Gülay & The Ensemble Aras
Gülay & The Ensemble Aras ( founded in Vienna in 1989 ) is an ensemble whose work is dedicated to the production and interpretation of world music from the Silk Road , World Music from the Silk Road.
History of the ensemble
The Vienna- based ensemble was founded by the Turkish-born singer and dancer Gülay , the flutist and composer Josef Olt from Vienna and the Iranian-born Târ player Nariman Hodjati in 1989. The name is made up of that of the singer and that of the accompanying instrumental ensembles. The name Aras was chosen because, on the one hand, as a geographical term, it refers to one of the main topics and, on the other hand, it is easy to read and pronounce. The Aras is the river that rises on Mount Ararat, was called Araxes in ancient times and flows into the Caspian Sea.
Concert tours, festival appearances and appearances in television shows have taken the ensemble to Austria, Germany, Russia, Estonia, Uzbekistan, the USA and Turkey.
In 1994 (Theater Akzent, Vienna) and 1995 (Theater des Moments, Vienna), "A Abduction in the Seraglio" was staged as an oriental musical.
The sporadic collaboration with the travel author Bruno Baumann took place over several years. The ensemble decorated its slide shows with music and dance choreographies. A CD-ROM entitled “Adventure Silk Road” was published by United Soft Media ( ISBN 3-8032-2503-5 ), in which the ensemble provided music and video contributions.
Further highlights were the US debut appearance at New York's Carnegie Hall (2005) and the US tour (2006), which took the ensemble to Arizona, Nevada and California.
In 1997, 1999 and 2003 the ensemble performed at the International Music Festival "Sharq Taronalari" (oriental melodies) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, a major event with international groups from over 30 countries, which took place under the patronage of UNESCO.
In 2001 the CD "Colors of Silk" was selected by Russian scientists from the Moscow Institute for Biomedical Problems, an institution that is particularly dedicated to the care of cosmonauts in space on long-term flights, and sent in July 2001 to the International Space Station ISS . In the following October the ensemble traveled to Moscow and met there with the commander of the ISS expedition 2 Yuri W. Usachev, who was the guest of honor at the concert there.
World music from the silk road
In their programs and broadcasts, Gülay & The Ensemble Aras have been using this expression for many years to indicate their musical roots. Her musical work can best be described as a synthesis between Asian and European elements. The instruments used are also a mixture of both cultural areas. In addition to tar (Iranian long-necked lute), oud (Arabic lute), guzheng (Chinese zither), dholak (Indian percussion), doire (central Asian form of the tambourine), flute , clarinet , violin , flamenco guitar , violoncello and accordion are also used.
The source material are mostly traditional songs from the wide Eurasian area, which Josef Olt transcribed and rearranged for the respective line-up. The songs are sung in the original languages, so that the repertoire already includes songs in 22 languages. The spectrum ranges from Italy to Japan.
The singer Gülay enriches the concert performances with her dance choreographies , which are characterized by elements of Caucasian and Central Asian dances.
Discography
- 1991 MC Ak Gice
- 1993 CD Gardens of Beauty
- 1996 CD Sounds of Sunrise
- 2000 CD Colors of Silk