Thrace

Known as Sunday Morning Sessions, a nod to jazz and improvised music, this concert invites you to explore new musical territories, where contemporary experimentation, improvisation and the traditional sounds of the Mediterranean come together. One powerful, irresistible spirit flows through it all.

Driven by a spirit of openness and an endless curiosity for new musical horizons, Jean-Guihen Queyras is here accompanied by the spellbinding percussion of brothers Bijan and Keyvan Chemirani, playing the zarb and daf respectively—two Iranian instruments they take far beyond the traditions of Persian music—and the magical lyra, a small violin with roots stretching back to the Byzantine era, played by Sokratis Sinopoulos. In these sessions, the luminous French cellist invites us on an imaginary journey through the Balkans, into the world of the Thracians: a people of explorers, ever curious, adventurous and open to other cultures.

What a beautiful metaphor for these four musician friends, who all grew up amid the contours and fragrances of the Mediterranean hills.

Cello Jean-Guihen Queyras
Zarb Bijan Chemirani
Daf Keyvan Chemirani
Lyra Sokratis Sinopoulos

In the context of the festival Les Nuits d’Orient et d’ailleurs

^{photo © DR}