Newswire | Jordi Savall – Un mar de músicas 1440

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Montréal, November 27, 2025 — Traquen’Art is proud to present in Montreal the latest monumental creation by Jordi Savall, Un mar de músicas 1440–1880, a sweeping musical and historical journey spanning four centuries of Atlantic memory. This exceptional Montreal and Quebec premier will bring together some thirty artists from Europe, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean on the stage of the Maison symphonique on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at 8 p.m.

With this powerful and evocative musical fresco, the Catalan maestro — an essential figure of the viol and a pioneer of historical performance — explores the Atlantic as a place of encounter and cultural exchange, but also as a space deeply marked by the violence of the transatlantic slave trade. Un mar de músicas weaves a dialogue between European baroque music and the songs of enslaved peoples from the 15th to the 19th centuries, revealing a history in which music became “a means of survival and—much to our good fortune—the only refuge bringing peace, comfort, and hope,” Savall reflects.

This work follows in the footsteps of The Routes of Slavery 1444–1888, the great historical fresco retracing four centuries of the triangular trade through music and narrative, presented in its North American premiere in Montreal in 2017 as part of Traquen’Art’s Grands Événements series—a concert that left a profound impact on both audiences and critics.

Un mar de músicas
Photo: Toni Peñarroya

An exceptional international ensemble

Alongside La Capella Reial de Catalunya and Hespèrion XXI, Jordi Savall brings together some thirty plus artists from Canada, Guadeloupe, Guinea, Mali, Mexico, Colombia (with Tembembe Ensamble Continuo), Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, and Venezuela.

The program will highlight works by Gaspar Fernandes, Diego Durón, Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla, Felip Olivelles, Santiago de Murcia, as well as anonymous pieces originating from regions shaped by Atlantic history.

A necessary work, a moment of deep reflection

In a gesture of rare artistic and humanistic intensity, Savall offers a musical meditation on memory, resilience, and cultural exchange forged across five centuries. Blending baroque polyphony, African rhythms, sacred songs, traditional Latin American music, and hybrid dances, Un mar de músicas celebrates the creative force born of encounters—even amid tragedy.

The Program

Un Mar de Músicas 1440–1880
A dialogue with the music of Africa, America and the Caribbean

Works by Gaspar Fernandes, Diego Duron, Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla, Felip Olivelles, Santiago de Murcia and anonymous

PERFORMERS:

Guest musicians (18)
CANADA • Neema Bickersteth, slave songs of Afro-American origin
GUINEA • Sekouba Bambino, Griot chant
GUADELOUPE • Yannis François, baritone and dance
MALI • Ballaké Sissoko, kora and voice; Mamani Keita, Tanti Kouyaté and Fanta Sissoko, choirs and dance
MEXICO / COLOMBIA • Tembembe Ensamble Continuo: Ada Coronel, voice and dance; Leopoldo Novoa, marimbol, marimba de chonta and tiple colombiano; Ulises Martínez, violin, vihuela, leona and voice
BRAZIL • Maria Juliana Linhares, soprano; Zé Luis Nascimento, percussions
CUBA • Teresa Yanet, voice; Lixsania Fernández, voice and bass viol; Marlon Rodríguez, percussion and voice; Frank Pereira, guitar, tres cubano and voice
HAITI • Sylvie Henry, voice
VENEZUELA • Iván García, bass