About
Renaud Garcia-Fons & Claire Antonini, two unconventional musicians, created this duo several years ago.
Over time, their collaboration has evolved, with each bringing the resonance of their personal journey and passion for ancient music, jazz, and the broad spectrum of Eastern music. This has resulted in an innovative vision of the meeting between Eastern and Western music.
Their repertoire, primarily composed of original pieces, consists of 19 short works that, like miniatures, tell the story of an imaginary journey at the crossroads of these different cultures.
Here, the double bass takes on the role of the ney, the theorbo becomes the setar, and the two instruments express their voices, showcasing the rich combination of their timbres and playing styles in constantly evolving orchestrations.
A distinct taste for melody, the swing inherent in the rhythms of ancient traditions, and modal expression give this project its unique signature.
Farangi, meaning "foreigner" in Persian, the traveler from the West, aims to celebrate and share this natural connection—the joy of the soul that links music together, like a universal language that speaks to the heart of each listener.
Renaud Garcia-Fons : 5-string double bass (Oriental Bass model by Jean Auray), percussion on double bass, compositions and arrangements
Claire Antonini : Theorbo by Klaus Jacobsen, 13-course baroque lute by Paul Thomson, soprano lute by Didier Jarny
Video
Tracklist
1. Sylvains d’Orient
2. Reng-é shotor
3. Chacone
4. Tavalod
5. Nove alla turca
6. Pavane du levant
7. À chaque instant
8. Comme un derviche amoureux
9. Ricercare
10. Le sommeil de Majnûn
11. Capona
12. Ballo cavalino
13. Dirouz
14. Légende persane
15. Tchahar mezrab
16. Toledo del Greco
17. Sfesseina
18. Sahneh mountains
19. Tocsin de Palmyre
3'45
3'49
2'59
4'36
3'49
4'01
3'18
4'08
2'00
3'39
3'29
4'28
1'58
4'48
3'17
1'43
2'50
2'45
2'30
About
With FARANGI and Friends, we continue the musical journey we began with Farangi. While our first album explored an intimate dialogue between Eastern sounds and Baroque resonances, this new opus opens up to broader horizons, enriched by new encounters and colors. We now combine the Iranian târ with the theorbo, while the double bass unfolds an expressive palette, transcending musical boundaries.
We have had the joy of being joined by exceptional musicians: Émile Parisien, whose soprano saxophone connects jazz and Eastern melodies, Bijan Chemirani, Sabrina Romero, and Natascha Rogers, who bring Persian, Latin, or flamenco rhythms, Ludovit Kovac, whose cimbalom brings a Balkan clarity, Eva Godard, whose cornett evokes the Renaissance, and Solea Garcia-Fons, whose voice, in Ney Man (a poem by Rumi), gives expression to the spiritual quest that runs through the album.
We have designed this album as an itinerary through space and time, blending revisited Baroque pieces (La Sarabande Oubliée by Dufaut, Toccata by Kapsberger), Eastern explorations (Nur-e Omid, Haft-Adim, June Tasnif), medieval evocations (Sauvage Estampie, Chanson de Toile), and dance-like or meditative pieces (Saltareng, Mille et Une Marches,Tendre Ghazal).
We hope this music will resonate as an echo of the human soul’s emotions, beyond horizons and eras, to celebrate what brings us together.
Claire Antonini & Renaud Garcia-Fons
Renaud Garcia-Fons : 5-string double bass (Oriental Bass model by Jean Auray), percussion on double bass, compositions and arrangements
Claire Antonini : Theorbo by Klaus Jacobsen, 13-course baroque lute by Paul Thomson, soprano lute by Didier Jarny
