Camerata Mediterranea

Camerata Mediterranea is a French and American nonprofit organization and an international, intercultural institute of musical exchanges. Camerata Mediterranea devotes itself to research, dialogue, and pedagogy involving the diverse musical civilizations of the Mediterranean basin, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim. It aims to revive the value of forgotten interactions and intends to reestablish a dialogue, at once artistic, intellectual and human, among civilizations.

Camerata Mediterranea encourages research and communication among specialists and artists knowledgeable in the traditions of their respective civilizations.

In Europe, the old sources are written; in the East, the main source of transmission is oral. These different ways of conceiving and apprehending musical art create problems which the institute proposes to help overcome.

Camerata Mediterranea wishes to address these different traditions, largely separate today but sharing many common and ancient roots. Beyond the intrinsic interest and beauty of these musical languages, Camerata Mediterranea is of the opinion that the current historical moment calls forth new gestures of openness and of exchange.

Camerata Mediterranea is especially concerned with early and traditional musical repertoires of southern Europe, Spanish and Iberic, and also Arabic, Arabo-Andalusian, Jewish, Ottoman, and other related repertoires of the Mediterranean basin and the Middle East.

Joel Cohen, one of the foremost authorities in the research and performance of medieval and early music, will direct the institute's programs. Much of his recent work has involved the music of early Iberia and its three religions.

As early as 1982, Joel and the Boston Camerata had developed a program called "The Sacred Bridge," exploring Jewish and Christian interactions during the Middle Ages. In 1988 Erato Records decided to make a recording of this program. Still in demand after more than two decades, the recording has recently been reissued on Warner Classics.

The "Sacred Bridge" program continues to tour internationally; most recently (April 2007) in Worcester, Massachusetts and Paris, France. Since its inception it has undergone considerable development, and now includes an important Arabic/Muslim component. Recent performances have been undertaken with the U.S.-based Sharq Arabic Music Ensemble

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