ISOM Review in The Times Saturday 23 March 2013
EQ/Hilliard
In Search of the Miraculous
****
A wacky pot pourri-mixing East and West, ancient and modern, from the Irish promoters Louth Contemporary Music Society. The (vocal) Hilliard Ensemble and (string based) EQ Ensemble explore dark Armenian chants and gentle Lebanese lilts respectively ( the latter, by the oud virtuoso Rabih Abou-Khall, a 14 minutes ground bass intensified for 13 mesmerising minutes). There’s also piano and guitar music by Fazil Say and Satie-esque musings by Alan Hohvaness and Siobhan Cleary. Not quite miraculous but enchanting.
Richard Morrison