The school of music's Artists-in-Residence, Fifth House Ensemble,
performs on Saturday night in Kresge Auditorium.
MADISON DUDLEY / THE DEPAUW
Traditional Jewish Sephardic and Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) melodies mixed with contemporary chamber music created the complex sound that was produced in Kresge on Saturday night.
Baladino, a Mediterranean folk band from Tel Aviv, Israel and Berlin, Germany combined forces with Chicago’s Fifth House Ensemble to create "Nedudim," a musical mix of cultures and styles. "Nedudim" was billed as being “a genre-defying evening of works blending Mediterranean and American folk traditions” and it did not disappoint.
The concert consisted of 10 songs, with everything from original works to traditional folk songs that date back thousands of years. The first two songs, “Si Veriash a la Rana” and “Noches Noches,” are both traditional Ladino songs that were picked by Baladino and date back to the 10th or 12th centuries. These songs tell different stories, some divulging deep into the history of the Mediterranean, with significance going way back into colonization and its impact on the culture of the area. It was the world premier of works by Fifth House Ensemble composer, Dan Visconti, and Baladino.
The songs picked by Fifth House Ensemble were consistently based in jazz and folk elements combined with classical music. Some of the pieces that resonate the most were “Back Bend” and “He’s Gone Away from Mountain Songs” with origins from the Civil War.
Many parts of the program were filled with improvisation. With the combination of so many different types of artists, these musicians chose artistic liberty at times, letting themselves go and playing off of each other in a very entertaining and exciting performance. There were solos where they added their own personal spins on whatever they were playing, be it American Folk or Spanish Lullabies.
This was the final concert in the Green Guest Artist Series for the 2014-2015 school year. FIfth House Ensemble has preformed at DePauw regularly over the years.
“We have left our hearts here every time we go home,” flutist Melissa Snoza said.
There are only four members under Baladino: Yael Badash on vocals, Tomer Moked on strings, Yshai Afterman on percussion and Yonnie Dror on woodwinds. Dror played numerous versions of flutes and horns throughout the concert, with their origins ranging from all over the world.
There are 11 members of Fifth House Ensemble. Together these two groups mixed fluidly, with little differentiation between which people where in which band. They blended themselves an their sounds that they became one musical identity in the course of an evening.
“I thought that it would be one of the best concerts at DePauw this year and it turned out to be on par with Room Full of Teeth at the beginning of the year,” first-year music student Zach Suchanek said. ”They pulled out all the guns for the last one.”
“I came because I am a music student and they have been promoting this since the beginning of the year, so I knew it was going to be a big deal, and it was,” first-year music student Elena Escurdero said. “It was amazing. It definitely exceeded my expectations. World music for the win.”
“I didn’t feel inclined to look at the program which I normally do a lot when I am at a concert...I just listened to the music. I didn’t to anything else,” Suchanek said.
The night ended with a rousing encore with audience participation, which was truly a lovely way to spend a Saturday evening.