Al Mutamid de Sevilla

There are many excellent recordings of Arab-Andalusian music, including dozens on the label Pneuma, directed by the Spanish musicologist Eduardo Paniagua; this album is Salim Fergani's ninth for the label. Yet from the soft opening tones on the oud followed by an intimate improvisation on flute, a violin and Fergani's mature voice, the opening piece ‘Tu Imagen Vino a Mí’ (Your Image Came to Me) reveals how Fergani and Paniagua keep on finding fresh approaches. The album is centred around the poetry of the Muslim king Al-Mut'amid of Seville (1039-1095). While being tributary to the Christian king of Castile (with family members intermarrying), Al-Mut'amid ruled most of Andalucía, combining skilful politics with a love of splendour. His refined political oeuvre hails earthly pleasure and at the same time points at its temporality.

Across his long career, Fergani's voice, oud and introverted musical style have become more subtle than ever. In the title-track, during a qasida (complex single-meter poem with each line rhyming on the same sound) by the king himself, Fergani's musical rendering easily leads us along the various emotions expressed in the text for over 25 minutes.