Some concerts are absurd to review, because you already know beforehand that everything will work out perfectly. The musicians are top-notch, the program is well-thought-out and the performers have more than earned their stripes. What do you write then about a concert by Christina Pluhar and L'Arpeggiata?
Perhaps not so much about the music itself, but about what that music does to you.
The closing concert of the Festival de l'Abbaye de Saint-Michel en Thiérache brought a line-up that was dizzying. And yet it was more than a parade of big names. This new program – which was incidentally recorded on-site the week before for a future cd-release – turned out to be above all an emotional and musical journey through the Balkans, inspired by a story that remains painfully current.
A concert with a message
During her introduction, Christina Pluhar gave a glimpse into her soul. Ten years ago, a truck was found in Austria with the bodies of dozens of refugees, including several children, who were fleeing the violence in Syria. An event that touched her deeply.
"What can a musician do in the face of such a tragedy?": she asked herself. Initially, the answer seemed simple: nothing.
But at the same time: much.
With this program, Pluhar wants to keep the memory of that human drama alive and at the same time musically explore the many refugee routes through the Balkans. Not from a political perspective, but from a human one. By connecting music from peoples, regions and cultures, she shows what travelers always do along the way: meet, listen, share and discover.
It made this performance much more than just a concert. It became a real roadtrip.
An impressive ensemble
As always with L'Arpeggiata, the lineup was impressive. Familiar faces such as Vincenzo Capezzuto and Céline Scheen were flanked by Greek singer Katerina Papadopoulou and Bosnian Natasa Mirkovic.
The latter was undoubtedly one of the discoveries of the evening for me. Mirkovic is not only an excellent singer with her own discography, but also brought an extra dimension: she herself was once one of those refugees who traveled the Balkan route. And consequently you feel that she brings this music with that extra something to the stage.
She has a natural stage presence and an arresting way of singing that immediately sweeps you away. Even without fully understanding the lyrics, you believe every word she sings. In the poignant Gusta nocna tmina she showed how many colors and emotions she can put into one song: powerful, fragile, tender and at the same time irresistibly convincing.
Completely different, but equally fascinating, was Katerina Papadopoulou. Her voice is softer, almost velvety. Not a big opera voice, but a voice that holds your attention from the first to the last note. In the Greek songs, that intimacy came into its own particularly well.
Add the powerful soprano of Belgian Céline Scheen to that and you get an exceptionally rich palette of female voices. In both the ensembles and the duets, moments of a beauty emerged that you couldn't possibly predict beforehand.
And then of course there is Vincenzo Capezzuto. As so often, he gave color, flair and personality to everything he touched. He opened the concert with Are mou Rindineddha and that was a clever programming choice: recognizable, familiar and perfect to immediately take the audience into the story.
On a journey through Balkan roads
After the opener came, among other things, the traditional Macedonian So maki sum se rodila. One of those moments when time seems to stand still, almost otherworldly. Capezzuto outdid himself and it immediately became clear that this program will be a keeper when the cd is released.
What was special about this musical journey was that not only singing was central. Quite the opposite.
Pluhar expanded her trusted ensemble with musicians from Bulgaria and Greece. And that is a masterstroke and richness for this program. The instrumental passages were not resting points between the vocal pieces, but essential stops along the way.
Sometimes it felt like you were driving through the Carpathians with the windows open. Then again as if you were careening down a steep mountain slope. The combination of percussion, lyre, accordion and traditional folk instruments gave the program an almost cinematic character.
The instrumental Ballad Horo and especially the Bulgarian Bucimis was such a moment that literally blew you out of your seat. You could say in beautiful English about the musicians: "They've gone wild!" What a joy radiated from the stage into the enthusiastic abbey church.
Virtuosity without outward display
A special word is deserved by Bulgarians Petar Ralchev and Peyo Peev. Ralchev demonstrated why he has been among the absolute top of accordionists for decades. Peev played the gadulka, a traditional Bulgarian string instrument that was probably a discovery for many in the audience.
Their interplay sometimes seemed deceptively simple, but of course behind that ease lie years of craftsmanship and thousands of hours of study. It was not only musically impressive, but also a visual pleasure to watch.
The same applied to Stefano Dorakakis on the kanun, a complex stringed instrument that added color, rhythm and a distinctly East Mediterranean aroma to the whole.
And then there were percussionists Tobias Steinberger and David Mayoral. Their contribution was nothing short of phenomenal. Anyone who thinks percussion is mainly supportive could have received a convincing lesson here. Their playing gave the music pace, tension and constant new energy.
The power of collaboration
What perhaps made this concert most special was the atmosphere on stage.
Although Christina Pluhar is clearly the driving force behind the project, as evidenced by her many arrangements and her artistic vision, she gave no impression anywhere that this was "her" concert. Quite the opposite. She gave her musicians space to shine and they did so visibly with pleasure.
Glances were exchanged, smiles shared, musical ideas passed on. It was music in the finest sense of the word: making music together.
This applied equally to artists who were less in the foreground but essential to the overall picture. Doron Sherwin gave a warm glow to countless passages with his cornetto. Josep Maria Duran provided a solid foundation with theorbe and baroque guitar. The Greeks Kyriakos Tapakis on oud and Giorgos Kontoyiannis on lyre colored the program with authentic Mediterranean hues.
More than a shot in the dark
I wrote at the beginning that this is a difficult concert to write about.
Not because there is nothing to say, but because words sometimes fall short when artists of this caliber come together. Then ultimately only the emotion remains.
And that is exactly where this concert hit home.
Whoever gets the chance to hear this production somewhere in the coming months should absolutely do so. Not only because of the excellent music. Not only because of the magnificent musical road trip through the Balkans. But also because of the message.
Pluhar said it himself at the beginning of the evening: music will not change the world.
Perhaps not.
But it can bring people together, introduce cultures to each other and take the sharp edges off reality a bit. And perhaps that is more important today than ever.
Finally, this. It was no coincidence that this new cd recording took place in the abbey church of Saint-Michel. L'Arpeggiata has meanwhile become a welcome guest there and seems to have become almost part of the festival family. The beautiful abbey moreover forms an ideal setting for music that transcends boundaries and centuries.
As this evening proved: some journeys we don't make by car or plane, but simply by listening. And rarely was such a musical journey as captivating as this one.
P.S. I hope David caught his train; filming was not actually allowed, but such a delightful conclusion to the concert and the Festival I didn't want to deprive you of. They will forgive me for it.