Search - Joglaresa, Sykes, Azzouz :: Dreams of Andalusia

"Thrilling and haunting ... excellently sung." -- The Times Islamic Spain from the 8th to the 15th century allowed a great flourishing of musical traditions. This multicultural haven gave us troubadour lyrics, canto hondo, flamenco, and the guitar--fashioned by the great Arab musician Ziryab, who added a fifth string to the lute. The critical innovation in song was the strophic (verse-form) song with refrain: the muwashshah written in classical Arabic and the zajal written in Andalusian dialect of Arabic. The texts are reproduced with translations in Arabic, Hebrew, and Spanish in the booklet. Joglaresa embraces the extraordinary character of this spectacular music. The band is drawn from a group of musicians with both classical, world music, and jazz backgrounds. Leader Belinda Sykes provides a distinctive, virtuosic voice backed by a thorough knowledge of the idiom, history, and music of this period. The band, meanwhile, displays the boldness and improvisatory chutzpah that gets straight to the heart of medieval music!