David Dalle
Thursday December 4th, 2025 with David Dalle
Artists associated with the Centre des Musiciens du Monde in Montreal; Polish pianist/composer Hania Rani's new piano concerto
Continuing from last week with more music from artists associated with the fabulous Centre des Musiciens du Monde in Montreal. I don't think any other city in Canada has an institution quite like this, not even Toronto. (https://centredesmusiciensdumonde.com/) We will begin with the 2023 album "Villes Éternelles" by the Masmoudi Quartette. Led by Tunisian-born oud player Mohamed Masmoudi, this quartet features Guillaume Martineau on piano, Gabriel Paquin-Buki on clarinet, Rémi-Jean Leblanc on doublebass. Despite that this unusual instrumentation has also been used by his Tunisian colleague Anouar Brahem, Mohamed Masmoudi's music sounds completely different, but equally as good. We will hear the first two pieces, the first is a taqsim for oud and piano only, the second features the full quartet. When I first listened to this album, I was entranced...delicious, beautiful music!
| Un passé d'espoir Masmoudi Quartette - Villes Éternelles - Centre des Musiciens du Monde 
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| Labyrinthe Masmoudi Quartette - Villes Éternelles - Centre des Musiciens du Monde
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| Kervan Didem Basar, I Musici de Montreal - Continuum - Centre des Musiciens du Monde
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| Haxan Noah Franche-Nolan - Rose-Anna - Cellar Music
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| Nazihawand taksim Nazih Borish - Roots of Strings - Centre des Musiciens du Monde/Analekta
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| Roots of Strings Nazih Borish - Roots of Strings - Centre des Musiciens du Monde/Analekta
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| Chupuro Duo Perse-Inca - Echos des Montagnes - Centre des Musiciens du Monde/Analekta
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| Fronni d'alia/Ey Sareban Constantinople & Marco Beasley - La portal d'oriente - Note 1 Music
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| Yalla Zal Sissokho - Kora Flamenco - Centre des Musiciens du Monde/Analekta
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| Fakoly Trio Da Kali - Bagola - One World Records |
| Halelo Dur-Dur Band - Dur-Dur - Awesome Tapes From Africa |
| Hania Rani is a young Polish pianist and composer, having studied classical piano in Gdansk and at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. During her studies she started incorporating jazz, and since then much of her music, which she performs herself, incorporates a mix of classical, jazz, electronic, and popular traditions. Her first piano concerto, her largest scale work to date, was commissioned in 2020 by the Museum of Polish Jews in Warsaw. This commission was greatly influenced by the (then) recent discovery of musical sketchbooks from the young Jewish Polish piano prodigy Josima Feldschuh. Feldschuch was 11 when her family was moved into the Warsaw Ghetto. In the Ghetto, she continued her musical aspirations with teachers and even gave a performance of Mozart's 9th piano concerto in 1941. Her family went into hiding in 1943 as the Warsaw Ghetto was emptied with its residents being sent to the extermination camp Treblinka. She died a few weeks later from sickness, and her mother committed suicide. Only her father survived the Holocaust. The story of Josima resonated greatly with Hani, but found even more meaning and relevance since she first learned about her in 2020. "The vast sociological aftermath of the pandemic coincided with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, bringing a previously unknown proximity of war to many of us. Meanwhile, our gaze remained fixed on conflicts in the Middle East, including the ongoing genocide in Gaza and Palestine. In light of these events, a new sense of immediacy emerged around the project, making it essential for me to confront the newly swollen meaning." This work, in four movements, is full of contradictions and the pairing of opposites, with space for controlled improvisation. Despite the horrors which had influenced this work, it is music of exquisite and haunting beauty, more elegiac than tragic. Hania Rani very recently gave its premiere in London, and she will be performing it at the 2026 Montreal Jazz Festival with the same artists she recorded the album! |
| Non Fiction I. Sonore-Animato-Meno Mosso Hania Rani/Hania Rani, Manchester Collective, Hugh Brunt - Non Fiction - Decca
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| Non Fiction II. Tenebroso-Presto-Cantabile Hania Rani/Hania Rani, Manchester Collective, Hugh Brunt - Non Fiction - Decca
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| Non Fiction III. Misterioso Hania Rani/Hania Rani, Manchester Collective, Hugh Brunt - Non Fiction - Decca
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| Non Fiction IV. Semplice Hania Rani/Hania Rani, Manchester Collective, Hugh Brunt - Non Fiction - Decca
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David, what is playing now exactly at 15:28?!?! Absolutely enthralled ❤️
3:29 PM, December 4th, 2025