Provenance with special guests

In a world troubled by religious strife and division, the period between the eighth and fifteenth centuries in the Iberian Peninsula offers a hopeful historical reminder: Muslims, Christians, and Jews once lived together in Spain, creating a centuries-long flowering of commerce, culture, art, and architecture. Provenance offers a contemporary interpretation of this shared harmonious source. Maya Beiser is not engaged in an archeological dig in which the music of the 8th century is stood again on its feet. Instead she seeks another approach: to reproduce an environment in which varied and seemingly culturally dissimilar traditions can once again occupy the same shared space.

“Sometimes, a concept album contains a creative inspiration that is far better than the reality it imagines. In my view, Provenance extolls a wonderful collaborative atmosphere: a model for many future cross-cultural projects. Alas, this type of music-making is a relatively recent innovation and, in many venues, is still far from prevalent.” -Christian Carey, File Under?, June 21, 2010

Maya Beiser’s Provenance peaked at #6 in overall music sales and #1 in Classical music on Amazon. It also hit #1 in World Music on iTunes and #3 in Classical on Billboard. Provenance was voted #2 on WQXR's listener poll