In this beautifully curated collection of words and music, Jordi Savall’s A Sea Of Music traces the origins and history of the international slave trade from 1400 to 1800. This is achieved through an oral reflection brilliantly narrated in this performance by Equatoguinean-Spanish actor Emilio Buale, and pieces of music and songs from that period which blend European, African and American traditions. Performed by the combined forces of Hespèrion XXI along with La Capella Reial De Catalunya and Tembembe Ensemble Continuo (all ensembles founded by Savall which explore and perform Hispanic baroque music), this could not have been a more authentic musical melting pot.

The opening African lament, from Mali, had a haunting pull with gently swaying percussion evoking the movement of the ocean’s waves. An excerpt from Renaissance Catalan composer Mateo Flecha The Elder’s ‘La Negrina’ was a wonderful example of one of this composer’s 11 Ensaladas (works which combine musical traditions and languages) while the two blues-infused slave songs ‘Look Over Yonder’ and ‘You Gonna Reap What You Sow’ were performed with a subtle balance of menace and melancholy. Combining his experience of historical research and global early musical exploration, what Jordi Savall has created here is powerful, beautiful, thought provoking and ultimately uplifting, and deserving of being performed on stages the world over.

Reviewed at Usher Hall; picture: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan.