Concerts

May 29th 20:00

Atlas / Presentation of new album

Efrén López & Christos Barbas

A new album by Efren Lopez and Christos Barbas, the two artistic directors of Labyrinth Catalonia is always good news, especially if this is the first of an acoustic duo that culminates 17 years of shared music and friendship. Throughout this time they have collaborated on numerous projects and albums, groups such as El Anzuelo de Fuego, Yeden, Aman Aman, Abracadabra and countless concerts in the circles of Labyrinth Musical Workshop in Crete, Catalonia and elsewhere, making this center a kind of common home. On Atlas, the two musicians reconnect with the power and simplicity of the acoustic duo’s sound, through a series of new compositions (Hoquetus, Sadaf, La nave, Jasemin) as well as melodies from the medieval and Ottoman classical traditions (Ben volgra, Kürdi peşrev), with plenty of space and time devoted to textural and minimalist improvisations.

Atlas is many things more: it is the investigation of the connection between greatness and that which is minuscule, between that which is supernatural and that which is natural, the link that connects the world of humans with that of the gods; as the ancient Greek myth goes, Atlas was a titan condemned by Zeus to hold the sky on his shoulders, next to the western world. Another myth explains how the titan turned to stone after an encounter with Perseus, who transformed his body into the mountain range seen today in northern Morocco, the known western end of the ancient world. Apart from the titan that gives its name to the Atlantic Ocean, and also to the maps of the world, another place where we find its traces is inside the human body: Atlas is the name of the first vertebra of the spine, which in fact links the whole head with the rest of the body. In the musical journey that Atlas goes through -as so many mythologies, religions and ancient philosophies around this word explain to us-, sound and silence are seen as forces that not only created the world, but also hold it together.

Efren Lopez: Lavta, Afghan Rabab, Ud, Fretless Guitar

Christos Barbas: Ney, Lavta

May 30th 18:00

Ragas Night

Jordi Prats & Ciro Montanari feat. Güngur Ensemble

The Ragas, melodic atmospheres of North Indian classical music, were and still are composed taking in consideration the different moments of the day and night. The time is the light that changes during the rotation of the Earth according to the Sun and the Moon, and this is one of the facts that is taken as a primary inspiration in the creation of different melodies. We also find Ragas that express a season, such as the monsoon season or the arrival of spring. The music itself is a celebration of natural cycles and all kinds of emotions. It’s this essence that the musician tries to express by following the melodic path that each raga possesses.

Jordi Prats: Sarod

Ciro Montanari: Tabla

Claudia Madhurima: Violin

Toni Calvo: Sitar