SARAY ILUMINADO
Saray Iluminado traces culture through historical lineage that for some seem removed, though to others they stand as recent and important monuments to both the personal and the collective. Not only musicality and technique are on display here. This ensemble also sheds light on the importance of historical canon. Through music, hope grows that cultural practices may continue to find resonance and be passed down through each new generation.
In a tight, hour long set, the ensemble borrow from the secular songs sung in traditional languages Bosnian and Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) and played on instruments from places like Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, Greece and the Middle East. The ney flute, for example, is introduced to the audience as “An instrument apt for representation of nature” together with dāyera and daf, both more commonly known as framed drums. These instruments are paired with others, which are more familiar to western composition and musicality, such as the clarinet. In this context and in contrast, these instruments are initially a curious mix. Singer Nela Trifkovic offers a continued narrative that sheds light on these musical choices, offering an earthy and grounded approach that strikes a chord.
From the outset, a pathway to follow and continue onwards emerges. Here, folklore blends and melds with the contemporary as universal themes including love, loss and desire are drawn upon and exploited to full effect.
Trifkovic’s voice is something to behold; it cuts through the thick stifled air like a knife through butter, and her ability to draw you inwards through song is only made stronger by the rest of this ensemble as they interchange instruments and move between both major and minor focuses.
The outcome is one of intimacy and something new found; such is the delight of committing to an engagement with performance styles and mediums that are, up until a point, unknown.
You wish for this ensemble to reach even greater heights of notoriety as you simultaneously wish for them to remain just where they are, allowing yourself and few chosen others to revel in the quiet solace of canon and of the historical and of the emotional. Music has the power to convey stories and messages without words. Despite all the whimsical notions that are present here, we go deeper; the importance of culture is not lost. The performance relates back to a common ground: a desire to know where we have been to move forward with strength, no matter where we come from.
Saray Iluminado stands testament to these stories and lessons for those who have come before, and those still yet to come.
