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Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things > Archives > 2010 > September > 27 > Entry
Review: Texas Early Music Project’s ‘Convivencia’
Convivencia is the name of an idealized era in Spanish history when Jews,Christians and Muslims lived peacefully alongside one another, inalternating positions of equality, for centuries. The word in Spanish means “co-existence,” an apt title for an age that prospered because it was tolerant, then floundered when its tolerance ran out.
The Texas Early Music Project framed this period Friday night in a concert titled ‘Convivencia’ at the University Presbyterian Church, playing a stirring concert of Renaissance music from all three cultures, accentuating the most spiritual elements.
Two dozen players in black formed a chorus and an ensemble of beautiful period instruments with elaborate carvings and designs.
There were lullabies, drinking songs and plenty of unrequited love; things each culture held in common. The variety was cleverly planned to evoke moods that rose and fell.
There was dancing and hand clapping in the Sephardic children’s song “Rahelica Baila” that would not be out of place on an Austin playground, contrasting with the more serious “Hal Tusta’adu,” which featured Gitanjali Mathur’s moving solo, backed by bells, drums, and the full chorus.
Harmonies had a richness and depth all evening, and the instrumentalists showed brilliant control, dynamics and sensitivity. Very rarely did a bass note drop out, or a rhythm sound out of place; the ensemble seemed confident and relaxed, which made it a pleasure to watch.
Playing the Santjur (a wooden box resembling a pedal steel guitar that is hit with slim mallets), Kamram Hooshmand gave a virtuostic performance that literally echoed out into the pews.
And Tom Zajac, a guest performer, seemed everywhere at once, playing wooden flutes and recorders, often while beating drums in his left hand.
The evening began with a sung prayer that drew from each of the three holy books, and it finished the same way, bookending a thoughtful and moving evening that showed a great deal of variety and had a transportative effect on a humid Friday evening.
For some, it may take some adjustment to attune the ear to the strange and beautiful half-note tuning in many of the solos. It endows the music with a foreign tinge that gives the willing listener a rush of empathy, especially in a world myopically in fear of mosques, Muslim dress and the music of its call to prayer.
This period of musical, architectural and cultural exchange ended with the expulsion of the Moors and of the Jews who refused to convert. Its inherent inequality may not be a model for the modern age, but it’s impressive that some of the earliest known music has made itself so relevant once again.
Luke Quinton is an American-Statesman freelance arts critic.
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