Tuesday, October 28th | 7pm

Lute Legends Collective

Presents Borderlands: Music on the Edge

FREE CONCERT PERFORMANCE

University of Chicago Fulton Recital Hall in Goodspeed Hall

1010 E. 59th St. Chicago, IL

The Lute Legends Collective is a performing association of musicians who represent ancient plucked-string traditions. Each member of our collective is a committed carrier of an ancient musical tradition, whether it be the virtuosic modal improvisation of the Middle East, the intricate polyphony of the European Renaissance and Baroque, or the picturesque musical depiction of nature from China.  Though instruments such as the oud, lute, & pipa each have evolved a distinct set of techniques and sounds, we delight in recognizing that most of our instruments are long-lost cousins.  The Lute Legends Collective is our way of reuniting them onstage in a cross-traditional musical experiment for the twenty-first century.

Presents Borderlands: Music on the Edge - This transfixing musical journey is anchored by a triangle of distinct traditions: the evocative depiction of nature in ancient China, the multilayered ornamentation of the European Renaissance, and the improvisatory brilliance of Arabic maquam.  Yet the performance explores the uncharted geographical and stylistic spaces between the points of that triangle. Through diverse repertoire such as haunting Uyghur folk tunes from Xinjiang, polyphonic songs from the Iberian peninsula, and classical forms from the Ottoman court, we experience moments when these three musical traditions reached out to engage with one another.  Guided by three plucked-string specialists joined in collaboration by mutual curiosity and friendship, listeners will hear musical dialogues that can only take place in real or imagined "borderlands" where cultural boundaries blur and creativity knows no bounds.