Wouter Vandenabeele : violin and artistic director Osama Abdulrasol (Iraque) : qanun Tarek Al Sayed (Aleppo, Syria) : oud François Taillefer : percussion Inès de Inès : flamenco dance Carmen Fernandez : flamenco vocals Alexander Gavilan : flamenco guitar Frans De Clercq (Rebetiko) : vocals and bouzouki Michel Karakatsanis (Rebetiko) : vocals and bouzouki Karsten de Vilder (Rebetiko) : vocals and guitar Dimi Dumortier (Rebetiko) : vocals and percussion
“EXODUS” = music and images
Refugees are from all times and come from all countries.
Time and place are always different. But the reasons to flee one’s homes and the stories behind the facts who come with this, always remain the same.
Resemblances there are aplenty and there’s also a lot of resemblances in the music of all of these countries.
Music as a relevant metaphor, thé most beautiful resemblance (or chord) of all, that is what the performance “EXODUS” is about !
REBETIKO : This Greek urban music has a terrible « Exodus-story » in its history.
At the 1923 “Population Exchange”, a Greek minority was expelled from Asia Minor and had to flee to Greece. They predominantly went to Piraeus and Thessaloniki to start a new life in these ports.
Precisely these people have contributed strongly to the development and the expansion of this music genre.
Not only did they bring new instruments with them from the orient (mostly Smyrna and Constantinople) , but also a large sense of professionality.
This music has obvious oriental influences.
Cfr the movie “Rembetiko” by Kostas Ferris
FLAMENCO : Gypsies had a very strong influence on Flamenco at all times. A lot of thé most famous and most influential artists in history were gypsies.
Many centuries ago these people fled from Rajahstan in India to undertake an everlasting diaspora. Their goal was often Eastern Europe, but many reached Spain too.
Precisely Spain with its history of centuries of Moorish domination, of which many traces are still visible in their culture and society.
Flamenco is thé symbol of this heritage.
Cfr the movie telling this story “Latcho Drom” by Tony Gatlif
ALEPPO : Terribly topical, no demand for further explanation.
What not everybody knows is that Aleppo always had a very rich and diverse music culture. This culture is a reflection of their great history and of its singularity.
Cfr “Zes wandelingen in Aleppo” van de VPRO
