The Sirba Octet was formed in 2003 when violinist Richard Schmoucler came up with the idea of an ensemble halfway between classical academism and traditional music of many cultures. He invited outstanding musicians from Parisian orchestras, as well as a pianist and a dulcimer player. Composer and pianist Cyrille Lehn became the main arranger. The band’s area of interest is to revive the spirit of Klezmer bands, Gypsy bands and bands typical of Central and Eastern Europe with its colourful multicultural folklore.
The festival concert programme focuses particularly on the area of present-day Romania and Moldova, a region of particular interest and inspiration for the meeting of many nations, languages, faiths and traditions. The characteristic genre there is the melismatic, often improvised song – the doina related to the Ukrainian duma. It was performed without or with the accompaniment of instruments, with the participation of professional musicians called lăutari. Dances of the region include moldoveneasca, corageasca, oleandra, hora, sirba, and their performances are often accompanied by large and colourful sounding ensembles called tarafs. They may include kavale (a variety of flute), kobza (stringed instruments not to be confused with bagpipes!), dulcimer, bagpipes, violin and others. The music of this place is an unusual melting pot – in addition to elements indigenous to the region, it has also been imbued with Ukrainian, Turkish, Hungarian, Gypsy and Jewish influences, whose centuries-old presence in the region’s culture is often forgotten today. All these elements in the artistic sublimation of Cyrille Lehn’s creative, exploratory arrangements will be reflected in the programme of a fascinating and colourful concert, in which the octet will be accompanied by our Orchestra under the direction of Alexander Humala (see concert programme 28.09).