Sarband

In the world of SARBAND, musicians from Bulgaria, Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, Sweden, Great Britain, Italy and Germany perform together. The co-operation in the ensemble is no fashionable crossover session, but conceived as a continuous dialogue on equal terms. All artists unrestrictedly contribute their native traditions, their personal histories and their own creativity to the programmes. While today the religious, economic...

Programmes with Early Music repertoire link European historically informed performance with the living traditions of the Mediterranean. Here SARBAND often like to devote themselves to the Ottoman Empire as a culturally developed, tolerant political unity of many different peoples and religions with a rich musical heritage. In co-operations with other ensembles (for example the King's Singers, Concerto K?ln, Myst?re des Voix Bulgares), differences between cultures (Turkish and Viennese waltzes) and religions (Jewish, Christian and Muslim Psalm settings), between old and new (Machaut and Satie) are questioned, often in an ironical way. The various programmes of SARBAND offer - in different group sizes ranging from intimate, quiet ensembles to an orchestra - the most different meditative, thrilling, sometimes humorous atmospheres. All of them share the intention to show a possible peaceful coexistence of people and cultures and to make this sensually perceptible.

With this unique repertoire, Sarband have gained an international reputation, released more than twenty CDs and performed at many international festivals; mentioning only a few:

1989: Horizonte - Berliner Festspiele / 1991: Istanbul-Festival / 1992: Romanischer Sommer, Cologne / 1993: Internationale Funkausstellung, Berlin / 1994: Abbaye de Sylvan?s / 1995: Stimmen L?rrach / 1996: Copenhagen, Cultural Capital of Europe / 1997: Thessaloniki, Cultural Capital of Europe / Jerusalem 2000 / Schleswig-Holstein-Festival / 1998: 900 Years Hildegard von Bingen / Baalbek-Festival, Lebanon / Festival Oude Muziek, Utrecht / 1999: Boston Early Music Festival / Festival van Vlaanderen, Bruges / 2000: Library of Congress, Washington / Spitalfields Festival, London / Styriarte, Graz / 2001: Lufthansa Baroque Festival, London / 2002: Dresdner Festspiele / Bruges, Cultural Capital of Europe / 2003: Madrid / Sevilla / Festival de Menton / 2004: Ludwigsburger Festspiele /? Vezelay Cathedral / 2005: Komische Oper, Berlin / Rheingau-Festival / 2006: Frauenkirche, Dresden / Lincoln Center, New York.