Recorded at Church of the Covenant, Boston, MA, June 29- July 3, 2005
Warner Classics CD 2564 62560-2

The Boston Camerata

Joel Cohen, music director

Assisted by
Sharq Arabic Music Ensemble
Karim Nagi, director

Anne Azéma, Equidad Barès, Anne Harley: voice
Hazel Brooks, vielle
Joel Cohen, lauta, guitar, voice
Steven Lundahl, recorders, shawm, slide trumpet
Karim Nagi, percussion (riqq, tar, darabuka, duff), chifonie
Boujemaa Razgui, percussion (tar, darabuka), nay, raita, voice
Mehmet Sanlikol, voice, oud, zurna

Musical editions and arrangements by Joel Cohen (S.A.C.E.M.)
Transcriptions of the Arabo-Andalusian melodies by Mohamed Briouel
Recorded on Warner Classics CD 2564-62560-2

Program Notes

It began, after all, in the Mediterranean basin, in a corner of the world inhabited by high-strung, passionate, God‑intoxicated Semites. And their burning desire for transcendence, for union with the source of being took form in at least three world religions, not to mention innumerable heretical sects and schismatic communities.

Yet here we are in North America, where our Christmas is associated not with the Middle‑Eastern desert, but naturally and inevitably with snowy winters, pine forests, and the comfortable, inviting mold of Anglo‑Saxon folkways. Still, despite our time and place, the mark of the Mediterranean is still present in our beliefs and values. Bethlehem is the last exit from the Southeast Expressway.

Our intention in this musical program is not to transport you from the U.S. to the Holy Land, but rather to savor Christmas at some intermediate way‑stations ‑ most specifically, the Latinized areas of southern Europe. For if Spain, Italy, and southern France belong to our Western, Euro‑American heritage, they are also places that have maintained a certain continuity of being with the cultures of the near-east.

The languages of those places were, in the Middle Ages, mainly various dialects of Latin, including the early versions of Spanish, Judaeo-Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Occitan/Provençal you will be hearing at various points tonight – as well as Semitic languages, Hebrew and Arabic, both of these very much alive in medieval Iberia. Similarly, the music of these places, transmitted both in manuscript sources and (in the case of the Arabo-Andalusian melodies, and the more recent folksongs near the program’s end) from oral tradition, offers a rich mix of melodic styles.

Within this diversity, there is a great deal of common ground as well. One shared trait you will notice at points is the use of the voice melismatically, in runs of many rapid notes, to express emotions. This technique of florid song, still present all over the near East, left its mark in the Christian music of southern Europe. The solo singer who performed the upper part of Lux Refulget at some medieval abbey in the Limousin region was a master of this style.

Not all our Mediterranean‑area music is free and florid in its gestures: in fact, the bulk of the works we have chosen for this program are quite straightforward melodically, in keeping with the “popular” flavor of the Christmas holiday, a number of these pieces simply tell a story to an attractive tune. Narration and story‑telling are central to these cultures. Mediterranean peoples typically love theatrical gesture (after all, opera was born in Italy) and dramatic dialogue has always been important. Compare the twelfth century Mei amic and the seventeenth century Pastres Rintrats, both from the Occitan/Provençal South, to sense the continuity. The wonderful, thirteenth century Cantigas of King Alfonse the Wise bring this narrative tradition – a simple melody, a good story, a choral refrain -- to a summit of excellence.

What we will attempt is to provide a fertile mix of scholarship and creative energy, incorporating into our team a number of musicians whose here-and-now skills reach back into the roots of Mediterranean civilization and musical culture. The origins of the people you will be seeing onstage are several – I count all three Abrahamic religions in the background mix, and a slew of native languages, including English, French, Spanish, Kabyll, and Arabic. What we all share is a love for the Mediterranean world and its music, and the desire to make the Christmas vision of peace and reconciliation strong in our hearts. This music of hope and renewal, coming it would seem from distant places, is after all quite near. And like all important art, it is ours, for all of us to share.

Joel Cohen

I. The Sign of Judgement

Answer us, God of Abraham, answer us. Answer us, Whom Isaac feared, Answer us, o pillar of Jacob, answer us in our time of anguish. God of the flaming chariot, God of pity and grace, answer us.

Mother of God, pray for us to your Son at that hour [of Judgement].
When he appears, incarnated in the flesh through you, with his Father’s power, to judge the world,
Mother of God, pray for us to your Son at that hour.
When on the Day of Judgement, all, as it is written, shall see Him, tell Him how you fled with Him into Egypt.
Mother of God, pray for us to your Son at that hour.
When the trumpet shall sound, saying “Ye dead, arise,” tell him that when you lost him, your anguish was not feigned.
Mother of God, pray for us to your Son at that hour.

Great King, dear Father, have mercy. God, immortal Savior, have mercy. You who hold everything in your hand, have mercy. Comforter, sweet Love, have mercy...

II. The Dawn Approaching

Now come to the feast of the shepherd Tityrus, with melodies on instruments and the resounding drum. Eya, Tityrus has invited us to a rich feast. With fitting and worthy praise lead us to pastures, Tityrus, flowing with honey. Praise the Lord! Eya, Tityrus has invited us to a rich feast.

Glory in the highest, and peace on earth, our Savior is born. From the sovereign Virgin, the shining Star, comes the Child, born from a flower. Glory in the highest...May we all sing peace on earth, because the Virgin has given birth. Glory in the highest...

Lord God, born of the Virgin Mary to save us from death and give us life and to keep us from the torments of Hell ; who was raised on the cross and crowned with thorns : Lord, have mercy on your people, and pardon their sins. For the night passes, and the day comes, with clear and tranquil sky. And the dawn is approaching, beautiful and fulfilling.

The Light is shining on us this day, and the Church resounds with joy. Emmanuel ! Emmanuel ! The name shines bright in Israel.

III. Star of the Day

Let us praise most highly the Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, by night and day. We owe her more than a hundred thousand praises because it pleased God, the Lord of Lords, he who was made flesh in her, and wished to suffer our pains, as Isaiah foretold. Let us praise most highly the Holy Virgin Mary...
We shall not tire of serving her, neither of fearing her, for we know she will save us from all our sins, and win pardon for ever in life and joy. Let us praise most highly the Holy Virgin Mary... ‘Tis she that God wanted us to have as advocate, when he made her both Mother and Daughter; and that is why we must glorify her, for who would not sing the praises of such a Lady? Let us praise most highly the Holy Virgin Mary...

Holy Mary, glorious Virgin, friend of God, have pity on my soul. Have pity, Queen. Gracious virgin, guide me in all my affairs. Do not let me perish at sea. Star of the sea, save us from grief ; have pity, Queen.

Holy Mary, star of the day, show us the way and be our guide. For you understand that I am a sinner ; yet through you I find pardon for my audacity. Holy Mary, star of the day, show us the way…Show us the true light of which you are the beacon. For God has declared that you are his intermediary. Holy Mary, star of the day, show us the way… Guide us towards Paradise, where God gives us eternal joy and laughter. And so I implore you: may I one day be in your company. Holy Mary, star of the day, show us the way and be our guide.

You were alone and abandoned, Virgin, without any companion.
You were alone and abandoned when you believed Gabriel and once again alone when you conceived God, but in such wise you destroyed the devil. You were alone and abandoned...
You were alone and abandoned in your virginity and once more without a companion when maintaining your chastity, but in such wise the devil was laid on nails. You were alone and abandoned...
You were alone and abandoned, being the Mother of God, and once more without a companion, since he is both Son and Father, but in such wise was the devil chained like a falcon. You were alone and abandoned...
You were alone and abandoned, to bring help to us and once more without a companion, to cleanse us of our faults, but in such wise was the devil thrown down to the ground. You were alone and abandoned...
You were alone and abandoned being the tutor of God and once again without a companion, protecting those that call on you, but in such wise was the devil sprawled in the mud. You were alone and abandoned...

Queen of the heavens, star of the morning, efface our sins. Before the birth, you were pregnant with God. In childbirth, you were fruitful with God. After birth, you were a laboring mother. Forever pure and immaculate, star of the morning, efface our sins.

It is most meet that this beautiful miracle be accomplished by the Virgin, from whom was born for us the Glorious God.
That is why I tell you a miracle I heard spoken of, and you shall be gladdened by it, as I learned how the Virgin blessed a good and righteous monk. It is most meet...
This man scarcely could read, as I heard it told, yet he did love the Virgin without compare; and for that he assembled five psalms in order to increase his praises, for such was his desire. It is most meet...
From the psalms, he chose five, for the reason that there are five letters in Maria's name, and he did this to receive from her a reward such that he might contemplate her glorious Son. It is most meet...
He who meditates and reflects on these psalms will find "Magnificat" the Psalm "Ad Dominum", and next to it "In convertendo" and "Ad te", and then "Retribuae servo tuo", full of humility. It is most meet...
To earn the grace of God, he was accustomed to say without fail these psalms each day, before the altar, and to prostrate himself on the ground and repent over what he had done during the times of his madness and folly. It is most meet...
He behaved in this manner so long as he lived in this world, but when he was about to die, in his mouth there appeared a rose-tree on which could be seen five roses, which continued to grow so that he might bless the Mother of the Almighty. It is most meet...

INTERMISSION

IV. The birth of the holy Child

Though we are lost if we follow the demon’s counsel, we are saved if we follow the Virgin’s path. On this matter, I shall tell you the story of a great miracle that happened in Spain, when a cohort of demons tried to abduct a sinner.
Now this man was a judge, vain and fond of good food, morning, noon, and night; and receiving lavish “gifts.” Rather than chasing after thieves and villains, he pursued poor folk who had not the means to pay.
One day, as he sat down to dinner with his guests, he heard a great noise outside, like people having a quarrel. “Quickly,” he said, “remove that commotion from here”, and with his men he went out to see what the ruckus was.
But no sooner did he go outside than he was snatched up by a horde of demons, some black and others with horns. They sped him out of town and wanted to drop him in a deep, boiling well, along with other souls they had caught.
But then the Virgin arrived and cried “Free this man,” and the demons all fled. For the judge, even though he had done little for her, had always placed his faith in the Virgin.
“Take stock of your sins,” she said to him; “Pay your debts and trust in me and in my Son. For you have but one day to live.” She left him in a field; he returned home, did penance, and, just as the Virgin said, died the next day. And noble and fearsome angels bore him to heaven.
Though we are lost if we follow the demon’s counsel, we are saved if we follow the Virgin’s path.

Hail, star of the sea, God's cherishing mother, and, although still a virgin, the blessed entrance-way of heaven.

O Mary, Mother of God, pray for us to your glorious son. To the father, too, pray for all people; if he does not help us, our state is wretched. Eve believed the serpent, a shining angel, and so it turns out well for us; God is truly man. For He was born of woman, and God saved the woman -- the Man was born to save men. May that life which slew death give us paradise, and may God truly give us glory.

My friends and companions, leave off chattering : I will sing you a new song of the Virgin Mary. Let the ignorant gossip, it’s of no importance! [Mary :] I shall not lose my virginity, I shall remain forever chaste. [Gabriel :] I am the angel Gabriel, who brings you salvation. [Mary :] You are the messenger of God, and I give myself over to Him. I have told you my inspiration, each verse to a new song of the Virgin Mary.

The Word was made flesh, through the Virgin Mary. In this year's end, a little child is born to us.

We are the Kings of the Orient, we have seen the great star that brings news of the Lord. Long have we travelled, following the star, night and day. We are come to adore Jesus Christ, called King of the Jews. So let’s be on our way, brothers, there is no time to waste, we must follow our path!

When king Nimrod went out into the field, he looked to the skies – and there, he saw a star shining in Jewry, because Abraham, our father was born. Abraham, holy father. Let us salute today the newborn Lord, and give praise to the Truth.

Alas, alas, alas, how I was rejoicing Before I saw these bodies deprived of life Until I was shaken By the sight of these entrails strewn about, Oh, how these children will make me cry without end. Oh pain! Oh joy . reduced to the silence of mothers and fathers! Let forth torrents of tears! Add these to affliction! Cry for the flowers of Judea And the pain of your country.

The angel : "Shepherds, leave your flock, and run to adore the birth of the holy Child."
The shepherd : "Angels, this is our heart’s desire ; but tell us, in what place shall we find him?"
The angel : "He is born in Bethlehem, in a poor stable, in a crib filled with straw."
The shepherd : "And so we are off to worship him ; and to the sound of our pipes, we’ll dance before him the fivestep."

In Bethehem, a fire, a star from heaven, flames at the door, fallen into the straw. Poor gypsy girl, treading through snow, when you could be walking on roses and carnations. The shepherds in Bethlehem are bringing firewood to warm the Child. Poor gypsy girl… I am a poor Galician peasant, bringing as a gift to the child of God woven cloth for a shirt. Poor gypsy girl… I am a poor gypsy, come from Egypt, bringing as a gift to the child of God a rooster. Poor gypsy girl…

You are a beautiful angel. You are a flower in every heart. What a lovely baby you are! Sleep, my dearest one, sleep.

For the children of the world, for those without hope, I send this prayer to all the rulers of the earth.
Every child who disappears is the universe, erasing hope that the future could be ours.
What scripture, what holy writ, from what imbecilic hand, could possibly condemn such innocence to suffering and pain ?
For the children of the world, for those without hope, I send this prayer to all the rulers of the earth.
Since for just a few moments, in the Father’s name, for Christmas, there is a peace – may that truce be eternal.
May it silence rancor, and appease in our hearts vengeance and cruelty, for all eternity.
For the children of the world, for those without hope, I send this prayer to all the rulers of the earth.

So generously does the Virgin accord her aid to sinners that her holy name should be greatly praised.
And in this matter there happened a very beautiful miracle of the Virgin, near Madrid, at Tocha, that I shall relate to you.
In a village lived a poor woman who brought up her well-beloved son, whom she would have lost without the Virgin’s help. This poor woman, along with others, went out harvesting, taking in her arms her infant son.
When she got to the field where the others were working, she laid the infant to rest among the sheaves, composed of stalks that had been gathered, and she commended him to the Virgin.
The child took one of the stalks, full of wheat germ, and swallowed it, and he immediately began to suffer.
His belly at once began to swell. His mother, lamenting and thinking her son would die, took him to Madrid.
She thought some spider or viper had bitten him, as frequently happens, and she kept him thus for several days, so sick that she feared he would die.
And while he was thus, she was advised to bring him to Tocha, to the Virgin’s shrine, for God would show her a miracle.
The woman took her son, and ran with him, crying out and saying “Holy Virgin Mary, you can cure my son, without further delay.”
When they came to the church, they laid the infant on the altar and undressed him, to see if there was some sort of wound.
The child naked, they all saw that his belly was swollen but that there was no wound. And then, they saw the stalk of wheat come out from his body, from his right flank.
When they saw it, thay gave praises to God and to his Mother, Lady of Ladies, who worked such a miracle, and others greater still. And for this may her name be glorified.
So generously does the Virgin accord her aid to sinners that her holy name should be greatly praised.

Press Excerpts

The Boston Globe: A Christmas delight

Just in time for the holidays, Warner Classics has delivered ''A Mediterranean Christmas," the latest installment of a very popular series of holiday recordings by Joel Cohen and the Boston Camerata. Six previous Camerata Christmas records remain steady seasonal sellers on CD. The newest one presents a significant and entertaining cross-cultural collaboration between five regular Camerata performers and five musicians from different musical traditions -- the three members of the Boston-based Sharq Arabic Music Ensemble, and Equidad Bares and Hayet Ayad, superb vocalists based in France who specialize in folk traditions of the Mediterranean region.

The live performances before Christmas last year represented a reunion of artists who had triumphed under difficult circumstances in a national tour of an earlier Camerata program, ''Cantigas." The Moroccan musicians who had toured and recorded the program in Europe failed to get visas in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, but Cohen discovered the local musicians from Sharq, who saved the day. A revision of the Camerata's 1980 ''Mediterranean Christmas" program provided an opportunity to get everyone together again. In high summer, June/July 2005, the group reassembled to make the recording in the Church of the Covenant.

It is a delight, propelled by the pungent, contrasting voices of the folk singers and their interaction with sopranos Anne Azema and Anne Harley, and by the equally pungent sounds of the Arabic instruments played by Sharq. Even the names of the instruments fascinate -- riqq, tar, darabuka, raita.

Some of the music comes from the court of Alfonso el Sabio, king of Spain in a period when Christians, Arabs, and Jews worked in productive coexistence -- with interesting cross-cultural consequences. The program also includes music from France, Italy, and North Africa, and from art and folk traditions, all of it programmed by Cohen for maximum variety and effect.

The album is brisk, ear-cleansing, jubilant, and inspiring. It may help to focus the mind and spirit during the weeks ahead when both will come under assault.

© Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

 

The Chicago Tribune: “Superb…stylish conviction and vitality”

If you are looking for an intriguingly different Christmas album, you've come to the right place. Joel Cohen's superb early music group Boston Camerata takes the listener on an absorbing tour of medieval musical cultures of southern Europe and northern Africa, circa 1200-1900. The 19 selections are sung, and spoken, in several languages and accompanied by a nine-member instrumental ensemble playing such exotic instruments as the sthe shofar, riqq, darbuka and oud.

Don't expect to hear "Ding Dong Merrily on High." Instead, we get such obscure but pleasing fare as "Todo logar mui ben," from Morocco and Arab Andalusia; "Pastres, placatz vostre troupeu," from 17th-Century Avignon; and "Nani na ya srira" from Egypt.

These songs of celebration from (mostly) the Middle Ages are performed with all the stylish conviction and vitality we have come to expect from Cohen's crack ensemble.

John von Rhein

Published December 16, 2005

 

Time Out (Chicago): “Inspired”

A Mediterranean Christmas
Joel Cohen leads the Boston
Camerata and the Sharq Arabic Music Ensemble
(Warner Classics)

With so many ethnic groups situated so close to each other in the late
Middle Ages, it only makes sense that their music would sound similar.
So it was an inspired idea for Joel Cohen’s Boston Camerata to find
works in many languages and put them together to tell the Christmas
story in a patchwork of different viewpoints. Such groupings can easily
sound forced, but this one revels in the contrasts between Western and
Middle Eastern religions. The four singers and the instrumentalists dig
into this material like fevered holiday shoppers, with trumpetlike
shofar calls a-blazing.

Starting off in the most unlikely of places for a Christmas disc, the
album opens with “Taksim Farahfaza—Respondemos,” an instrumental number
played on Arabic instruments followed by a Sephardic prayer translated
from Hebrew into Spanish. The song asking Abraham to answer their
prayers could be a Christmas carol just by changing Abraham to Jesus or
Mary. Another surprise is the Occitan “Mei amic e mei fiel,” a
minidrama about the angel Gabriel delivering the news of Mary’s
pregnancy to her.

Aside from the intellectually interesting songs are those that deserve
to become hits, like the raucous “Como somos per conssello” and the
reserved Andalusian carol “En Belén tocan a fuego.” “Como somos” tells
of a corrupt judge who persecutes the poor and is almost thrown down a
well by demons. But Mary intercedes before they can complete the deed,
and he repents. More spirited tambourine banging can’t be found.—Marc
Geelhoed
Time Out Chicago, December 15-29, 2005. Issue 42/43.

Bn.com: “A constant delight”

 

 

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Reviews

Barnes & Noble

You could probably listen to all of the Boston Camerata 's Mediterranean Christmas without even realizing it's a Yuletide album. That's not a criticism: This is one holiday CD that you won't want to file away until next year once the season has passed. An early music group that just celebrated its 50th anniversary, the Camerata is joined here by Sharq, an Arabic music ensemble, for an incredibly wide-ranging program of works: from the 12th to the 19th centuries, circling the Mediterranean from Spain through Italy and Egypt all the way around to Morocco, all inspired by some aspect of the Christmas story. And if you're aware of the context for this music, the tone of expectation, joy, and praise is unmistakable in pieces like the lilting 13th-century Italian lauda "Gloria 'n cielo." There are carols for the Kings of the Orient, dialogues between shepherds and angels, and even a brief lamentation over Herod's crimes, but the program ends with a charming set of lullabies for Virgin and Child. The variety of instrumental sounds and vocal styles is a constant delight, beginning with the horns of annunciation -- a Jewish shofar and a Moroccan raita -- on "Madre de Deus," one of several cantigas on the program from the 13th-century Spanish king Alfonso el Sabio. Condensing almost a millennium's worth of music into their project, Sharq and the Camerata have managed to produce a unique Christmas album that will charm early music connoisseurs and more casual listeners as well. Scott Paulin

Svenska dagbladet (Stockholm): “A fantastic recording”

This sophisticated Christmas disc takes us back to our roots, far from
snow-heavy trees and enormous department stores. The music comes from
various coastal areas around the Mediterraneana and spans more than 700
years, with an emphasis on the 12th and 13th centuries. The Boston
Camerata is an American ensemble specializing in really old music, and
here it is augmented by the Turkish-Arabic group Sharq Arabic Music
Ensemble. Both groups are directed by early music expert Joel Cohen. It
buzzes and plucks of instruments such as the vielle, the oud, the raita,
and the biblical-sounding shofar. A fantastic recording, both rhythmic and
meditative, with texts in French, Spanish, Italian, Occitan, Latin, and
Arabic. (December 2005)

(translation by and courtesy of Per Walthinsen)

“…The Camerata is joined here by SHARQ, an Arabic music ensemble, for an incredibly wide-ranging program of works: from the 12th to the 19th centuries, circling the Mediterranean from Spain through Italy and Egypt all the way around to Morocco, all inspired by some aspect of the Christmas story. And if you're aware of the context for this music, the tone of expectation, joy, and praise is unmistakable in pieces like the lilting 13th-century Italian lauda "Gloria 'n cielo." There are carols or the Kings of the Orient, dialogues between shepherds and angels, and even a brief lamentation over Herod's crimes, but the program ends with a charming set of lullabies for Virgin and Child. The variety of instrumental sounds and vocal styles is a constant delight…” (From Scott Paulin’s review on Barnes & Noble.com)