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Congratulations to French architect Jean Nouvel for winning the prestigous Pritzker prize. Nouvel's work in the field of music includes the new hall for the Philharmonie de Paris (do view the stunning images via that link) and the Copenhagen Concert Hall. But his masterpiece is his 1987 l'Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris which won a huge following for modern architecture a decade before Frank Gehry's Bilbao Guggenheim. The photos of l'Institut have all been kindly supplied by fellow blogger Tara Bradford.
The award of the Pritzker prize has deservedly put l'Institut du Monde Arabe in the spotlight. But the glorious building also has a little secret, it is the home of an enterprising record label with a small, but very interesting catalogue of Arab music. An example of their output is Saïd Chraïbi’s La clef de Grenade (The Key to Granada). This CD features the Moroccan ud (lute) virtuoso playing his own compositions and improvisations, all of which are linked to Muslim Spain, al-Andalus, and the residence of the Muslim kings of Granada, the Alhambra palace.
The Alhambra palace is a gem of 14th century Islamic architecture, and the l'Institut du Monde Arabe (Arab World Institute or AWI in English) is a gem of late twentieth century modern architecture. The AWI was conceived in 1973 by French president Valéry Giscard d’Estaing as a way of forging closer links with the Arab world, not the least with the North African countries from which many migrants had settled in France. The project was planned as a French showcase for Arab culture, with sponsorship from eight leading Arab nations, and participation from all member states of the Arab League.
Despite these lofty aims the AWI remained nothing more than a concept for seven years while local left wing politicians blocked Giscard d’Estaing’s proposals. A change of president to François Mitterrand in 1981 suddenly meant that the AWI became a priority presidential project, and Jean Nouvel won a competition to design the building with an ambitious design for the site on Rue de Fossés Saint Bernard on the Left Bank of the Seine. Construction was completed in 1987 at a cost of $100m, and the striking modern building houses an important museum of Arabic and Islamic culture, a large library, and an auditorium that stages music, cinema and drama. The huge south-facing courtyard with its Islamic motifs provides a symbolic link to the patio delos leones in Granada.
L'institut du Monde Arabe positions itself as having no political agenda, and in its early days an official explained that its aim was to “satisfy widespread curiosity about the Arab world by correcting the often factual ignorance about it.” The political landscape and the image of the Arab world has changed dramatically since those words were spoken in the late 1980’s. But despite Western leaders’ current preoccupation with the ‘war on terror’ L'institut du Monde Arabe is a remarkable building and educational resource, and not a bad little record label either.
Now celebrate Islam in the art of the mosque
All images are reproduced with permission from Paris Parfait. Report broken links, missing images and other errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk
The storm was so bad even Peter Grimes would have stayed at home and watched BBC TV's repeat of a Steptoe film on its so-called culture channel. But a good-sized audience braved the worst Easter weather for decades to travel to Snape Maltings on Good Friday for a celebration of something more multi-cultural.
The collabaration between between early music group The Dufay Collective and the Spanish-based Al-Quimia was the outcome of one of Aldeburgh Music's pioneering artist residencies. This musical exploration of the multi-cultural society that flourished in Andalucia seven hundred years ago was a high risk project; this isn't exactly mainstream repertoire and hybrid projects such as this are rarely box-office hits. But that's not what Aldeburgh is about. Britten and Pears created Snape to celebrate the holy triangle of composer, performer and listener and on Friday evening, despite the stacked odds, the spirit of place prevailed and the vital electricity sparked from composer through performers to listener.
In fairness it wasn't so much a collabration as a triumph for Al-Quimia. When the two groups played in concert the collabaration really added no more than a strengthened rythym line. But when the players of the Spanish group took centre stage the music soared, and the Dufay musicians were quite content to join the audience in silent admiration. And what a vindication of Britten and Arup Associates' acoustic vision for Snape, even from our seats at the back of the 830 seater hall the nuances of the oud, dumbek, nay flute and kanun were crystal clear.
I have written here before about adventurous programming such as the celebrated concert comprising an Ockeghem Mass and a Mahler symphony in Berlin in 2000, while none other than Philip Glass has said that world music is the new classical. So, now Aldeburgh Music has seen what electifying musicians Al-Quimia are, please can we have a concert with a set by them in the first half and the Britten-Pears Orchestra playing Messiaen's might multi-cultural Turangalila Symphony in the second? Yes, I know there are boring problems like the platform lay-out. But I live close to Aldeburgh and will happily help swap the oud for the ondes Martenot and oboes in the interval.
Now see the art of the mosque.
Header image is Al-Quimia's only CD to date, available from Samsaoui in Spain. Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk
This photo essay portrays a double miracle. Not only are the Byzantine mosaics and frescoes in the Chora Church in Istanbul truly miraculous, but their survival through the city’s tempestuous history is a second miracle. The Church of St Saviour in Chora is today known as the Kariye Camii (Mosque) Museum. Originally part of a monastery dating from the early 5th century, the church takes its name from the Greek word ‘chora’, meaning land outside a city, although the church has long since been swallowed up by the sprawl of urban Istanbul. The church was rebuilt three times between the 6th and 12th centuries, with two of these reconstructions following earthquake damage. It was then ransacked, but not destroyed, during the Fourth Crusade in the 13th century, when forces from the western Christian churches pillaged Orthodox Constantinople.
The miraculous transformation of the Chora Church came in the years following the defeat of the Crusaders and the return of Constantinople to Byzantine rule. Between 1315 and 1321 the interior was decorated in the mosaic-work which can be seen in my photos, and which represents the finest example of the Byzantine renaissance. The work was endowed by the wealthy statesman Theodore Metochites, who was prime minister, treasurer and personal adviser to Andronikos II Palaiologos. Guide books refer to St Saviour of Chora as ‘Metochites’ Church’, but this is something of a misnomer. Metochites was sponsor of the work, but it was actually executed by unknown hands. It is probable that the sublime mosaics and frescoes are the work of a single artist who left a mysterious graphic signature on several of them.
The mosaics are ambitious narrative cycles depicting the life and ministry of Christ, and the life of the Virgin Mary, while the frescoes are confined to the side chapel which acted as a mortuary chapel, and depict the Last Judgement and the Harrowing of Hell. Metochites himself appears in the mosaics, and, as befits a prime minister, he is shown modestly presenting his church to Christ. But in a 14th century version of the cash for honours saga Metochites lost his fortune and was forced into exile when his boss Emperor Andronicus was thrown out of office. Metochites was allowed to return to Constantinople in 1330, and lived as a monk in the Church at Chora until his death two year’s later.
But the turbulent history of Chora did not finish with Metochites endowment. In 1453 Christian Constantinople was conquered by the Muslim Turks, and in 1511 Chora Church was converted into a mosque, and a minaret was added. At this point the Wikipedia entry is in error in saying that: “due to the prohibition against images in Islam, the mosaics and frescoes were covered behind a layer of plaster”. In his book Museum of Chora, Mosaics and Frescoes (ISBN 9757039438) the archaeologist İlhan Akşit explains: “After the conquest, the mosaics of the church which had been converted to a mosque were not touched. During the restoration in 1765, although there were small architectural additions, the mosaics were protected as they were. However, these mosaics were covered by wooden curtains during the daily prayers, as it is forbidden to pray in Islam in the presence of any form of picture.” It was this use of wooden curtains, rather than plaster, that allows us to appreciate the true miracle of Chora Church today.
In 1948 the church ceased to be used as a mosque, and the American Byzantine Institute started a ten year restoration programme. In 1958 Chora Church reopened as Kariye Camii Museum, and we were able to witness its miracles when we visited it in March 2007 when all the photographs here were taken. Flash photography is forbidden to protect the frescoes and mosaics, and the photos were taken by me, hand-held, using available light on a Casio EX-Z120 digital camera.
Now playing – Yasemin, 20th century music for the oud played by Necati Çelik. The Arabic word al’ud meaning ‘the wood’ is the root for both the words ‘oud’ and ‘lute’. The oud originated in ancient Egypt, and migrated to the West via the Crusades, to become the lute. Played with a plectrum, the oud has eleven strings and does not use frets. The absence of frets allows the microtones of the traditional Arabic Maqam modal system to be played. The concept of microtones, which originated in the 14th century, has re-emerged as a tool for contemporary composers – see my article on James Woods’ Hildegard.
Necati Çelik (below) was born in the Turkish province of Konya. This is home to the Sufi Mevlevi Order 
that I wrote about recently, and Çelik has performed in the Mevlevi rituals as an oud player. Five Turkish composers are featured on the CD. They range from one of the leading figures of Turkish music, Tanburi Cemil Bey, who died in 1916, to Reşat Aysu who was active until the end of the 20th century.
This Overgrown Path has travelled from the 5th to the 21st century. So here to finish on a suitably topical note is a link to a YouTube video of oud player Mehmet Polat. And here is a link to another website dedicated to the oud.
Now see the art of the mosque in Istanbul
Any copyrighted material on these pages is included for "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and other errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk
