In Yasmin Levy’s music there is a tension between the purity of Ladino (the Judeo-Spanish music of Spain) and the fiery heart of flamenco. As she explains ’There’s a very traditional way of singing Ladino. I learnt it…listening to women singing and it’s beautiful, but I missed the passion. Flamenco is nothing but passion.’ In her new album Sentir (WorldVillage), produced by the acclaimed Javier Limón (who has worked previously with the likes of Portuguese fado star Mariza), she has found a vision that integrates these musical directions. With Sentir, Yasmin’s music truly becomes ’of the world’.
The concert begins with Turkish singer Çigdem Aslan (pronounced Cheedem), who performs poignant rebetiko songs in Greek and Turkish from 1920s Smyrna, Istanbul, Athens and Piraeus.
Date: 24 February 2010
