WOMAD

Savina Yannatou & Primavera en Salonico

From Greece

2001 biography:A leading interpreter of baroque, renaissance and early musics, Savina Yannatou is one of the most respected singers in Greek music, not only of an older, formal repertoire but also of avant-garde jazz. Since 1983, she has been a member of the Early Music Workshop of Athens, performing at festivals across Greece as well as further afield. "Voice is a means of expression for all of us and is the primal musical instrument," says Savina. "The way I use my voice has to do with a primal and unconscious communication." Her insistent seeking led her to the Sephardic folk songs of the Balkans, heard on her album 'Primavera in Salonica' (1994). These are songs from the Jewish Diaspora, renewed and modified. Their release could hardly have been more timely, for they emphasised the connections between all people of the Balkans at a time when others took up arms to stress their separation.Based on traditional material - mainly from the Mediterranean Area - Savina Yannatou and the group Primavera en Salonico offer an open sound without borders or labels, from simple songs extending to contemporary music forms.Using only acoustic instruments, half of which have their origin in the East, they take them to the limits of their possibilities. Beyond her exquisite interpretive capacity Savina Yannatou gives special emphasis to the expression of the "music" of each different language, often using her voice as one more instrument.Biography from management:With a background that combines classical studies and "authentic" traditional music with improvised music and jazz, Savina Yannatou and the musicians of Primavera en Salonico are like rope-dancers on the chord which connects the modal music of the East with the equivalent music of Western Europe, music of the Middle Ages and the popular polyphonies of the Mediterranean. Starting from the melismatic riches of the Eastern Maqam using the charming irregular rhythms, they explore the territory of collective free improvisation meeting modern jazz.PRESS REVIEWSDiario de Burgos, 8 May 2000 - SpainThe Voice of 1001 NightsAn incomparable concert. Savina sang like the angels. Like the nightingales. I have no words to describe it. I can only say that she sings exactly as she wants, without any technical or expressive limit. The dream voice. We must assume that the Greek singer has received a divine gift. . (The songs) were executed with a marvelous group of instrumentalists, who are very fond of improvisation and who showed the most innovative tendencies in their approach to traditional music.By Roberto VillarealRhein-Neckar Zeitung, 30/9/99 - GermanyFolk Songs from ParadiseSavina Yannatou & Primavera en Salonico in the PeterskircheParadise - it can't be far from the Mediterranean area. One could sense this with body and soul during the concert of Savina Yannatou & Primavera en Salonico in the fully packed Peterskirche (in Heidelberg) ...A marvelously delicate voice, with specific, slightly nasal coloring, a velvet timbre, in which vibrates much of the Mediterranean: enormous yearning and sadness, but also a great beauty.Vital rhythms of a strong dance impulse were being performed by the group "Primavera en Salonico", melismatic melodies, which won a lot of buxom in the unisono of the instruments and in ostinate melodies. A very original sonorous force was gained from the folkloristic melodies, performed on violin, nay, oud, quanun, double bass as well as percussion. The musicians were just as capable within the folkloristic context, as in conveying the songs into the contemporary realm. The instrumental joy did at times ascend in polyphony and let go its energy in passages of free improvisation.They are just as capable in jazz, something one became aware of in many a modern interpretation of old traditional melodies. A completely jazzy groove was offered in the song "Missa Antilla" of the Caribbean.Women in Music - March '99 - U.K... we are treated to 19 varied songs from 14 cultures - each beautifully interpreted by Yannatou and the sublime ensemble Primavera en Salonico. The opening unaccompanied Thracian lament "Why Little Bird Do You not Sing?" - introduces us to the voice of Savina Yannatou in her native language. And what an exquisite introduction it is. Technically quite a difficult piece, she glides and hovers through it like a bird in flight itself - effortless and delicate - hinting at a Western classical training. Yannatou, with twenty eclectic years of musical exploration behind her, is well placed to explore the very different vocal techniques demanded from some of the subsequent tracks..One of the collection's strengths is it's superb and imaginative orchestration - courtesy of Kostas Vomvolos - which allows each piece to breathe with individual colour and weight.C.V.M. RobsonHaaretz, 16/3/98 -IsraelPerfect Vocal ControlAt a unique concert, within the framework of Greek cultural events in Israel, singer Savina Yannatou performed yesterday to a packed theater in Ramat Gan. In her own restrained, somewhat distant manner, she caught the heart of the public by storm. Yannatou switched with virtuous agility from medieval modes to baroque and renaissance music, from Ladino songs to Greek and Italian music to touches of 20th century modernism. She is able to do this by virtue of two important characteristics - a broad musical education and perfect voice control.Amir HarelTHE INDEPENDENT, 26/7/96 - UKWOMAD - Reading......Of some four dozen acts from the rest of the world, none was more rewarding or esoteric than the immaculately researched and performed repertoire of the Greek singer Savina Yannatou - Sephardic Jewish songs in old Spanish from Thessalonica. I'm sure I'll be back next year. Phil SweeneyPARIKIAKI, 15/8/96 - UKThe Delights of WOMAD 1996......In the person of Savina Yannatou, Greece's Sephardic songs have found an interpreter of outstanding caliber. Accompanied by a six piece orchestra of double bass, zither, oud, violin, nay and Levantine percussion, Savina gave a performance of astonishing clarity and beauty. The packed indoor venue became a witness to over ninety minutes of the finest Near Eastern music you are ever likely to hear.Andrew AdamsUtrechtse Nieuwsblad, 20/11/96 - The NetherlandsSavina Yannatou is worth to be fostered. She sang truly exquisitely, the Greek singer. Technically perfect and with a subtle feeling for drama.....It was not only the class of the singer and her musicians that made the audience listen breathlessly to the performance. The special character and historical background of this Sephardic music was important, too. ....During the long, Rembetika-like last song «Jaco», Savina Yannatou also gives a taste of her qualities as avant-garde singer by going into an acrobatic dialogue with flute player Haris Lambrakis.By Peter BruynAbendzeitung, 20/7/96 - Germany.....An extraordinary concert......: at the eve of her travel to the world music festival «WOMAD» the Greek singing artist and her remarkable ensemble present themselves in uppermost shape. Last night the program of this small, delicately built singer with the great, enchantingly tender voice whose main interest is improvised music, were folk songs of the Sephardic Jews. Often rhythmic complicated, melody-drunk songs in the Spanish language - one could say «Mediterranean Blues» of the Renaissance - .... And good fortune ... that these songs found in Savina Yannatou an interpreter, who strips them of the dust of history and brings their souls about to vibrate...SparkVima, 24/11/96 - GreeceBrusselsThe performance created a heart-felt emotion in the audience, while the acoustic instruments accompanying Yannatou had a unique effect. European middle ages, Byzantine and Arabic-Persian tradition, along with elements from folk music of Iberian, Balkan and Mediterranean background. And the voice. A voice carrying the feeling of the songs and stirring up the emotions... Het Parool, 16/11/96 - The NetherlandsThe vocal color of Savina Yannatou renders each kind perfectly; in calm, monophonic songs she sings crystal-clearly, while in rich ornamented melodies she passes a veil over her voice. Does East meet West? In this case, it's a fact. Yet the work methods of Savina Yannatou and her group doesn't seem to be based on dogma. The musical criss-crossings of the last five centuries in Salonica have proved very fertile; Savina Yannatou and her orchestra are a live example..Exousia, 23/2/98 - GreeceIn the chart of top 20 in circulation of last week's CDs, is one of the best Greek productions of the recent years; the «Songs of the Mediterranean» with Savina Yannatou. A work 'difficult', peculiar and not commercial, yet it seems to deeply move the audience...Adesmevtos, 10/5/98 - GreeceA small masterpiece. Savina Yannatou has worked the miracle. After the Sephardic Songs of Jews of Salonica, she now embarks on a journey to the Mediterranean. The musicians of the group are glorious and Savina Yannatou proves herself as a great singer with high ethical standards, knowledge and with a unique love for whatever she works on....Marie-Claire, May 98Smell of Earth and of Sea...It's like a movie-picture with scenes from everywhere across the Mediterranean; with light, with shadow, with loud sounds and whispers. First role actor is the voice of Savina Yannatou who loves the challenges of different musical kinds, the routes through different traditions and rhythms....Penna Magazine, April 98 - GreeceTraveling to the Mediterranean with Savina Yannatou.Her voice - a voice moving from the velvet to the saw, from a crow's cry to honey, from the wind to the frog, from dreary darkness to the sunrise - fills up the space.... ....songs where the variety and uniqueness of each country are demonstrated, while at the same time similarities of the common Mediterranean Sea are brought out.. Different languages and different ways of using the voice...A.GlavaDifono Music magazine, May 98 - GreeceThe splendid voice of Savina Yannatou in one of the best moments of her career... A pure artistic achievement stemming from the personal feeling, attitude and capacities of its creator, Savina Yannatou herselfElevtherotypia, 3/3/98 - GreeceSavina Yannatou and her splendid voice is the ideal vehicle for a long musical journey through the Mediterranean... Although it's a multi-cultural material, the sound is unified and contemporary, far from a mere imitation of traditional stereotypes...Kathemerini, 21/2/98 - GreeceThe most impressive of all (new CDs) though, is the musical journey which Savina Yannatou undertakes. An outstanding work, which mingles the color and humidity of the sea with the brightness of the desert...Yota SykkaGnosi, March 98 - GreeceOne of the best and most truthful journeys we can embark on is through the songs of the Mediterranean...T. SkamnakisKathimerini, 20/11/96 - GreeceBrussels, Belgium..How is a Sephardic song? Sometimes «Andalusian» in passion, sometimesrenaissance-style in finesse, sometimes eastern-like in rhythm, and always melodic, deeply sensitive, tender and melancholic at the same time. The interpretation of Savina Yannatou kept the breath of the audience on hold and one could sense the emotion pressing through the walls of the concert hall. Four times Savina was called out on stage, being enthusiastically applauded...N.Vatopoulos