Acords amb Leonard Cohen 2007 (According with Leonard Cohen)
Auditori de Sant Cugat (Barcelona), 13 de gener
01 Constantino Romero - Poema (Poem)
02 Perla Batalla - Suzanne
03 Constantino Romero - Oración para el Mesías (Prayer for Messiah)
04 Adam Cohen - Bird On The Wire
05 Constantino Romero - Dios está vivo. La Magia está en marcha (God is Alive, Magic is Afoot)
06 Gerard Quintana - Al·leluia (Hallelujah)
07 Duquende - Mi Gitana (My Gipsy Wife)
08 Constantino Romero - Me arrodillé junto a un arroyo (I knelt beside a stream)
09 Christina Rosenvinge - Impermeable Azul (Famous Blue Raincoat)
10 Constantino Romero - Regal (Gift)
11 Jabier Muguruza - Chelsea Hotel (espanyol)
12 Jabier Muguruza - So Long, Marianne (Euskera)
13 Constantino Romero - not identified
14 Elliott Murphy & Olivier Durand - Diamons In The Mine
15 Anjani Thomas - Half A Perfect World
16 Anjani Thomas - Thanks For The Dance
17 Constantino Romero - Títulos (Titles)
18 John Cale - Alexandra Leaving
19 Constantino Romero - A los ojos de los hombres cae (In the eyes of men he falls)
20 Jackson Browne - Thousand Kisses Deep
21 Adam i Anjani - Pequeño vals vienés (Take This Waltz)
22 Batalla i Colis - Balada de la yegua ausente (Ballad of the Absent Mare)
23 Javier Colis i Javier Mas - El Carnicero (The Butcher)
24 Constantino Romero - Cuando Incluso Los (When Even The)
25 Santiago Auserón - Tú Sabes quien soy (You know who I am)
26 Toti Soler - Susanna (Suzanne)
27 Constantino Romero - Cualquier sistema (Any System)
28 Luis Eduardo Aute - El futuro (The Future)
29 Constantino Romero - La Fe (The Faith)
30 Perla Batalla - Baila Conmigo (Dance me to the End of Love)
31 John Cale - Hallelujah (bis)
Kevin McCormick (bass)
Javier Mas (guitars, bandurria, archilaud)
Charlie Cepeda (electric guitar)
Raul Rodriguez (Spanish guitar)
Jimmy Gonzalez (drums)
Alvaro Gandul (keyboards)
Alex Bublitchi (violin)
Jabier Muguruza (accordion)
Mireia Otzerinjauregi (vocals)
Perla Batalla (vocals)
Music Directors: Kevin McCormick - Javier Mas
Artistic Director: Alberto Manzano
Acords amb Leonard Cohen went on January 12th to the Municipal Hall of Hostalets Balanyà and the 14th for the Auditori Enric Granados in Lleida with the name Catalunya canta a Cohen.
The concert began with a delicates notes with Cohen voice in off reciting Poem from "Let us Compare Mythologies" (I heard of a man...), Constantino Romero continued it in Spanish. He had a deep and clear voice, interpreting as an actor. Among the diverse selection of poems we listen God is alive, magic is afoot, The Faith (Dear Heather), Gift (in Catalan) and poems of Book of Longing. Leonard included poems in his concerts too. (Constantino Romero died in 2013, he was a declared fan of Leonard and interviewed him in 1974).
Perla Batalla appeared with his formidable Suzanne. Beauty.
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Adam Cohen's was a pleasant and extrovert guy, he spoke in a very correct Spanish, he said an American Spanish of LA, he sang Bird On The Wire. A very good cover with interesting musical variations.
This Cohen is closer to fly out of a wire than to live in the tower of song.
Gerard Quintana sang his recent cover Al·leluia.
Duquende with Mi gitana (My Gipsy Wife) in cante jondo (sing depth).
The beautiful Christina Rosenvinge sang an exquisite Impermeable Azul (Famous Blue Raincoat)
Next Javier Muguruza with Chelsea Hotel and So Long, Marianne (Euskeda).
Already we knew that Suzanne Vega would not be. In her place performed Elliott Murphy and Olivier Durand a formidable Diamonds In The Mine, a wonderful surprise. Bob Dylan in his good times could not have does it better.
And it was the moment of Anjani Thomas, she was wonderful and happy, she sang Half A Perfect World and Thanks For The Dance. Great.
John Cale also with piano and coloured hairs sang his powerful Alexandra Leaving.
And Jackson Browne the great Thousand Kisses Deep with one magnificent prologue of Raúl Rodríguez's guitar.
Adam returned to the stage, he said to us that he was sharing the passion of his father for Lorca, remembered the name of his sister, for this song he needed the help of his friend; Anjani, together sang Take This Waltz in Spanish, memorable and familiar. Did Leonard see the rehearsal?
In Spanish and with a certain mariachi tune, Perla Batalla and Javier Colis sang Ballad of the Absent Mare, ended up by dancing, very nicely, although Pearl barefoot were at risk.
Later Colis and Javier Mas performed The Butcher, very hard, Cohen 1976 style.
Santiago Auserón sang You know who I am with fragments in English and Spanish.
Toti played Susanna the mythical version Catalan of 1972, one special ovation.
For some reason Aute delayed a time to go out to interpret The Future one translation with a very hard lyrics, then he commented to me that the original one was tougher, I don't know.
Perla as master of ceremonies presented the band, congratulated Kevin on his birthday and announced the last song Dance me to the End of Love in Spanish and she invited to all to sing together, another nice moment.
After a long ovation, John Cale went out and sang Hallelujah with all the artists. A fantastic atmosphere.
The band sounded fantastically, the sound, the lighting, everything was perfect for me, the correct rhythm for the artists' changes and a very elegant playbill. The problem, the serious problem of this concert has been the trouble of the mobile cameras on the stage. There were two teams handled two enormous utensils with two persons each one. They were going in and going out constant and were turning I half-close the musicians managing to intervene between the artist and the public. As Perla said, with this the concentration gets lost. In Sydney she did not see cameras. In a song there is a story and a communication that must not break. At least let's hope that they will release one DVD. (The DVD was released and is very good).
The personal feeling of my wife and me is than we lived a magnificent and unforgettable day, from the morning until high hours of the night. An authentic dream. We were with our friends in Barcelona (i Lleida) and also met other great fans of Cohen. We will keep his memory in our memory with gratitude.
It will be a silly thing, but I wanted to send my admiration message to Leonard Cohen.
I believe that this message already has gone to its destiny. I know that I am one more than a lot of similar people that yesterday in this tribute or that we come to this forum or that we have got excited with his music and his poetry and we think that he it's a piece of our lives. Every time it seems that we are more: anonymous as me or artists able of taking part in a concert as this one. Maybe demonstrate this gratefulness is superfluous, I known it, but yesterday I felt a great happiness and peace.
Antoni Molist - ForYourSmile - January 2007
Photos from audience without flash.
