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New European Songbook: France

The New European Songbook is an international creative collaboration that celebrates the new music arising from a continent in flux. Six European countries have co-produced this unique project. For France, 15 musicians from the Orpheus XXI artistic action project come together to make music.

Orpheus XXI is an artistic action project, designed as a learning platform that can be reproduced in order to promote and develop the integration of young refugees who have musical knowledge or talent. 20 musicians from different European refugee organisations are taking part, and some participants will form a musical group to perform in schools, refugee communities and music institutions throughout Europe.

Artistic director: Jordi Savall

Performers are: Mohamad (Abo Gabi) Ahmad - singer (from Syria/Palestine, lives in France) / Bashar Al Dghlawi - percussion (from Syria, lives in France) / Tarek Al Hammad- singer (from Syria, lives in Germany) / Shadi Al Moghrabi - oud (from Syria, lives in Germany)

Rusan Filiztek - oud (from Turkey, lives in France) / Hovhannes Karakhayan - duduk (from Armenia, lives in Spain) / Ibrahim Keifo - singer and plays the buzuq (from Syria, lives in Germany) / Neset Kutas - percussion (from Turkey, lives in France) / Anastassia Louniova - cimbalom and singer (from Belarus, lives in France) / Modser Magdi Shaban - djembe (from Sudan, lives in France) / Azmari Nirjhar - singer (from Bangladesh, lives in France) / Zahir Radodan - lute (from Morocco, lives in Spain) / Walid Rafiq - harmonium, tabla, singer (from Afghanistan, lives in France) / Meomon Rahal - kanun (from Syria, lives in France) / Abazaar Musa - singer (from Sudan, lives in Norway)

Filmed at la Saline Royale d’Arc et Senans.

Produced by France Télévisions.

New European Songbook: Concerts at the EIF

At this year’s EIF, established UK artists like Karine Polwart and Matthew Herbert joined fellow European artists, and others recently arrived on the continent, for two nights of new music.

Both New European Songbook concerts, which took place on Friday 11 and Saturday 12 August 2017, are available to watch in full on-demand alongside individual highlights from some of the acts.

The New European Songbook