Les Routes De L'esclavage 1444-1888 Routes of Slavery

Kassé Mady Diabaté & Violet Diallo (Mali), Jordi Savall (viola da gamba and Artistic director) & Hespèrion XXI - La Capella Reialde Catalunya & Tembembe Ensamble Continuo

A homage to the memory of victims of the slave trade.

This new multicultural project from Jordi Savall and his musicians on The Routes of Slavery (1444-1888) marks a world first in the history of music and of the three continents involved in the trade in African slaves and their exploitation in the New World, which are brought together through the early music of the colonial period, the musical traditions of Mali and the oral traditions of the descendants of slaves in Madagascar, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. This 'Musical Memoir' is accompanied with historical texts on slavery, beginning with the early chronicles of 1444 and concluding with texts written by the Nobel Peace Prize-winner Martin Luther King shortly before his assassination in 1968.

Sponsored by UNESCO, this musical reconciliation is founded on equality, harmony and reciprocal inspiration, constituting the commemoration of a tragic and shameful chapter in the history of mankind. A vast historical and musical fresco, which throws light on the West’s attitude towards Africans in Latin America, the United States and Europe, as well as its indifference towards that 'forgotten' continent of Africa. But it is also a joyful celebration of hearts and spirits united through music and dance, offering us all a vital source of survival, a refuge of peace, consolation and hope.

2 hybrid SACD + 1 DVD filmed live at the Fontfroide Abbey (France) PAL zone 0

Booklet : English, French, German, Italian, Castillian, Catalan

"Jordi Savall, een autoriteit binnen de oude muziek, heeft over de slavenhandel (met name de Spaanse- en Portugese-) een indrukwekkend concert gemaakt, in het kader van een muziek & geschiedenis festival. Het enorme contrast tussen de inspirerende muziek en de gereciteerde geschiedschrijving valt op. Hoe kon deze muziek zo positief en optimistisch blijven? Er klinkt oude vocale Europese muziek in het Spaans of Portugees, met (Afrikaans) ritme in een Zuid-Amerikaans jasje, maar ook prachtige griot-zang en tokkelinstrumenten uit Mali. De twee cd's en een dvd vormen, samen met een boek, een indrukwekkend manifest.

Zing Magazine 73 *****

"Savall’s brew is so rich that singling out individual performances is almost invidious, but tracks I love include songs from Brazil and Mexico sung by Maria Juliana Linhares and Ada Coronel, choral numbers by singers from the Capella Reial, and instrumental improvisations from Mali; everything performed by the Tembembe Ensamble Continuo has a genuineness which goes straight to the heart."
BBC Music Magazine - December 2017 *****