I first discovered Hindi Zahra when I was interning (or rather volunteering) at Rock en Seine in 2008, an annual rock festival held the last weekend in August, Blink 182 and Macy Gray are past performers. I didn't get to hear her concert but I knew that I had to find more out about her.
This summer, I got a chance to see her up close and personal while interning at the Festival de Saint Denis (see other posts). I was in charge of organizing and setting up the catering for her!
For me, her music has a great flavor, and in three languages. Of course she sings in English, French, and Arabic and sometimes in Spanish. It has this flowing rhythmic feel like one is in a café in the south of France or Spain, or a coffeehouse during open mic night. It is like she combined all sorts of music into her songs - jazz, Afro, rock, folk (a Simon and Garfunkel kind of feel). She even writes her own melodies - a rare jem these days.
Check out her video Stand up.
For the official video, check out this! The brillant colors of the video are powerful as well as energizing and makes me want to "stand up" and dance. The soung reminds me of South American or Native American tribal music as well as her choice of costume.
On Friday through Sunday of this week, the under-dog of the Festival of Saint Denis will take place: The Métis Festival.
Hindi Zahra, Jeanne Cherhal, Féfé and Speed Caravan are on the awesome program, concerts for all and concerts for free.
These concerts are dedicated to reunite electronic music of the oud of Mehdi Haddab (Speed Caravan) to the sweet sound of acoustic guitar of Hindi Zahra, with a true musical adventure of intstruement that cross the deserts of Middle East to the west. The rhythmic voice of Fefe and the clear voice of Jeanne Cherhal embark on a journey of singing and beautiful vocals.
Métis proposes a hot, colorable and accessible program for a moment of conviviality and dance in the court of Saint Denis and a couple of steps away from the Basilica of Kings.
The rehearsal of David Fray was good, he is a perfectionist at piano. He is only 29 and a prodigy, plus married to Chiara Muti, the daughter of Ricardo Muti, one of the best conductors in the world. Plus he lives the nice life with his Prada piano sack, and his expensive Italian suit.
He was very particular about his phrasing, the crescendos and the decrescendos etc. Sometimes I felt bad for Emmanuel or Olivia his guests where he tried to get them to play the specific way that was good for him. As if he was his own conductor just like his father-in-law.
Laurence Equibley is a great woman conductor, a rare gem in a sea if men especially in Paris. One could see her intense passion for the Requiem on her face, rarely was it a look of disapproval, and with each phrase a gentilesse. The rehearsal this evening not a typical one, there was an audience of children as part of participation in the culture and social actions part of the festival.
Often an opera of other classical music concert is too expensive for the school to pay for, therefore the festival offered free rehearsal concerts open to these low-income schools; who would otherwise not be able to see a concert of this nature first hand.
The orchestral ensemble of Paris lyrically played the melodies of Faure with lightness. This small ensemble and chorus empowered the room as if it was the London Philharmonic with it's chorus. Their sound filled the inside walls of the basilica plus echoed throughout the courtyard, who knows how it will sound on Friday the day of the actual concert. Probably more power with the bow and fingers lightly touching the string and keys.
The concert was great and the crowd outside was just as enthusiastic as those inside the Basilica! Mostly those sitting outside were drunk just as the musicians inside who had done shots of Jack Daniels before going on stage.
The music was a mix of traditional Yugoslavian and hints at Bela Bartok, John Cage, and Pierre Boulez. The young comedian of 19, don't know her name, performed text based off the film "La Reine Margot" the music from the film was wrote by Bregovic. He then was influenced by his own music to write the text. She was really good and had all of her text memorized which was a plus and minus because Goran wasn't conducting her, but he got angry when she wasn't performing it exactly as "written".
The music at moments seemed film-like, similar to other pieces he had written and particulary the one he ha wrote for the film. One of the other interns said it was funny that the lyrics were about profane things and that the concert was taking place in the basilica royal. Standing outside looking in made me feel like at a rock concert with screaming fans and all!
The sound of the oud fluttered in every part of the room as if we were being drifted off to some foreign land in the Orient. Smadj, a Tunisien, living in Istanbul, dedicated these series of songs to a woman he fell in love with in Istanbul ho ended up dying. It was a great concert which brought musicians from London and Paris itself, and in two weeks will bring artists from Istanbul, Algeria and Morroco! Some songs were a reflection on belly dancing music or others that followed a tranquil beat that recalled the death of his muse. Not only was it sounds of the Orient but a mix of manipulated and computerized sounds.The drums called tablas were very intriguing each different part of the drum created a different tone and in order to be tuned it needed to be hit with a hammer.
The trumpet was ok, he often had difficulty producing a sound and one could tell that Smadj didn't appreciate that it usually happened during the important melodic lines, but was perfect during the improv. It was ironic that he nailed the lines that he didn't pratice, but failed at those that he had spent a long time on. Smadj also manipulated the sound of the trumpet with the use of his 2 macs by creating an organ sound or a flute sound, it as definitely interesting.
Samples of his music can be found at his myspace: http://www.myspace.com/jeanpierresmadj and he will also be performing next Thursday June 17 at the Festival de Saint Denis in the Basilica!
The ensemble performing was called "Douce Memoire" which means Sweet Memory, and a sweet memory it was. Though I didn't see the actual concert, because I was in charge of keeping watch of the dressing rooms and helping with the reception, what I heard was good. The group performs with musical instruments from the Medieval and the Baroque period, about 10 instrumentalists and 6 singers (2 women and 4 men).
The concert was in memory of Henri IV's death and was influenced by the queens and kings of the court. Therefore, when the music started it was reminscent of the sounds one would hear in the 16th century. It made me want to process down the walkway like a princess, "Now presenting Princess Adrienne of Drancy"!
The main instruments used were recorders, bassons, a small pump with your feet type organ and a cross-between a trumpet and a cornette. The trumpet cornette sounded like a flute but it wasn't, I asked one of the woman playing these instruments to describe it and she said there was no relation with the flute.
The music echoed throughout the Basilica and echoed into the courtyard of the church as if angels were sending the music into the ears of the crowd. The only disappointment was the music and the echo did not stay in rhythm, this coming from a musician. But I guess not everything can be perfect.
This ensemble and their concert were great, the women's voices harmonized well and one could see that they loved singing as there was a sort of glitter in their eyes. The men were so enthusiastic when singing, they would just sort of jump right in, when it was their turn to add the harmony to the fugue.
And the instruments, one thing I could never forget... harmonized and sweet melodies never making a mistake, thus creating sweet melodies.
The Basilica of Saint Denis is located in a suburb (Saint-Denis) north of Paris, it is a large abbey church turned cathedral in 1966. This church is historically important and represents a unique style of architecture. Most of the concerts for the Festival de Saint Denis are performed in this beautiful church and the acoustics are amazing!
The church was founded by Dagobert in the 7th century on the grave of Saint Denis, a patron saint of France. Very quickly the churche became a place of burial for French Kings of the 10th to 18th centuries as well as a place of pilgrimage. The church was never used as a place of coronation of kings, but queens were known to have been crowned there. The abbey church was rebuilt by Abbot Suger in the 12th century, with innovative structural and decorative features commonly seen in Gothic architecture, Suger's model provided insight for other cathedrals and abbeys that would be constructed in Northern France and Europe.
Some famous royalty who are buried in the Cathedral are: Louis XIII to Louis XVIII, Marie Antoinette, Charles of France and many more... more info can be found here
This site is worth seeing, if you ever have the chance to visit Paris. The trip is even more exciting if you pair the Cathedral, the market (Fridays/Sundays), and then a picnic in the park of the Maison de la Légion d'Honneur!
The houses of Education of the Legion of Honor was founded in 1805 by Napoléon the 1st as a school for girls of military army men. The first of these house was the Ecouen castle in 1807 and was directed by Madame Campan. The coount of Lacepede, the first Chancellor of the Legion of Honor created the second house in the abbey of Saint Denis (the basilica) in 1811.
In order to be admitted in to the school, the girls must be a daughter, grand daughter, etc of members of the Legion of Honor, or those who have received military medals, or those who have received a national merit.
The text comes from the information I was given the first day of internship, but all of it is in French. Therefore, I am translating the text into English, since no translation is offered on their website and it’s a great way to practice translation!
The first edition of the festival took place in June 1969 under the direction of Maurice Soucheyre, the cultural assistant to the city of Saint Denis and Marcelin Berthelot, the mayor of the city at that time.
During the first years, the festival took place in the Basilica (more to come…) offering around 10 concerts. 40 years later, the Festival proposes more than 40 concerts, taking place between March and July in the Plaine Commune Territory (more to come…).
In 1979, Jean Pierre Le Pavec became director of the Festival, and a partnership was formed between the Festival and Radio France, because of a wonderful performance of Mahler’s Symphony #8 directed by Seiji Ozawa that was transmitted on one of their stations. This relationship has permitted the Festival to bring some of the big names to participate in the concerts. Such names include in the conductor section: Seiji Ozawa, Riccardo Muti and Kurt Masur, singers include: Barbara Hendricks, Teresa Berganza, Jessye Norman, and Giovanna Marini.
The festival welcomes artists of all music backgrounds, not just those of classical music as is evident with the electronic oud (more to come…) group and electronic classical Mozart.
The festival often collaborates with some top names such as the choreographer Philippe Decoufle, the theater producer Bob Wilson, the composers: Nicolas Frize, Philippe Glass, John Cage, Pierre Boulez and this year’s composer: Goran Bregovic (lots to come about him!).
This Festival was conceived and is organized by the city of Saint Denis, which mixes its heritage (the Kings of France’s legacy), architecture(the Basilica) and unique culture (the atmosphere) , and for the most part the neighborhood supports it with a huge supply of volunteers.
The Politics:
Since the 80’s and the cultural politic of Jack Lang (a former Minister of Culture), the cultural structures have obtained and received grants which helps to provide “culture for all” (the slogan of the Minister of the Culture in France).
The last fifteen years due to this slogan, the festival has decided to take a different route in the organization of its concerts by offering a wider selection.
Some examples of these concerts this year are Métis: a week dedicated to music influenced by the classics, master classes with free concerts, lower ticket prices for people who are from Saint Denis and giant screens streaming the concerts next to the Mayor’s Office.
The Program for this year!!!
Mar. 1er juin 20h30 Basilique Requiem des Rois de France 4
Jeu. 3 juin 20h30 Basilique Messe de Schubert / Muti 6
Ven. 4 juin 20h30 Basilique Messe de Schubert / Muti 6
Lun. 7 juin 20h30 Basilique Margot, Mémoire d’une Reine (Métis) 8
Mar. 8 juin 20h30 Basilique Margot, Mémoire d’une Reine (Métis) 8
Mar. 8 juin 20h30 Légion d’Honneur Capuçon / Grimaud 27
Mer. 9 juin 20h30 Légion d’Honneur Capuçon / Grimaud 27
Jeu. 10 juin 20h30 Basilique Requiem de Fauré 10
Ven. 11 juin 20h30 Légion d’Honneur Requiem de Fauré 10
Ven. 11 juin 22h15 Basilique Private Domain 11
Dim. 13 juin 17h00 Légion d’Honneur David Fray 28
Lun. 14 juin 20h30 Basilique Motets & Fireworks de Haendel 12
Mar. 15 juin 21h00 Légion d’Honneur Barenboim / Said 29
Mer. 16 juin 20h30 Basilique Symphonie no5 de Beethoven 14
Jeu. 17 juin 20h30 Basilique Le Oud selon Smadj (Métis) 16
Sam. 19 juin 20h30 Basilique Symphonie no4 de Mahler 18
Mar. 22 juin 20h30 Basilique Les Reines du Bel Canto 20
Jeu. 24 juin 20h30 Basilique Stabat Mater de Poulenc 22
Ven. 25 juin 20h30 Basilique Stabat Mater de Poulenc 22
Dim. 27 juin 17h00 Légion d’Honneur Lecture 5
Lun. 28 juin 20h30 Légion d’Honneur Lecture 5
Mar. 29 juin 20h30 Basilique Symphonie no4 de Brahms 25
Mer. 30 juin 20h30 Légion d’Honneur Lecture 5
Jeu. 1er juillet 20h30 Basilique Thamos, Roi d’Egypte de Mozart 26
The next blog posts will be dedicated to the Festival de Saint Denis, a classical music festival that I am intern for during the month of June. Different posts will contain: the history, a description of the concert and reception halls, plus daily or weekly reviews of the concerts.
For more information: refer to http://www.festival-saint-denis.com/ but be advised the site is only in French.
