The Rythme of Speech

I ’t is remarkable that musicians and singers from different parts of the world can come together and succeed in producing a whole new form of music – not simply the juxtaposition of various types of oral tradition. It was Keyvan Chemirani who first proposed this project some three years ago, the idea being the essential yet delicate role of voice accompaniment that so inspires the percussionists.

The speech is in three languages – Persian, Tamil and Bambara

The song : Ali Reza Ghorbani sings in Persian; Sudha Ragunathan presents songs of Karnataka in southern India ; and Nahawa Doumbia sings of Wassonlon in Mali . Three great singers, each contributing an equally great vocal tradition.

The percussion espouses the rhythm of speech both spoken and sung which can now rise beyond the limits of set rhythmical patterns, thanks to the subtle and indeed surprising ideas of this young percussionist.

Born in Paris in 1968, Keyvan Chemirani started learning the zarb at the age of 13. Taught by his father, he soon assimilated the traditional technique. He studied for his masters in mathematics until 1989, when he launched an international career as soloist and accompanist. He also plays the udu, an earthenware jug used in the East and in Africa , as well as the bendir and the riqq, two percussion instruments from the Mediterranean area. Keyvan has given many concerts with various traditional groups