Celtic Universe: Carlos Nuñez and Jordi Savall
Attucks Theater, Norfolk; May 1, 2018
Review by John Campbell

Virginia Arts Festival was able to finally present Jordi Savall (b. 1941) after he had to cancel several years ago. Mr. Savall has spent a lifetime of rescuing musical gems from obscurity and creating new musical and cultural projects.

We know of Savall from our dozen CDs of his more than 230 recordings over many years with special focus on Hispanic and Mediterranean musical heritage: Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and Classical included. Savall and his various ensembles have shed new light on old music. He is known for his quest for authenticity through rereading of manuscripts, choice of instrumentation and innovative interpretation. His most recent project is a collaboration with Carlos Nuñez exploring Irish and Scottish music, including Celtic music from Brittany to Galicia and the Basque region of Spain.

For this exploration he has come together in dialogue with ancient, historical and modern traditions. Savall's instruments were treble and bass viol, aided on stage by Andrew Lawrence-King's Irish harp and psaltery (a dulcimer-like instrument); Frank McGuire on the deep-toned bodhran drum occupied stage left. The bodhran is a shallow frame drum with a leather skin top that gives a dull, deep sound with few overtones. The Irish harp with its robust construction has become a national symbol for Ireland.

Carlos Nuñez was on the far right of the stage with a variety of pipes (recorders), whistles (fife-like) and uilleann. Also known as elbow pipes, uilleann are the distinctive sweet Irish bagpipe, in contrast to the Scottish type with its louder, rather abrasive tone.

Beside Nuñez was Pancho Alvarez, seated on a chair playing a viola caipira (a Brazilian guitar of Baroque origin) and beside him was Xurxo Nuñez, Carlos' younger brother who played snare drum, tambourines and the Galician pandeiros (a square frame drum with a bell inside). Xurxo Nunez studied classical percussion at conservatory and at age twelve played with the Chieftains and ever since with some of Celtic music's biggest acts.

The music was performed in nine sets with four or five songs in each with an intermission after the fifth. The opening set, Air for the Bagpipes, featured Nuñez on several pipes with drums, harp and viol embellishing his sound. As you might expect, The Caledonia Set was traditional Irish tunes. Jordi Savall opened with a lively tune and then moved into sad, introspective music. The depth of his focused playing drew me into the repeats and variations with a new appreciation. Sackow's Jig with whistle, deep drum sounds and harp was a dance tune that ended too soon.

This is Savall and Nuñez's first tour together. The “Celtic Universe in Galicia” set echoed their recent joint performance at the Cathedral of Santiago de Campostella where there was a twenty-four piece Medieval orchestra playing traditional music from the Way of Santiago pilgrimage on instruments that were reproductions of those sculpted on the cathedral's doors.

Turning to Scottish tunes, the next set included Lord Moira's Hornpipe from Ryan's Mammoth Collection of Fiddle Tunes (Boston, 1883). Accompanied by bodhran, Savall played his lyra-viol (Pellegrino Zanetti, Venice, 1553) and tuned it to match that of a bagpipe. Here many jerky, staccato notes were interspersed with bowed sections to create a brand new viol sound. The rhythm accelerated, flying into a stunning end.

Among other melodies, The Flowers of Edinburgh set featured a reel, a hornpipe and Niel Gow's (1727-1807) Lament for the Death of his Second Wife. Gow was a collaborator of the Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796) and elevated fiddle playing to a professional level, carried on by his four musician sons. The viol and harp duo's emotional expression was deep. The set concluded with a rowdy jig tune with shouts by the piper and a clapping audience worthy of a tavern crowd.

The Donegal Set came after intermission and offered music on soulful pipes, drum and rattle—an Irish reel followed by a Scottish dance. Turlough O'Carolan's Carolan's Farewell offered the sad sound of bass viol and harp, traded later for a psaltery. The next set was more of the same. The sturdy Irish harp with metal strings has no pedals. For a change in melody the strings had to be re tuned. In the set From Brittany to Basque Country we heard both tortured strings and sweet soothing ones—the full spectrum by world renowned Andrew Lawrence-King who can be heard on many Savall recordings.

The viol, harp and penny whistle in the concluding set, Irish Landscapes, opened with a lamentation composed by O'Carolan (1670-1738). Born blind, he was a singer and composer of over two-hundred pieces. Although not a classical composer he is still considered by many as Ireland's national composer, as this program demonstrated. Even the encore of three pieces included Carolan's Concerto as well as Liverpool Hornpipe. The Celtic music loving audience was greatly enthusiastic and we Early Music folks enjoyed it but with less fanfare.