Calendar

News

15-06-2021:

Release documentary PAST >| ORALE


As an introduction to the performance PAST >I ORALE Zefiro Torna asked film maker Mathias Ruelle to create a short documentary. Through the eyes of five characters, this film highlights a few elementary parts from which the performance originated. The music of PAST >I ORALE - a wonderful mix of Beethoven, sound art and alternative pop - resonates as a soundtrack.

> Watch the documentary here (from June 15th until July 13th)

27-05-2021:

CD release Llibre Vermell


'A summer evening in Catalonia, 1399. A group of pilgrims are sitting next to the wall of the abbey church of Montserrat. They have come in search of forgiveness, purification, a fresh start.' Zefiro Torna and Psallentes re-opened this famous "Llibre Vermell de Montserrat". You can find our intimate version of the pilgrim songs on our newest CD, out now on the label Le Bricoleur. Get your copy here, it's the ideal soundtrack for a relaxing summer evening.

11-03-2021:

BALSAM on Podium 19


Tune in to Podium 19, a new tv-channel for culture, on Sunday 21 March at 6pm for BALSAM, and let yourself be carried away by the enchanting music and images of the alchemistic concert by Zefiro Torna and Laika. Afterwards you can watch the show for another month on VRTnu.

Of course we look forward to welcome you live again into this magic laboratory. We are planning a long tour in Belgium and abroad, which we hope to start in June.

11-12-2020:

Music for the Christmas Season


Tired of yet another version of Jingle Bells or All I Want for Christmas? Maybe you'll like our 'Special Seasonal Mix' on Spotify, a selection of songs to spice up this cold December month.

Even though we celebrate Christmas a little differently this year, presents are always nice to receive and to give. Balsam's music literally works as a balm to many souls in these times, an ideal gift for under the Christmas tree. Thanks to a stock sale of the Homerecords label, you can buy the Scattered Rhymes CD with the Frank Vaganée Trio at a discount price of 5 euros. For a swinging start of 2021!

15-09-2020:

Fall 2020: Balsam and two premieres


We are all in need of cultural activities after the past months. It's something we noticed from the many moved reactions after playing Balsam at the Zomer van Antwerpen in July. The press has repeatedly called the performance "a balm for the soul." This autumn we bring you extra oxygen for the soul with the reprise of Balsam in Rotterdam and Heerlen.

On October 14, Zefiro Torna and the contemporary French Ensemble Variances will unite music from the 14th to the 21st centuries during the premiere of BACHC®AB in deSingel. And a month later we'll launch you 'im glückliche Fahrt' into a new time and space with the long-awaited premiere of PAST | ORALE: BTHVN transhumanized during the Lunalia festival. Looking forward to this special reunion!

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Unity in Diversity

— A European Lute Song Project (2023)

ZEFIRO TORNA

“Let there be spaces in your togetherness,
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you alone
Even as strings of a lute dance alone though they quiver with the same music.”
(Khalil Gibran, from the book The Prophet)

On the occasion of the Belgian presidency of the European Union in 2024, Zefiro Torna initiates the project UNITY IN DIVERSITY.

The ensemble, in collaboration with European concert halls and festivals, invites singers and lutenists from diverse cultural and musical backgrounds. Per residency, concerts, workshops and lectures are organized with about 6 musicians. Space is created for dialogue and experimentation in a search for a common language. The music refers to social events, religious rites, economic conditions and significant historical events that are part of the DNA of the European identity.

The encounters across Europe lead to a unique patchwork, and are reflected in media content and a podcast.

A first residency UNITY IN DIVERSITY #1 took place in August 2023 during the festival Laus Polyphoniae Antwerp. New editions are planned in festivals and and concert halls in Mechelen (BE), Sofia (BG), The Hague (NL), Riga (LV) and Osnabrück (DE). In the coming years, the ensemble welcomes new collaborations within and outside Europe.

UNITY IN DIVERSITY #1 @Laus Polyphoniae, Antwerp (BE)

Lore Binon vocals
Elly Aerden vocals, colascione
Joel Frederiksen vocals, lute
Alon Sariel mandoline, archlute, artistic advice
Jurgen De bruyn lute, theorbo, colascione, vocals, artistic coordination

UNITY IN DIVERSITY #2 @LUNALIA, Mechelen (BE)

Lore Binon vocals
Elly Aerden vocals
Christos Barbas ney, lavta, vocals
Vittoria Pagani sarod, vocals
Alon Sariel mandolin, archlute, artistic advice
Jurgen De bruyn archlute, theorbo, colascione, artistic coordination

UNITY IN DIVERSITY #3 @Riga (LV)

Aija Veismane vocals
Anda Eglīte kokle
Anete Viluma vocals
Alon Sariel mandolin, archlute, artistic advice
Jurgen De bruyn lute, archlute, theorbo, colascione, artistic coordination

UNITY IN DIVERSITY #4 @Morgenland, Osnabrück (DE)

Doron Schleifer countertenor
Haitham Haidar tenor
Christos Barbas ney, lavta, vocals
Alon Sariel mandolin, archlute, oud, artistic advice
Jurgen De bruyn archlute, colascione, vocals, artistic coordination

UNITY IN DIVERSITY #5 @Sofia Music Weeks, Sofia (BG)

Anna Yankova vocals
Hristina Beleva vocals, gadulka
Boris Ilyev tambura
Kalina Andreeva double bass, vocals
Alon Sariel mandolin, archlute, artistic advice
Jurgen De bruyn lute, archlute, theorbo, colascione, artistic coördination

UNITY IN DIVERSITY #6 @Amare, The Hague (NL)

Meral Polat voice
Klaartje van Veldhoven of Kitty Ngok Man Lai voice
Khorshid Dadbeh tar, tanbur, setar
Alon Sariel mandoline, archlute, artistic advice
Jurgen De bruyn archlute, theorbo, colascione, artistic coördination

UNITY IN DIVERSITY #7 @ReMusica, Pristina (XK)

Agona Shporta voice
Elly Aerden voice
Christos Barbas ney, voice
Alon Sariel mandolin, lute
Jurgen De bruyn archlute

In co-production with AULOS Music Management

In the context of Construct Europe

Avant-premiere: AMUZ
24.08.2023 (Laus Polyphoniae)