Music that builds bridges.

"More than just a musical venture, the collaboration of Cohen and Briouel’s musical ensembles was also a statement that art can overcome barriers of colour and creed ... something we still need to think about."

The Camerata Mediterranea of America, directed by Joel Cohen, and the Andalusian Orchestra of Fez, Morocco, directed by Mohammed Briouel, got together in an effort to recreate the “fusion” music of the Spaniard Alfonso X, King of Castille, Leon and Galicia, who ruled from 1252 until 1284. This was a man whose love for philosophy and the arts made him a Renaissance man centuries before the term was coined.

Given that he was king at a time when Islamic “encroachment” into Europe was still occurring in large waves, Alfonso adopted a very liberal attitude towards the minority religions of his Catholic kingdom. Indeed, at the height of his power, Alfonso was heard to refer to himself as the King of Three Religions (rather ironic when one considers the subsequent Spanish Inquisition and the effect it was to have on Spain’s Islamic and Jewish communities).

The court of Alfonso X reflected his liberal views and the music played there ranged from traditional monastic chanting to Arabian folk music. What has survived to this day are the Cantigas de Santa Maria (“Songs to the Virgin Mary”), a mammoth collection of Medieval tunes. The Cantigas de Santa Maria comprise no fewer than 420 poems written in the Galician-Portuguese language of the time and complete with musical notation.

The Camerata Mediterranea and the Andalusian Orchestra of Fez have tackled this music and aside from vocalists trained in two separate traditions, the two groups employed a daring blend of instruments including the lute, harp, violin, viola and Arabian instruments like the oud and taar (both Middle-Eastern variations of the lute, which itself originated from the region) and darbouka (hand drum). They recorded 13 of the fantastic Cantigas and embellished the pieces with sympathetic instrumental interludes.

The end result is music that is both devotional and exciting. It never fails to transport me back to a distant time and place and realise how little things have changed over the centuries. More than just a musical venture, the collaboration of Cohen and Briouel’s musical ensembles was also a statement that art can overcome barriers of colour and creed ... something we still need to think about.

This story is a reworking of an article by Martin Vengadesan, a music lover and history buff who writes for the Malaysian Star On Line.

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