| « ...A dialogue of
cultures in a melting-pot spirit of hebrew,
muslim and christian from the Golden Age of
Andalusia. Between the sacred and the secular
song with lute, violin, zither and drums, Simon
Elbaz continually enriches not without humour the
ancient heritage of which he is the ingenious
keeper. » Le Monde
de la Musique
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| « ...Faithful keeper of a
millenial heritage which he continually enriches,
Simon Elbaz devotes himself in Matrouz to that
subtile art of embroidered poetry where the
please of love are turned into universal prayer. » L’Express
|
CrossRoads
« ...Keeping in mind the jewish, muslim
cantillation of his childhood, today Simon Elbaz
is reneving the genre whith his oûd,
mixing rhythms and languages arabic and hebrew
but also french, spanish and latin, medieval song
is never far away. » Libération
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The Matrouz of Simon
Elbaz
« ...These are happy novations which open
simultaneously, to the listener, the space of
quality of the music notably, the languages of
hebreu, arabic, spanish, latin and french; all
the better to make a trip to the rainbow of
melodic colours. »Qantara
|
Three Cultures
« ...Simon Elbaz has adapted to
suit himself that Tradition Judeo-arab in its
double authenticity, sacred and secular. He is
the first to broaden this field of listening and
to open it to a universal absolute. Carried by a
deep humanism, Simon Elbaz succeeds by dint of
perseverance a harmonious marriage of the three
cultures jewish, muslim and christian. »L’Arche
|
| « ...One cannot help but
find happy charm in this record, beginning with
its sincerity, its honesty and a kind of
austerity which have undertakings desired by
righteous souls.» World
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Weaving of languages,
mixing of cultures
« ...Simon Elbaz sings in arabic,
hebrew, latin in the way of Matrouz, a millenial
heritage which is enriched by the variety of
cultures. An invitation to understanding the
other and to a mutual respect. A meeting of
tongues to bring mankind togather.»Nouvelle cité
|
| «...Singer and player of oûd,
simon Elbaz has tried several styles before
devoting himself to the skilful musical weaving
of the reconcilation judeo-christian-arab, he has
spread this particular construction to languages
other than the original hebrew and arab.» Le Monde
|
From tradition to
creation
« ...Bringing Matrouz on to the
front of stage, Simon Elbaz nourishes from his
ancestral roots the buds still to bloom. His
profound song coming from afar, echoes to the
impressions gleaned here and ther from his
morocan childhood. Besides hebrew, arabic and
judeo-arabic weaves in and out french, spanish
and latin. This coming togather of tongues and
musics harmonizes like a prelude to another
reconciliation, that of communities and people;
to a dialogue of cultures which has one and the
same source, the bible. But sacred or secular,
the chant is always sober, carried by a voice
which is subtle, sensitive, rich in modulation, a
slight quivering in vibratos. Accompanied by a
lute, it is the continuing of medieval tradition... »La marseillaise du Vaucluse
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Embroidered music
« ...But if he lets his memory take over
and is inspired by his hebrew inheritance, he is
also working towards creation and an opening up:
he sews a musical embroidery, which remains above
all emotion, using the threads of many tongues,
judeo-spanish, berber, latin and french. »Actualité juive
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| «...For a long time Simon Elbaz
has been interested in that ancestral tradition
which he enriches with present day notes,
combining past and present in the language of
tolerance. » Trad
Magazine
|
|
« ...This music
composed by Elbaz comes from an equally great
knowledge of tradition calling upon the oriental
maqams,the rhythms of Maghreb to Arab-Andalusia
music and to a deep sense of as much islamic and
hebrew hymnology. There emerges from this work
great emotion, a just holding back which
contributes and intensifies the efficiency and
direct impact. Song and music unite a convincing
sobriety and strength. As the title indicates,
the song is indeed alive. It is not a rigid
approach but a contemporary creation. »