- country:Türkiye
- style(s):Sephardic
- label:Golden Horn Records
- type:Band
- instrumentation:instrumental, vocal
- artist posted by:Golden Horn Records
Line up
- Aron Saltiel and Cantagas de Boda Group (vocals, violin, clarinet, oud and percussions)
Links
Aron Saltiel's music embodies the depth of his experiences. His concerts are inspired and heartwarming, always with an ear toward bringing people of diverse backgrounds together. His concerts intersperse humorous anecdotes with subtly molded music.
Aron was born in the Ladino-speaking community of Istanbul of Sephardic Jews. His first contact with Sephardic and Turkish music was in his home, where he absorbed the singing of his grandmother. Later he learned that many of the songs she sang to him were shared by Turks, Jews and Greeks, which led him to explore the galvanizing potential of music in these languages and cultures. Aron is still acknowledged as one of the world's experts on Sephardic music, and has served as advisor and radio producer for both Jewish and Islamic music for Austrian national Radio (ORF) and West German Radio (WDR).
In 1971 Aron graduated from vocational school and worked as an immigrant worker in Switzerland and Germany. From 1973-1977 he studied Linguistics and Translation at the University of Graz, Austria, which eventually led to his working as translator for various government and educational institutions. Aron completed his training in psychotherapy in Switzerland and presently works as a psychotherapist.
His musical interests led him to study voice with Hedda Szamosi in Vienna, following which he founded the group, Alondra with Marie-Therese Escribano und Wolfram Maerzendorfer. Although the term and precepts of "World Music" would not take hold until the late 1980s, throughout the early 1980s Alondra offered concerts dedicated to the performance of Jewish music.
Their concerts were seen as path-forging, and brought them invitations to renowned festivals such as the Steierische Herbst Festival, Graz, the Wiener Festwochen, the Semana de Musica Antigua, Burgos, the Festival des Arts Traditionnels, Rennes.
Aron's work in both collecting music and linguistics led to the seminal Sephardic Songbook (C. F. Peters Verlag Frankfurt) in 2001, based on field recordings in Bat-Yam, Sarajevo, Thessaloniki and Istanbul.
He has been invited to give solo as well as group concerts throughout Europe and the United States and continues to give concerts that are considered to be not only fun and exciting, but also uplifting with the power to bring people together.