Gaudeamus | Podcast Curious Ears

In this episode of Curious Ears, Irish harpist, composer and improviser Rosie Murphy takes the listener on a journey through the harp's history. Rosie's career and artistic vision, being deeply rooted in the origins and significance of the harp across the globe, seeks to honour the cultures, harpists and music makers who have come before her, dating from as far back as 5,000 years ago to the present day. Rosie explores this from researching the political history of the harp in Ireland, playing music inspired by Irish folk music and Irish traditions of bardic accompaniment to exploring the harp's origins in Southwest Asia; examining sources in Chester Beatty Library, premiering an extended Maqam composition by composer Saad Haddad, and seeking to understand the Maqam with Sami Abu Shumays.

The podcast features guest appearances by Saad Haddad and Sami Abu Shumays.

Playlist of music featured :
It rained when people prayed (live performance), Riwa Saab and Rosie Murphy
paidir chiúin a rá for harp and electronics (2024) by Rosie Murphy
Fighe/The Wee Weaver (2026) a live improvisation by Rosie Murphy
Tasalsul II (2024) by Saad Haddad
Takemitsu's Dream Harp Arrangement by Greg Caffrey

https://www.instagram.com/kelsorosie/ https://www.youtube.com/@therosiemurphy
https://saadnhaddad.com/
https://maqamlessons.com/ http://www.samiabushumays.com/
https://www.gregcaffrey.com/

Watch an interview about this podcast episode with Rosie and Gaudeamus programmer Jonás Bisquert here: https://youtu.be/62V0fmN3o9M

This episode of Curious Ears takes the form of a captivating exploration of a Sufi tradition of music healing, in Tangier, Morocco. The tradition in question is called Hmadcha, and it's named after the mystic saint who founded it in the 17th century: Sidi Ali Ben Hamdouch. The sound piece delves into the socio-historical context of this spiritual sonic tradition, featuring field recordings that capture the musicians’ conversations, instrument practice, rhythmic performances, and mystical narratives, all whilst embedding it in the present day times. The voice of Fayçal Lahrouchi guides us and anchors us all throughout the episode, providing insight into the political and historical ramifications behind the emergence of this tradition.

Watch an interview with Fayçal and Gaudeamus programmer Jonás Bisquert here: https://youtu.be/1_dhGWoS4c8

Sound recordings: Chloé Despax, Cengiz Arslanpay, Fayçal Lahrouchi
Interviews & editing: Fayçal Lahrouchi
Music & words of: Mohamed Said Zhar, Mohamed Zhar, Jaouad Doukali

www.amme.ma
www.tekchbilaproject.com

In this episode, pianist and mathematician Dr Laura Farré Rozada shares her experience within the field of music and mathematics, and introduces us to the main connections between these two worlds. The music examples featured include her own performances of piano works (both solo and with orchestra) written by Ofer Ben-Amots, Thierry Escaich, Unsuk Chin, Anna Thorvaldsdóttir, Philippe Manoury, Angela Elizabeth Slater and Pierre Jodlowski.

Watch an introduction interview about the podcast here: https://youtu.be/r6t-2F8ccds

Photo by David Ruano

Hardi Kurda is a composer, improviser, sound artist from Kurdistan who researches the concept of 'urgent listening': becoming aware of sounds that are always present but mostly ignored, even to the point of trying to listen to smells or silence. In this podcast, he invites the audience to practice this kind of listening, with an extended composition specially made for this podcast, using his extensive catalogue of field recordings. Kurda is also jury member for the Gaudeamus Award 2026.

Watch an interview with Kardi Kurda by Jonás Bisquert about his podcast: https://youtu.be/cdNWMXgIBGU

Composer Igor C Silva, born in Porto and currently living in Amsterdam, made a new addition to our podcast series Curious Ears, in which he zooms in on collaboration as a trigger for new ideas and as an important part of his practice as a composer.