À principiu
- 2021
- Buda Musique
"Corsica is in the central Mediterranean Sea, equally distant from Italy and France, and sitting scant miles north of Sardinia. Like most of the major islands in the Mediterranean, Corsica has had its share of invaders, conquerors, visitors and immigrants. It has been under Roman, Visigoth, Vandal, Ottoman and European rule. It was passed around among the pre-Italian republics of Lombardy, Tuscany and Genoa. It was ultimately ceded to France by the Genoese, and it's brief life as an independent nation was crushed. It remains a territory of France but in modern times has some measure of political independence.
All this turmoil makes for a unique culture, with strong ties to France and the French language, but still maintaining its own unique institutions, language and music. Most familiar of the musical part of that is the vocal music of the island, pulifunie, the polyphonic choral tradition that has had a resurgence since the 1960s and some of those choral groups have achieved some small international fame, as well as attention from contemporary composers from who incorporated it into works such as Hector Zazou's Les Nouvelles Polyphonies Corses and David Reuff's Tra Ochju e Mare. On their fifth recording, À principiu, L'Alba straddle the old and the new, with strong vocal references to the traditional polyphonic singing and nods to contemporary folk and jazz. They embrace the many influences that have flowed through the island, from Arabic, North African, Italian and French inhabitants and visitors, as well as reaching out further to places like Greece, Portugal, Senegal and Zimbabwe. They start off with “Guarisce” (Healing), which takes on a gentle touch of the currently popular 'desert blues' groove on the guitar slipping under the voices as they sing, “I ease your pain with a silk glove. I expunge our clashes in these tumultuous times.” It's a simple and direct delivery of their poetry over a hypnotic riff.
They don't neglect the island's traditional sounds, offering a few polyphonic vocal pieces like “Schjarì u to chjassu,” where they promise, “I will light your way, but without choosing your route. Life is full of pitfalls and danger.” But they roll right into the next track with a distinctly Middle Eastern flavor on a song of resistance, “Ancu sfarente” (A tomorrow to be invented).
There are ballads that invoke the past like “Stranieru da l'internu,” (Stranger from within), but they are in service to the present, as they invoke Corsican history, and remind us of the present pain of immigration and conflict that still surrounds us. L'Alba are not here to recreate the past, but to remind us that past and present are separated by a very thin line and crossing it is both a challenge and a blessing. À principiu presents a global vision from a very local perspective, in poetry and song that crosses that line on each track."
All this turmoil makes for a unique culture, with strong ties to France and the French language, but still maintaining its own unique institutions, language and music. Most familiar of the musical part of that is the vocal music of the island, pulifunie, the polyphonic choral tradition that has had a resurgence since the 1960s and some of those choral groups have achieved some small international fame, as well as attention from contemporary composers from who incorporated it into works such as Hector Zazou's Les Nouvelles Polyphonies Corses and David Reuff's Tra Ochju e Mare. On their fifth recording, À principiu, L'Alba straddle the old and the new, with strong vocal references to the traditional polyphonic singing and nods to contemporary folk and jazz. They embrace the many influences that have flowed through the island, from Arabic, North African, Italian and French inhabitants and visitors, as well as reaching out further to places like Greece, Portugal, Senegal and Zimbabwe. They start off with “Guarisce” (Healing), which takes on a gentle touch of the currently popular 'desert blues' groove on the guitar slipping under the voices as they sing, “I ease your pain with a silk glove. I expunge our clashes in these tumultuous times.” It's a simple and direct delivery of their poetry over a hypnotic riff.
They don't neglect the island's traditional sounds, offering a few polyphonic vocal pieces like “Schjarì u to chjassu,” where they promise, “I will light your way, but without choosing your route. Life is full of pitfalls and danger.” But they roll right into the next track with a distinctly Middle Eastern flavor on a song of resistance, “Ancu sfarente” (A tomorrow to be invented).
There are ballads that invoke the past like “Stranieru da l'internu,” (Stranger from within), but they are in service to the present, as they invoke Corsican history, and remind us of the present pain of immigration and conflict that still surrounds us. L'Alba are not here to recreate the past, but to remind us that past and present are separated by a very thin line and crossing it is both a challenge and a blessing. À principiu presents a global vision from a very local perspective, in poetry and song that crosses that line on each track."
Cliff Furnald - Rootsworld Magazine and Radio – March 2021
Het Corsicaanse ensemble L’Alba heeft als ambitie om de eeuwenoude muzikale traditie van hun eiland bij de tijd te brengen. Als moderne wereldburgers hebben ze kennis genomen van andere Mediterrane tradities en die op subtiele wijze verwerkt in hun eigen stijl. Qua instrumentatie is het allemaal niet zo verrassend, maar vocaal mag het met recht een feestje worden genoemd. Met uit graniet gehouwen mannenstemmen die de oren strelen met gezangen vol weemoed; aan de ene kant meteen vertrouwd, maar vanwege de exotisch aandoende melodiewendingen ook buitengewoon intrigerend. De gelijkenis met andere eilandtradities zoals de Sardijnse is frappant, maar zet een willekeurige plaat van het Siciliaanse duo Fratelli Mancuso op en ook daar is de verwantschap onmiskenbaar. Voor echt onversneden Corsicaanse samenzang moet je even geduld hebben. Pas in het negende stuk van de cd vallen de instrumenten stil en horen we de kenmerkende driestemmige zang van de paghjella. Hoogtepunt van de selectie is het officiële sluitstuk (er volgt namelijk nog een ‘hidden track’) Stranieru da l’Internu (stranger from within), opgedragen aan de in 2017 overleden accordeonist Régis Gizavo, met wie de groep graag samenwerkte. In dat stuk roert zich plotseling ook een oude bekende: Louis Mhlanga, de Zuid-Afrikaanse zanger en gitarist die ooit een duo vormde met Eric van der Westen en hier een onverwachte cameo voor zijn rekening neemt. De klaaglijke en meeslepende zang van bandleider Benjamin Dolignon krijgt gloedvol weerwerk van Ceccè Guironnet op klarinet.
Ton Maas - www.mixedworldmusic.com
Ton Maas - www.mixedworldmusic.com