Lost paradises: Lights and Shadows in the Age of Columbus
It was just a few months ago that I became a fan of Jordi Savall and viola de gamba (see Obama.La Rondine.Viola de gamba). I knew then that Jordi Savall and his ensembles Hespèrion XXI and La Capella Reial de Catalunya were coming to Berkeley this February but the tickets were sold out. However a few tickets suddenly became available (thanks for the tip, Jean!) the night before the show and we quickly grabbed a pair. On Saturday night we drove across the bay bridge, having very vague notions of what to expect -- the master playing his instrument, his wife, the soprano Monteserrat Figueras singing some songs from the Renaissance and beyond, accompanied by other period instruments. I think that would have made a very pleasant evening. The concert was held at the First Congregation Church in Berkeley (incidentally, this was where we last heard some viola de gamba music played, albeit on a cello). It is a somewhat generic looking hall but the size was good for an intimate concert like this. Little did I know I was in for a real treat.
After the members of the ensembles seated themselves on the stage, tuned their instruments -- which looked exotic enough, including 3 violas de gamba (soprano, tenor, and bass), an oud (which is the predecessor of the lute), a psaltery (a kind of harp played flat on the lap, looking a bit like the chinese 古琴）， a santur (a Persian hammer dulcimer, probably the precursor to the Chinese 扬琴), and a vihuela de mano (looks like a small guitar), the music started. But the ethereal sound did not come from the stage, it came from the back of the hall -- there at the entrance was a procession of two men: one with a strange-looking flute, followed by one with a drum. With just a few magical notes, the music transformed this modern-day church hall into a court in Spain, circa 1492.
That was just the beginning, of a remarkable journey through time, to the age of Columbus. The music was exquisite, with all the ancient instruments sounding as beautiful and exotic as they look. The sound was both ancient and timeless, as well as other-worldly (I thought some of the music sounded even a little bit Chinese). It was a mixture of pre-baroque European music, Arab-Andalusian songs, Sephardic laments, as well as music from the new world. The chorus was beautiful too -- it's amazing that four or five human voices can create such rich sound. I was especially fascinated by the countertenor -- I'd never seen one in concert before.
But the music was not all. As the concert unfolded, the music was interspersed, and sometimes overlayed with poetry readings, excerpts from Columbus' letters and log books as well as other historical documents from the era -- the readings as well as the songs were delivered in multiple languages (Spanish, Arabic, Latin, Hebrew, etc.) With music and words, the story of the 15th century Hesperia spread out like a canvas in front of the audience.
What a century it was! 1492 was indeed a momentous time in history. Before Columbus left Spain, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella were on the verge of taking the last Moorish kingdom in Spain, Granada. The year 1492 saw the end of the multi-cultural society as it existed before in Hesperia, where Christians, Moors, and Jews lived together, if not in perfect harmony. Soon after the end of the last Moorish kingdom in Spain, the Jews were expelled, followed by the forceful conversion of the moors. That was the "Lost Paradise" in the title of the concert -- a lost paradise of diversity on the Iberian peninsula, and in America, on the other side of the ocean, a world changed forever by the arrival of Columbus and his ships.
The concert also raised some issues about the origin of Columbus the man. For a man who made such an impact on the history of the world, it is somewhat strange that so little is known about him. The concert presented an alternative theory of who he was. Instead of the standard version of him being a humble sailor from Genoa, the theory goes that he was actually a nobly born Catalan, and his origins were deliberately obscured by the King and Queen in an attempt to cheat him and his heirs out of their share of the booty as specified by the Capitulations of Santa Fe they signed before dispatching him on his trip to the new world. This theory, it was said, better explains how Columbus got to marry a Portuguese noblewoman (before his expeditions), and how he got to negotiate such an advantageous contract with the King and Queen. Another theory was mentioned that Columbus was Jewish, who was hiding his own identity in the aftermath of the expulsion and persecution of Jews, which explains why so little is known about him.
The star is still the music, but all that history and cultural backgrounds of the different peoples of the age added dimensions to the concert -- the whole experience felt akin to watching a fascinating historical documentary (with no visuals). Jordi Savall truly is a Renaissance man. I'm more impressed than ever.
Well well, that was a week ago. The details of the concert are fading... but not the excitement. I would highly recommend his concerts to everyone who loves good music, early music, history, cultures... now I know that it will be a truly unique experience.
