As we look at the world today, it is ever harder to believe that multicultural, multifaith, 14th-century Spain, where Christians, Jews, and Muslims lived together in amity, was anything more than a pipe dream. That it was once a reality is now being shown most vividly by musicians, above all by Jordi Savall and his Hesperion ensemble with their recordings of medieval songs, dances, and prayers drawn from all round the Mediterranean. There’s always a political thrust in their work, and, although they’re unarguably on the side of the angels, this can result in predictability, and a certain heaviness.
So a big hand for counter-tenor Yaniv d’Or and his NAYA ensemble, whose message of togetherness is more unassumingly presented, and whose music – though it mines exactly the same seam as that mined by Savall and co – comes across with infectious excitement. And it certainly helps that they are not hung up on period authenticity. Thus we get – in addition to the viola da gamba, hammered zither, ney, duduk, daf, and goblet drum – a theorbo, classical and flamenco guitars, a ram’s horn shofar, and a didgeridoo; Yaniv d’Or’s timbre is so bright, smooth, and powerful that it works as an additional instrument in this surprisingly engaging sound world.
Yaniv himself was the composer of the first song, a setting of verses from all three religions, but the others come from places as far apart as Spain, Turkey, and Bosnia. Some were very moving, notably a Sephardic prayer from Libya with shofar accompaniment, and a Sephardic lullaby from Spain; Sephardic music often seems more profoundly felt than the Yiddish music from the other end of the European-Jewish spectrum. All the musicians here were virtuosi; congratulations to the Wigmore Hall for seeing the potential in this unconventional musical package, and may Yaniv and co return soon.
