Azam Ali - La Serena!

The Track "La Serena (Sephardic, Jodeao-Spanish)" is taken from Azam Ali's fantastic solo debut Album "Portals Of Grace" (2002). Listen and enjoy it. Having made her name as the ethereal vocalist of Vas & Niyaz, Azam Ali ventures forth with this shimmering solo debut. Openly influenced by Hildegard von Bingen, "Portals Of Grace" continues Ali's long relationship with the music and stories of medieval Europe, drawing from Sephardic, Breton, and Latin sources, to name a few. About the track: "A woman sits in the window of a tower in the sea and sings melancholically to the sailors going by." The songs of the Sephardim (Spanish Jews), handed down orally from generation to generation, tell the stories of their lives, their history, and their culture during their settlement in the Iberian Peninsula until their exile in 1492. The Sephardic language is known as Judezmo or Judeo-Spanish, which is the Spanish language of the middle ages. As a result of the Jewish Diaspora, Sephardic communities were established throughout the Mediterranean, North Africa, Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Palestine, Syria and the Balkan states. Although they managed to preserve their culture by maintaining their Hispanic traditions wherever they lived, their music became greatly influenced by the cultures they inhabited, hence creating the immensely diverse repertoire of Sephardic songs we hear today. The one thing that intrigues me most is that during the Islamic conquest of Spain, the Muslims and the Jews lived in peaceful co-existence. Their communities were strongly linked until the 14th century when the Catholic re-conquest and the Inquisition brought the peace between them to a bitter end. About Azam Ali: "One of today's most astounding voices" Azam Ali's voice is a glorious, unforgettable instrument which will set a thousand minarets spinning with its sensuous, rich pulchritude. Her velvet vocals convey both sensuality and devotional ecstasy. She has become one of the best-love vocalist on world music scene. Musicians: Azam Ali (vocals) Greg Ellis (keyboards, orchestral percussion) Shira Kammen (vielle) Naser Musa (oud) Cameron Stone (cello) Produced by Azam Ali. Published by Narada Production (2002)