Tarik & Julia Banzi: Al-Andalus: Home
Oud and Flamenco Guitar
World Chamber Music
Since first joining hands in 1986, Morroccan-born oudist Tarik Banzi and flamenco guitarist Julia Banzi have been combining the oud & flamenco guitar creating what reviewers have called “a delightful proposition of exquisite music" (El Pais, Madrid, Spain). The Banzis coined the term 'Contemporary Andalusian' (©1987) to describe informed approach to oud & guitar music that melds the past with the present that has been hailed as “a new musical language that unites the East & West.”
The oud (pronounced like "wooed" without the "w") is the quintessential classical Arabic musical instrument. It elicits a warm response even from Western musical ears unaccustomed to the intricacy and subtlety of this ten or eleven-stringed Middle Eastern forerunner of the European lute (the word "lute" is actually derived from the Arabic "al-'ud"). It is particularly appropriate for Tarik to showcase the oud because he, like the instrument before him, passed from North Africa to the West via Spain.
The flamenco guitar is a modern descendant of the oud. Flamenco is a gitano-Andalúz art form belonging to the gitanos (gypsies) of southern Spain (Andalusia). Flamenco is found in three primary expressions: cante (song), baile (dance), and guitarra (guitar). While conflicting histories abound, much of what is known about flamenco dates mainly from the 18th century. Over the centuries, flamenco has evolved to signify both a way of life and a folk music of a highly organized and tightly structured nature. It has matured into an art form that combines tradition with improvisation resulting in a genre in which creativity is valued and encouraged; at the same time, strict guidelines to “tradition” must be followed. As a folk-art, the complexity and sophistication of flamenco have been passed down from generation to generation by direct imitation for most of its history.
Tarik & Julia are both scholars, musician/composers and artists. Multi-instrumentalists, they perform traditional and original music on a a myriad of acoustic instruments in addition to the oud and flamenco guitar.
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