Club Inégales present: Layale Chaker

On Thursday we are delighted to welcome Layale Chaker, to our Women’s Voices season. Layale is a Lebanese classical/Arabic violinist who was a member of our Academy Inégales.

She brings both classical and Arabic musical sensibilities to her beautiful playing, a finely tuned ear, a gift for elaboration and decoration. She has devised a fascinating programme including:

– Ashug and In Memoriam Sayat Nova, her own compositions, exploring the idea of the troubadour in Persian and Ottoman courts
– Traditional Ottoman music: Harmandali and Salla Fina Llahdu
– Purcell: When I Am Laid To Sleep, from Dido and Aeneas
– Dowland: Come Heavy Sleep
– Ravel: Tombeau de Couperin

We have always found it rewarding to work with the music of the baroque, especially realising Purcell’s King Arthur with a 22-piece, cross-genre ensemble for performances at Wilton’s Music Hall.

Once, when improvising on a Purcell falling bass, the bass just kept going down until we found ourselves in some labyrinthine deep, dark place. The earthiness and the ‘false relations’ in Purcell’s music open themselves to radical reflections, strange doorways – as well as the most soulful expressiveness.

She will be playing alongside a a very fine ensemble: Hyelim Kim (taegŭm flute), Rihab Azar (oud) Colin Alexander (cello), Martin Butler (piano) and myself on keyboards.

Do join us for these sepulchral or other explorations.