June 2023, at the Ballades Extraordinaires in the Parc Floral of Paris in July 2023...
With Catherine Braslavsky (Singing, Doulcimer, Tanbura, Drums), Gary Haggerty (Oud, Tarhu, Mandorle, Drums) et Anasuya Godlis (narrator)
Conception: Catherine Braslavsky and Joseph Rowe
Text : Joseph Rowe
"Parisian Catherine Braslavsky (Voice, dulcimer, drums) will be offering Ave Eva, an interfaith concert accompanied by Gary Haggerty on drum and oud. Gregorian chants, Medieval Jewish and Arabic music, pilgrimage songs dedicated to the Virgin Mary, music of Hildegard of Bingen, French Troubadours and new songs composed based on The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, The Gospel of Thomas and a text discovered in Nag Hammadi weave together with spoken word in a profound and heart opening event dedicated to fostering world peace and healing."
See the video of "Thunder Perfect Mind" sung by Catherine Braslavsky and Joseph Rowe
25 presenters from five countries and very divergent spiritual paths convene to explore and restore the roots of Early Christianity in a feast of beauty. Lectures, practices, time to share in small groups.
Sunday September 22, Resonation festival in Berkeley, Free entrance
Pacific School of Religion , 1798 Scenic Avenue, Berkeley, CA
Catherine Braslavsky: voice, bendir, doulcimer, tanbura
Joseph Rowe: texts, oud, darabuka, bells
Listen to samples
Schedule for Braslavsky and Rowe’performance on Sunday Sept 22d :
- a mini concert of ~20 mn between 3 and 3:30pm, taken from our full-length show on Hildegard (video clip here) and which has enjoyed a hundred or so performances in France
- a workshop between 3:30 and 5pm. Open to everybody !
- then around 5:15 pm, we’ll lead the closure ceremony celebrating all the sacred cultures present, and having everybody sing
A few words, especially for those who don’t know her yet: Hildegard von Bingen was an extraordinary woman of the 12th century. She was a writer, a visionary, an herbal doctor, an abbess ... and perhaps above all, one of the greatest composers of the Middle Ages. Her music is profoundly original, in the sense that it has its own distinctive voice, color and mastery, all of which are immediately recognizable.
In our approach to her music, we make no attempt to reconstruct exactly how people sang eight centuries ago, but to make the music come alive today, connecting with the universal heart of her music. During the workshop, Catherine will prepare us to warm up our voice, to relax and strengthen it, to open our attention to our body, and to our deep listening... Diving into the beauty of Hildegard's melodic paths is like following someone who shows us fearlessness, neither when faced with the deepest heavenly mysteries, nor of our own earthly sensuality. That’s why we called our CD, The Marriage of Heaven and Earth.
Although the entrance is free, Resonation requests you to reserve your place throughout the Evenbrite site, to prevent any overcrowding : Evenbrite-Resonation is here
See also the other events on Satuday and Sunday, with wonderful artists.
Catherine Braslavsky: voice, bendir, doulcimer
Joseph Rowe: texts, oud, bendir, darabuka, bols tibétains, mbira
Look at the video of Thunder Perfect Mind by Catherine Braslavsky and Joseph Rowe
This new duo performance of music is a marriage of Ancient, Medieval and contemporary world music. It celebrates love, woman, nature, and the Divne Feminine in each of us. In the program: Guillaume de Machaut, Judeo-Spanish, Cantigas of Santa Maria, songs in Turkish, Hebrew, Latin and new compositions...
" At the end, 'Ave Eva' is more efficient than a lecture on sociology. There is tension and emotion which attain a climax with 'O Nobilissima Viriditas' (two poems by the flamboyant Hildegard von Bingen, with music by the singer) or the Kyrie of the 12th May, a prayer for the victims of terrorism [...]" — Luc Melmont, Culture et Chanson
Sacred songs from the Middle Ages and Today: Cantiga de Santa Maria, songs in Turkish, Hebrew, Latin, and recent compositions
Listen to mp3s
Voir la video de Ave Eva chanté par Terra Sancta en 2019 à la Nuit Sacrée