Ensemble Organum, Marcel Peres
This recording came to fruition thanks to nearly 25 years of effort.
In 1997, Marcel Pérès and his Ensemble Organum began a simultaneous exploration of the Mozarabic rite (the liturgical chant peculiar to the Christians living in Spain at the time of Arabrule) and of the Samaa spiritual practice of Morocco.
Setting aside the theological differences between the two faiths, the artists discovered a great deal of kinship between the two forms of musical expression.
A veritable utopia, the idea for this recording then suggested itself: to regain the lost accord of human brotherhood through music.
September 2021
This blend of voices lends the ensemble a rich, varied edge that is most welcome in this repertoire, and vocalist Rachid El Mazzaoui must be singled out for his soaring solo account of Psalm 36. As a listening experience, the disc is somewhat austere but certainly transporting in its sheer meditative intensity.
September 2021
Much as it may bring back happy listening memories (for me, certainly), this recording isn’t an exercise in nostalgia: its premise is a logical extension of the ensemble’s founding aims.
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