Selim Sesler & Brenna MacCrimmon / Vassilis Saleas & Athena
The 1000 Year Journey
2 June 2007 / 19:30
Barbican Hall

Part of The 1000 Year Journey
Part of World & Roots

Tickets: £10 / 15 / 20
subject to availability

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In a very special evening, the great Turkish clarinettist Selim Sesler performs alongside Vassilis Saleas from Greece. While Sesler is a master of the wild wedding music from Thrace, part of which is the European part of Turkey, Saleas has been the chosen instrumentalist for many of Greece’s most popular musicians like Theodorakis and Vangelis.

Sesler is joined by the vocalist Brenna MacCrimmon, while Saleas performs with the London-born, Greek singer Athena, very much a rising star.

Don't miss the Freestage and Clubstage events :

Freestage (from 5pm)
Amaro Suno - Highly acclaimed quartet from the Cezch republic, playing traditonal Cezch tunes, plus folk and gypsy swing.

The Destroyers - Awesome 15 piece Gypsy-jazz group from Birmingham play a heady mix of ska, gypsy-punk, skiffle and funk.

Clubstage (post-concert)
Costa Urbana vs. Orient:Express
Resident DJs Seb Merrick (Orient:Express), Muezzin & DJ Alia (Costa Urbana) come together for a sonic exchange of ballistic dancefloor grooves steeped in the rich tradition of Greece and Turkey that includes recordings of roots tracks to the latest remixes and sounds from Beyoglu bars and backstreet Plaka. Plus, musicians, dancers and visuals.

Produced by the Barbican

http://event.barbican.org.uk/t/336932/992975/3042/0/

Kesan'in Ibriktepe köyünden klarnetiyle çikarak Trakyali Romanlarin müzigini
dünyaya tanitan, The Guardian gazetesinin "Klarnetin Coltrane'i" diye
nitelendirdigi Selim Sesler, Londra'nin en prestijli konser salonlarindan
Barbican Centre'da Vassilis Saleas ile ayni sahneyi paylasacak.. .
2 Haziran aksami Londrali müzikseverler simdiye kadar düzenlenmis en büyük
fasil konseri ile farkli bir müzikal deneyim yasayacaklar. Selim Sesler'in
konugu Brenna Maccrimmon ile yer alacagi fasil gecesinde efsanevi Yunan
klarnetçi Vassilis Saleas da konser verecek.
Fatih Akin'in bol ödüllü filmi Duvara Karsi ile genis kitlelere ulasan,
Istanbul Hatirasi filminde kendi hikayesine yolculuk yapan Selim Sesler
Anadolu dügünlerini anlattigi son albümü "Oglan Bizim Kiz Bizim"ile Sunday
Telegraph, Songlines, The Guardian basta olmak üzere Avrupa'nin birçok
önemli gazete ve müzik dergisinden olumlu elestiriler aldi. Selim Sesler
Fasil Gecesi'nde Ingiliz seyircileri Edirne'den Urfa'ya, Trabzon'dan
Mugla'ya kadar genis bir Türkiye cografyasinda dolastirarak dügünlerin
coskulu dünyasini yasatacak.

"Sesler gives us the real rootsy stuff and his clarinet sings, soars,
bubbles and broods. In this wedding music, he's joined by a great bunch of
instrumentalists who have their own solo spots on violin, kanun, Turkish
lute and banjo plus the excellent vocalist Brenna MacCrimmon" Evening
Standard ****

Leonard Cohen - The Traitor Lyrics


Now the Swan it floated on the English river
Ah the Rose of High Romance it opened wide
A sun tanned woman yearned me through the summer
and the judges watched us from the other side
I told my mother "Mother I must leave you
preserve my room but do not shed a tear
Should rumour of a shabby ending reach you
it was half my fault and half the atmosphere"

But the Rose I sickened with a scarlet fever
and the Swan I tempted with a sense of shame
She said at last I was her finest lover
and if she withered I would be to blame

The judges said you missed it by a fraction
rise up and brace your troops for the attack
Ah the dreamers ride against the men of action
Oh see the men of action falling back

But I lingered on her thighs a fatal moment
I kissed her lips as though I thirsted still
My falsity had stung me like a hornet
The poison sank and it paralysed my will

I could not move to warn all the younger soldiers
that they had been deserted from above
So on battlefields from here to Barcelona
I'm listed with the enemies of love

And long ago she said "I must be leaving,
Ah but keep my body here to lie upon
You can move it up and down and when I'm sleeping
Run some wire through that Rose and wind the Swan"

So daily I renew my idle duty
I touch her here and there -- I know my place
I kiss her open mouth and I praise her beauty
and people call me traitor to my face