Nov 13 - Françoise Atlan Will Revive The ‘Spirit of Granada’ During The Literary Festival
French singer Francoise Atlan will celebrate Sephardic culture in poetry, words and song during a lovely music event included as part of the Gibunco Gibraltar Literary Festival that starts tomorrow. The artist will offer, on Sunday 16th November at 12:00 pm at The Convent a show called ‘Spirit of Granada’. She will perform traditional Sephardic works in the Jewish-Spanish and Jewish-Moroccan languages of Ladino, Judezmo and Haketia.
Atlan was born into a Sephardic Jewish family in France and is one of the best performers of Sephardic romance. She will talk about the history of the Sephardic tradition and the expulsion of Sephardic Jews from Spain.
This French singer possesses a voice that brings great authenticity to the music and Atlan’s Jewish roots led her to develop a passion for traditional music, particularly from the Mediterranean basin. She has carried out extensive research into the subject and has performed to great acclaim across the world including in London, New York, Morocco and Spain.
Granada was the last bastion of Sephardic culture in Spain in 1492 and, with this event, Françoise Atlan will convey listeners on a poetic and musical jounrey through the three monotheistic religions of Andalusia: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
About Françoise Atlan
Françoise Atlan is a French singer, born in a Sephardic Jewish family in France. Endowed with a natural voice developed in her early years, she sings “nawbas” which are usually reserved for male singers. She has performed in Morocco (Fes, Rabat, Casablanca), in New York (Carnegie Hall), in London (British Library, Queen Elizabeth Hall), Switzerland (Montreux, Yverdon-les-Bains) and in France (Salle Pleyel, Theatre de la Ville, Musee du Louvre), and received with warm applause in Belgrade, Montreal, Otawa, Mexico, Tokyo and Kyoto.
She also achieved success in the Spain, Portugal, Italy, Tunisia, the former Yugoslavia, Israel, and continued her research in Mediterranean repertoires as well in ancient occidental amd traditional Andalusian Arabic repertoires. Nowadays, Françoise Atlan chooses to live and work between Morocco and France.
Considered as one of the best performers of Sephardic romance, she is a singer who possesses a quality of voice that brings greater authenticity to the music. Her performances are the result of exhaustive musicological research (Ethnomusicologist and Laureat of the “Prix Villa Medicis Haures les Murs”), and she shows the highest respect for the established traditions of the genre. Her Jewish roots led Atlan to develop a passion for traditional music, and particularly music from the Mediterranean.
In her mind, style is still the core of a musical work. Her classical background (first prize in Piano Chamber music from the conservatoire of Marseille, Graduate of Musicology from the University of Aix en Provence), she stands beyond the predefined traditions because of her thorough knowledge of Andalusian tradition have enabled her to develop an unmistakable, highly expressive style which combines vocal technique and Sephardic sensibility.
For tickets, visit: http://gibraltarliteraryfestival.com/literature-events/2014/november-16/spirit-of-granada
