EIF: Ballaké Sissoko and Vincent Ségal
On Tuesday I attended a performance by Malian kora player Ballaké Sissoko and French cellist Vincent Ségal. Their unique selling point is that they combine influences from African Troubador music with Baroque to create a “hybrid tradition”. This unusual combination worked well. Both musicians displayed high levels of virtuosic prowess. Sissoko’s fingers delicately plucked the kora’s strings with impressive agility and dexterity to produce intricate melodies, with Ségal bowing the cello with deliberation, gravitas and empathy, making use of its full range, from deep, rich low notes to twinkling harmonics. Employing slides, scales and ornamentation added an extra layer of interest, variety and an exotic edge to merge with the kora.
The duo seemed very comfortable working together, their playing in sync with one another, whilst simultaneously maintaining an ebb and flow, with an ease that comforts the listener. They took it in turns to take the limelight, and to step back, going from Sissoko supporting the emotive, legato notes of the cello, to Ségal using pizzicato plucks to underpin more intricate melodies from Sissoko’s kora. Their playing was somewhat hypnotising, evoking an almost trance-like state in me. I enjoyed letting the music wash over me for much of the time, without trying to dissect the specifics of the arrangement too closely. It elicited a profound sense of calm and contentment, and seemed to release my own creativity, as an idea for a song flitted through my mind during the performance.
The pair were enjoying themselves, and seemed almost meditative, absorbed in their playing. This in turn held the audience absorbed along with them, but in some ways, it didn’t seem like a direct message from performers to audience members, but rather an invitation into their sonic world, where you could observe and appreciate their skill while bathing in the soothing sounds. For a seated, live performance however, any longer than the set time (roughly around 90 minutes) might have been too long for some, as there seemed not much “conversation” with the audience. A little more variety in tempi and dynamics could help with variation and audience connection. That said, simply sitting back and letting the music envelop you is an approach that removes the need for this.
Overall, I would recommend going to see another concert of theirs. The mélange of styles created an avant-garde, thought-provoking sound that you wouldn’t come across every day. Witnessing their performance was an enjoyable, immersive experience of calm, repose and relaxation – a musical transportation to far-away places and times.
