Jerusalem, City of the Two Peaces: Heavenly peace and Earthly peace – Montserrat Figueras, Lior Elmalich, Muwafak Shahin Khalil, Begona Olavide, Razmik Amyan, Lluis Vilamajo, Marc Mauillon (chant soloists)/ Manuel Forcano, Jean Hache, Nejat Ferouse (Recitants)/ La Capella Reial de Catalunya/ The Trumpets of Jericho/ various invited musicians from different countries/ Hesperion XXI/ Jordi Savall, conductor – Alia Vox Multichannel SACD AVSA 9863 A+B (2 discs), 154:32 ***** [Distr. by Harmonia mundi]:
This astounding production—2 surround sound discs inside a 435-glossy page hardcover book with translations in eight languages and in full color—is quite the spectacle. When editor John Sunier sent it to me I wasn’t even sure it was a recording. But brace yourself—the thing costs around $70, and whether that is worth it to you will depend basically on the music.
I say this because each translated language comes to about 41 pages, and even though the pictures are spread all over the book, paying that much money for two discs and 40-odd pages may be prohibitive to many. And I will bet my bottom dollar that Alia Vox will release this again in a more affordable format, even though we might possibly lose the surround sound in the remix. But basically the concept is this: Savall’s love affair with the city of Jerusalem is presented to us as an exploration of music from the three great religions represented there, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, taken chronologically over the years. Here is how it lays out:
1) Heavenly Peace: the Prophets of the Apocalypse and of the Last Judgment
2) Jerusalem, a Jewish city, 1000 B.C. – A.D. 70
3) Jerusalem, a Christian city, 326 – 1244
4) Jerusalem, a city of pilgrimage, 383 – 1250
5) Jerusalem, an Arab city and an Ottoman city, 1244-1917
6) Jerusalem, a Land of Refuge and Exile, 15th – 20th centuries
7) Earthly peace: A duty and hope
Aside from the ensembles you see in the heading, there are musicians from Israel, Palestine, Armenia, Greece, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Morocco, forming an ecumenical consensus of almost unheard of proportions in this day and age, each joining in the rather spirited and extremely sensual and sensitive playing of each others’ most deeply felt religious sentiments. The music is amazing in its variety, but also in its similarity among traditions, and Savall has outdone himself (with the always welcome and indeed required help of wife Montserrat Figueras). This stuff spans the gamut of the audio range, and both loudly blown shofars and very soft wind and string playing make it an ideal candidate for surround sound, superbly balanced and presented here, the softest of softs resonating with a delicacy and fleetness of intention.
Would I buy this for the listed price? Honestly, I really can’t say, especially in the current economy; but then again, there really is something special about the whole endeavor that makes it a collector’s item. [The bound-in booklet in several languages is just as amazing as the recordings…Ed.]
— Steven Ritter
