thesaurós artists

20
Dec
2019

New Music for the old Ceremony

Elshan Ghasimi - Elies Miniatures I & II

 

 

Dear friends,

In the summer of last year, Elshan Ghasimi, Michal Martychowiec and JMH Schindele began following the footsteps of the mathematician, biochemist, mystic and poet El Arbi Bouqdib, who died in 2016. With the help of the family, and in particular his youngest son and estate administrator Joseph Bouqdib the El Arbi Bouqdib Archive was founded.

The purpose of this archive is to trace the life of this extraordinary free spirit, based on the approximately 20,000 documents and items left behind, to construct a poetic work of remembrance.

Initial archival-artistic work has brought the first treasures to light. The virtuoso and composer Elshan Ghasimi gained inspiration from individual objects and has written music and songs based on them. We are happy to announce the publication of two live albums Elies Miniatures I – Ein Garten singender Dinge and EM II – Archivblumen, for which purpose the music label Bublitz Music was recently founded. In the future, Bublitz Music will also focus on the other classical musics – an evocative term invoked by the British musicologist and critic Michael Church.

EG - Elies Miniatures performance

A short passage from the press release:

“What does a magnetic field generator sound like? What does the last cigarette lighter say? Whose hands are there, coming towards us, and what is the secret behind the star chart?

Elshan Ghasimi’s concept album Elies Miniatures I – Ein Garten singender Dinge combines classical Persian music with the demands of contemporary conceptual art and the processing of an archive.

With the utmost sensitivity in musical expression, the world-class soloist leads us into a new musical universe on the tar. As a composer, she interlaces different modal scales of the Radīf*, combines them with influences and elements of minimal music and interweaves poetry by Omar Chayyām, Hossein Gol-e-Golab, Hatef Esfahani and her own texts. On this album, Ghasimi appears in various roles as composer, soloist, singer and reciter.”

As album, concert and exhibition cycle, Elies Miniatures is an ongoing narrative as well as a novel form of merging music, concert, visual art, exhibition and biographical narration. If you are interested in deeper diving into the conceptual and artistic framework of this collaborative work of Elshan Ghasimi, Michal Martychowiec and JHM Schindele visit the cycle's website.

Read more.

 

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You can find the albums on all major streaming platforms.
A limited edition on vinyl is being prepared for production.

Posted by Joseph in News
10
Nov
2018
Elshan Ghasimi – Excerpts of the Radīf I – V | First Introduction

Elshan Ghasimi – Excerpts of the Radīf I – V | First Introduction

Dear readers,

Excerpts of the Radīf is the programmatic title of Elshan Ghasimi's new concert series. It is a journey and invitation to the Classical Persian Canon. Sometimes one only realizes afterwards how fortunate one is.

We can report on a few of these fortunate cases. An example is the encounter and work with the Tar virtuoso and composer Elshan Ghasimi in 2015. The only female master of this instrument worldwide.

© silkroad-festival.com | Fotograf Gerhard Kühne

© silkroad-festival.com | Fotograf Gerhard Kühne

And fortunately, in retrospective, stories are curiously written: So, at the same moment we launched the exhibition cycle Mnemosyne on European identity, our range of topics took a giant leap: Through Ghasimi, the Persian classical culture moved into focus, as the Arabic tradition came into it through the estate of El Arbi Bouqdib.

But how do you create enthusiasm and intelligently approach a foreign civilization and world culture? How can this happen beyond exoticism and terms like 'world music', beyond repetition and standard vocabulary? The leveling down global pop culture is certainly not a lasting concept to uncover a vibrating and yet hidden classical tradition. So we had to go and find other ways.

From these thoughts and in conversation with Ghasimi arose the idea to the series Excerpts of the Radīf: A series of introduction; theoretical, yet flamboyant, complex yet with open arms for open ears and minds. An invitation to explore an unknown and arcane but promising and harmonious Jadeworld.

Premiere and opening will take place on November 15th at 8pm in Berlin.

Literaturhaus Lettrétage, Mehringdamm 61.

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Especially in the name of Elshan Ghasimi,
yours sincerely,

 

JMH Schindele
Artistic Director | Bublitz

 

 

… so we came to new formats of media and time convergence like Elies Miniatures. An exemplary centaur of exhibition, concert, archive work and ritualized memory. The first major production of Bublitz Thesaurós with Elshan Ghasimi.

Elshan Ghasimi - Muster

About the Radīf

A Radīf (series, sequence, ranking) is a collection of hundreds, if one counts the Radīfs of differentmasters (Ostād), thousands of melodious figures. So-called Guschehs. These melodies are organized within twelve tonal systems called Dastgāh and Awaz.

The master improvises on the basis of these melodies. These improvisations, not unlike jazz, are the highest form of performing and practicing this art.

In 2009 the Radīf has been declared World Heritage by the UNESCO. But history as we know only comes into individual existance through the living tradition, through the individual and challenging process of update and appropriation.

Ghasimi will present two different tonal systems (Dastgāh and Awaz) in each concert of the five-parted series. Solo Tar or Setar.

Posted by Joseph in News