Arifa, The Voices from the East, The Lyre Ensemble

Arifa, The Voices from the East, The Lyre Ensemble

at Union Chapel, London
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Amsterdam-based Arifa have an expansive sound that goes beyond musical genres and national boundaries. Their improvisational approach to performance is jazz in spirit, but draws on the musical roots of its Romanian, Turkish, Dutch, German and Greek members, adding subtle electronics to piano, clarinets, percussion, ney flute and the resonant tarhu – a curious modern spike fiddle.

Their new project, Voices From The East, brings guest musicians from China, Iran and Bulgaria. These three female voices are highly respected in their home countries, each playing a traditional bowed string instrument and adding their local singing styles; the result is rousing and hauntingly beautiful. A contemporary musical journey along the Silk Road, Voices From The East is much more than the sum of its parts, creating a totally new musical space.

When The Lyre Ensemble’s album The Flood was picked up by Newsweek Magazine, no one could imagine the phenomenal response to their re-engineered Babylonian and Sumerian songs.

Accompanied by sparkling replicas of the Gold and Silver Lyres of Ur, Stef Conner (The Unthanks and composer-in-residence for Streetwise Opera) sings up to 4500 year old texts, some strangely quirky and some as relevant today as they were in the past, in a musical transcendence of time and geography.

Arifa

Ancient musical traditions from the Middle East and Balkans are blended with jazz and contemporary improvised music. An adventurous musical journey…

See Arifa tour dates

The Voices from the East

Rated Excellent

Arifa, The Voices from the East, The Lyre Ensemble image © Daniela Sbrisny

Union Chapel

Compton Terrace
Islington
London
N1 2XD

Disabled Booking:
020 7226 1686

See all events at Union Chapel

Arifa, The Voices from the East, The Lyre Ensemble image © Daniela Sbrisny

Union Chapel

Compton Terrace
Islington
London
N1 2XD

Disabled Booking:
020 7226 1686

See all events at Union Chapel