Music for shepherds and sultans
It is perhaps an unlikely title for a music concert, yet it perfectly describes the ethos of a performance on July 14. Opening the 18th Cyprus Rialto World Music Festival is a concert by Michalis Kouloumis, Tristan Driessens and Miriam Encinas that blends music from Cyprus and the classical melodies of Constantinople.
Audiences in Limassol will be taken on a unique journey of contemporary modal music as the three musicians present a repertoire on the violin, oud, percussion, pithkiavlin, dilruba and voice. Kouloumis and Driessens, joined by Catalan multi-instrumentalist Encinas will present a repertoire which fluctuates from original compositions in classical Ottoman style to anonymous rural dances of Cyprus.
“With this choice of repertoire and especially with their way of interpreting it,” say organisers, “Michalis Kouloumis, Tristan Driessens and Miriam Encinas bridge a gap between classical and folk music. Compositions such as Isfahan Saz Semaisi or Köyde Sabah somehow reflect how classical music has always been deeply inspired by folk music legacies. Originally rooted in daily life’s rituals, folk traditions draw their expressiveness from a cyclical journey of constant transmission and renewal, which defines their actual legitimacy through time and space.”
The concert will take place at Heroes’ Square at 9pm, marking the beginning of a two-week music event. Throughout July, the 18th edition of the festival will invite established Cypriot musicians and international bands to the stage.
Music for Shepherds and Sultans
Michalis Kouloumis, Tristan Driessens and Miriam Encinas open the 18th Cyprus Rialto World Music Festival. July 14. Heroes’ Square, Limassol. 9pm. www.rialto.com.cy