Recording

Guitarist/Composer Ronald Pearl wrote My Name is Red in 2007. The work was inspired by the novel of the same name by Orhan Pamuk, the great Turkish novelist, and Nobel Laureate. As in the novel, the point of intersection between the Islamic world and the west of the 16th century was Venice: it is here the piece begins – with a barcarolle and a reference to Mendelssohn’s famous Song Without Words/”Venetian Boat Song”. From there it moves steadily eastward. The music is in not meant as an imitation of Turkish styles, but instead is meant to evoke the musical traditions that developed throughout the Islamic world.

Recorded and Produced David Revill.