Canticum Novum

At the crossroads of traditional Syrian repertoires and Canticum Novum's cosmopolitan identity, Samâ-ï evokes the cultural carrefour that was ancient Aleppo and the musical impregnation of the cultures involved.

The city of Aleppo, one of the oldest cities in the world and the ancient capital of an Amorite kingdom, was also a key commercial point at the end of one of the Silk Roads, and over the long term built its prosperity on trade and its place in the strategic stakes of the ancient and medieval Near East. Over the course of conquests and dominations, the city has developed a strong multicultural tradition nourished by its Byzantine, Arab, Turkish, Kurdish and Sephardic communities, and including the little-known yet astonishing variety of Eastern Christianity made up of Maronite, Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Syriac, Nestorian and Coptic Christians.

With Samâ-ï, Canticum Novum gives an account of the richness and complexity of the poetic, literary and linguistic registers that have matured in this fertile melting pot of religions and cultures, which were never impermeable, fixed and identity-based blocks, but rather bridges between people, their creative needs and their spiritual aspirations.

Cast (10 musicians) 

Emmanuel Bardon, musical director
Gülay Hacer Toruk, Emmanuel Bardon, vocals
Valérie Dulac, fiddle or Nolwenn Le Guern, fiddle
Aliocha Regnard, nyckelharpa & fidula
Marie-Domitille Murez, triple harp
Bayan Rida, oud & vocals
Spyros Halaris, kanun, lute & vocals
Isabelle Courroy, kaval flutes or Léa Maquart, kaval & ney flutes or Artyom Minasyan, duduk, pakou, zurna & blul
Henri-Charles Caget, Ismaïl Mesbahi, percussion

Programme

I Parthénos simeron – Kontakion de Noël – Liturgie byzantine – Romanos le Mélode – VIe siècle
Anarchos Theos – Kalanda byzantine – Codex Gritsanis – XVIIe siècle
Salindi bahçeye girdi – Tradition alévie – Erzurumlu Emrah – XVIIIe siècle
Qumrikê – Tradition kurde

Hymnes Syriaques – Musique liturgique syriaque

Ya Mariam el bekr – Ode à la Vierge de tradition maronite
Kürdilihicazkâr saz semaï – Kemani Tatyos Enserciyan – Musique ottomane - Instrumental
En la excola de l’aliança – Romance séfarade – Turquie

Saranta méres – Kalanda de Noël – Tradition grecque (Thrace)
Do sta Lianochortaroudia – Tradition grecque (Thrace) - Instrumental

En la Santa Helena – Romance séfarade – Turquie
Christos Yeniete – Tradition grecque
Lo Berde – Tradition kurde
Yarkhouchta - danse martiale d’Arménie - Instrumental
Es kişer hampartsum e – tradition populaire d’Arménie