Ibn Battuta: The Traveller of Time

with Jordi Savall and Assaad Bouab

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Jordi Savall holding a treble viol, directing with his bow

Journey into the unknown with musical pioneer Jordi Savall and Hespèrion XXI in a concert inspired by the 14th-century Islamic scholar Ibn Battuta, and narrated by Peaky Blinders actor Assaad Bouab.

For Ibn Battuta: The Traveller of Time, Savall assembles musicians from Europe and the Middle East, India, China and North Africa – alongside his own remarkable Hespèrion XXI early music ensemble – for a journey into the unknown with a man considered by many to be the greatest explorer in history: Ibn Battuta.

Born into a family of Islamic scholars in north Africa in the 14th century, Ibn Battuta travelled to the extremes of the world as it was then known, covering an estimated 120,000km from Europe to China, Russia to Sri Lanka. His writings provide fascinating glimpses into medieval life right across the globe. Savall’s evening-long excursion is an immense literary, historical, geographical and musical fresco that contrasts medieval European music with sounds from across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Tagged with: Classical music Barbican Presents Baroque at the Barbican More...

This performance will end at approximately 9.30pm including a 20 minute interval

Produced by the Barbican

Narrated in English

Performers

Hespèrion XXI
Jordi Savall conductor
Assaad Bouab narrator
Lingling Yu pipa
Minh Trang Nguyen zheng
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Digital programme

‘The instruments shared a quality of sound that conjured up images of shimmering desert vistas, hot dusty roads, lush, tropical forests, and sunlight scintillating on blue seas‘
Edinburgh Music Review

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