Saved events

Ibn Battuta: The Traveller of Time

with Jordi Savall and Assaad Bouab

,Hall
Jordi Savall holding a treble viol, directing with his bow

Journey into the unknown with musical pioneer Jordi Savall and Hespèrion XXI in a concert inspired by the 14th-century Islamic scholar Ibn Battuta, and narrated by Peaky Blinders actor Assaad Bouab.

For Ibn Battuta: The Traveller of Time, Savall assembles musicians from Europe and the Middle East, India, China and North Africa – alongside his own remarkable Hespèrion XXI early music ensemble – for a journey into the unknown with a man considered by many to be the greatest explorer in history: Ibn Battuta.

Born into a family of Islamic scholars in north Africa in the 14th century, Ibn Battuta travelled to the extremes of the world as it was then known, covering an estimated 120,000km from Europe to China, Russia to Sri Lanka. His writings provide fascinating glimpses into medieval life right across the globe. Savall’s evening-long excursion is an immense literary, historical, geographical and musical fresco that contrasts medieval European music with sounds from across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Tagged with: Classical music Young Barbican Baroque at the Barbican More...

This performance will end at approximately 9.30pm including a 20 minute interval

Produced by the Barbican

Narrated in English

Performers

  • Hespèrion XXI  
  • Jordi Savall   conductor
  • Assaad Bouab   narrator
  • Lingling Yu   pipa
  • Minh Trang Nguyen   zheng
  • Yurdal Tokcan   oud
  • Hakan Güngör   kanun
  • Daud Sadozai   rebab & sarod
  • Prabhu Edouard   tablas & zir baghali
  • Pierre Hamon   cornamuse & flutes
  • Effren López   medieval lute & vielle a rue
  • Guillermo Pérez   organetto
  • David Mayoral   percussion
  • Dimitris Psonis   santur

Digital programme

‘The instruments shared a quality of sound that conjured up images of shimmering desert vistas, hot dusty roads, lush, tropical forests, and sunlight scintillating on blue seas‘
Edinburgh Music Review

You might also like...

Hall

Location
The Barbican Hall is located within the main Barbican building. Head to Level G and follow the signs to find your seating level. 

Address
Barbican Centre
Silk Street, London
EC2Y 8DS

Public transport
​​​​​​​The Barbican is widely accessible by bus, tube, train and by foot or bicycle. Plan your journey and find more route information in ‘Your Visit’ or book your car parking space in advance.