Diana Baroni

According to etymological studies of the medieval Spanish words “trabajo” (work) and “trabajar” (to work), this verb expresses tension, a dynamic oriented towards a goal that encounters resistance. In this light, it would also be interesting to compare the prefix – tra with the Latin trans-, which expresses the idea of passing from one state to another. Also in the spirit of transformation, in Arabic “Amal (عمل) means 'work” and can also be understood as “hope”: Amal.

Finally, it seems that the English word “travel” comes from Old French. If this is indeed the case, there would be a common source to be found between “work” and “travel”, with a fork leading on one side to work and on the other to travel, perhaps around the idea of a Latin America - Jasser Youssef and Diana Baroni meet to develop a musical reflection on work songs.

Drawing on the oral tradition and musical heritage of their ancestors, the artists will use their imagination to explore the essence of this musical tradition in their personal environments, while weaving their own conversation.

Through the voice and the breath of the viola d'amore or traverso (baroque transverse flute), and the highlighting of texts and poems in indigenous languages or Arabic, the artists offer a repertoire whose starting point will be improvisation, inhabited by covers of Jasser Youssef's original compositions. The sources of inspiration for this programme are found in the work songs of the nomadic peoples of the Venezuelan savannahs, in Aymara, Nahuatl, or Spanish, or in the goal and the effort to achieve it. Both artists come from distant lands, both rooted in strong cultural identities - the Arab world, the pearl fishermen of Oman...

This project was born at Royaumont Abbey thanks to the Incubator / Winter 2022 programme. A new artistic residency followed at the Abbaye aux Dames in February 2023, with the support of the ORANGE FOUNDATION.

In October 2024, the artists were welcomed at the Opéra de Lyon.

Cast: 

Diana Baroni, vocals, traverso
Jasser Haj Youssef, viola d'amore, vocals
Romain Lecuyer, double bass