 Voilà un album dont la présentation (assortie d'une belle peinture byzantine) "1219, The Saint and the Sultan, Sit Francis meets Sultan Al Malik Music is the Word of God" fleure bon l’œcuménisme en proposant des passerelles musicales entre Orient et Occident au treizième siècle à l'aune de mystiques et poètes tels Rûmi, Ibn Arabi, Al Busiri, St François, Jacopone da Todi ou le prophète Muhammed. Si les œuvres et les genres sont mélangés, l'ensemble réalisé par le Petra ensemble dirigé par le joueur de oud Mehmet C. Yesilçay, évite le côté disparate et fourre-tout par une scrupuleuse mise en contexte explicitée dans la notice. Ainsi les chansons de croisades des troubadours Marcabru ou Thibaud de Champagne (1201-1253), voisinent avec des chansons soufies, des poèmes récités et des improvisations au Oud. Le "Cantiga de Santa Maria" d'Alfonso El Sabio et quelques extraits des "Lauda di Cortona" déjà documentés par le disque, viennent compléter le programme. Le deuxième CD est lui consacré à des improvisations instrumentales sur instruments occidentaux (flûte, violoncelle, orgue) et traditionnels (Qanun, Bendir, Ney, Oud). Dépaysement garanti. (Jérôme Angouillant) Exactly 800 years ago the most important interreligious encounter to date took place and an early rapprochement between Christianity and Islam : On the fringes of the Crusades Francis of Assisi and the Muslim Sultan Al Malik Al Kalim met. The Pera Ensemble and Mehmet Cemal Yesilçay take a look at this historical meeting. They show how music united different peoples and religions even then and create a creative synthesis of both worlds. Anno 1219 : Shocked by the unchristian behaviour and barbaric cruelty of his faith brothers of the 5th Crusade, Franz von Assis sets off for the Egyptian Damiette. His goal, to convert Sultan Al Malik Al Kalim of Istanbul and his subordinates in the middle of the war, is daring and life- threatening. In the military camp of the northern Egyptian city, however, he encounters a deep piety and faith in the same God to whom Francis also prays. He will never achieve his goal, nor will the Sultan, who assumed that Francis was able to negotiate peace. But the weeks spent together are profound for both of them and give impulses which influence both Christians and Muslims in later life. A friendship developed between the Sultan and the Christian from Italy which went so far that the Sultan Francis of Assisi allowed to preach Christianity in his kingdom. Christian and Muslim songs, instrumental improvisations, laudas and Sufi songs from the 13th century are united by the Pera Ensemble, which unites internationally renowned specialists of historical performance practice from Europe and the elite of Turkish art musicians. The very meditative character of the Pera Ensemble allows the listener to quickly immerse himself in the world of musical dialogue and to feel how this music has managed to bring people together in peace. Mehmet Cemal Yesilçay itself is an example of the deep connection between these two cultures. Born in Istanbul and raised in Munich, Germany, Mehmet Cemal Yesilçay has earned a reputation as an important interpreter and musicologist through his worldwide appearances and extensive recordings: "I began to study early music in the eighties. I believe, however, that our project "1219" is more concrete and draws its nce not only from its occasion, but above all from its content".
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