The Barbican's festival of Mediterranean culture began with an ambitious triple bill featuring Neapolitan singer Peppe Barra, the rabble-rousing Moroccan quartet Nass El Ghiwane and Algerian songwriter Idir. A short walk away in the Pit, Tunisia's Anouar Brahem gave an oud recital before a hushed audience. On the Clubstage outside the Barbican Hall there was an impromptu performance by an unplugged version of the Massilia sound system, and a special moment when Idir and his sideman Tarik Ait-Hamou dropped by to perform.
Peppe Barra proved a charismatic presence. His rich voice was surprisingly feminine as it carried sentimental, stirring melodies over sparkling acoustic guitar and synthesised beats from his six-piece band. The repertoire included arias, peasant songs and a serenade, for which Barra donned the white garb and black mask of Pulcinella. While Barra changed costumes, violinist Lino Cannavacciuolo played an outrageous instrumental.
Oud player Anouar Brahem conjured more profound music from his quiet instrument, effortlessly sketching delicate traces of melody. Clarinettist Barbaros Erkose and percussionist Lassad Hosni were equally confident in their restraint. The latter's fingertips barely seemed to strike the taut drumskin, yet his music pulsed with life.
Nass El Ghiwane were once dubbed "the Rolling Stones of Morocco" but are more like the Glitter Band, with big chants over a pounding backing from banjo, guembri and two drummers. Their tunes were immediately familiar to a partisan subsection of the crowd, who leapt to their feet and joined in every chorus. Things got a little nasty in the final set, when Idir and his band came on and the same fans began to chant and boo. Speaking mainly in French, Idir calmed the tension with long introductions and stories, like a teacher dealing with an unruly geography class. When disruption broke out again, Idir's expression hardly changed: he let the chanters run out of steam and said that his next song was about " fraternité - how to live together with our differences". As this masterly performer launched into another melodic epic, we cheered.
