Classic CD: Bal Kan, Hesperion XXI

Classic CD: Bal Kan Hesperion XXI
(Alia Vox, through Ode Records)
Verdict: An exotic musical voyage forges fascinating cultural and political links.

The 53 tracks travel through all four seasons, from the dreams and celebrations of spring to the final sacrifice, exile and death of winter. Bal Kan, from Jordi Savall's Hesperion XXI, must be one of the heaviest releases of the year if you put it on the scales.

Its hefty 1kg weight comes from the handsome 614-page book, which houses three discs that explore an intriguing mingling of cultures.

The set's lengthy title -- The Voices of Memory & The Cycles of Life: Dialogue of the music of the peoples of the Balkans and the Gypsy and Sephardic Diaspora -- maps out its four hours of revelations and you are gently reminded at the start that "Bal Kan" translates into Turkish as "Honey" and "Blood".

There's sweetness as well as passion on this musical and spiritual journey around the cultures of the old Ottoman Empire.

Within just a few tracks on the first CD, we are taken from mysterious, gypsy-style improvisation to a Bosnian love song, thrillingly sung by Amira Medunjanin against delicate instrumental flurries.

Savall has drawn together a staggering array of musicians for this epic cycle. As well as 11 singers, including his late wife Montserrat Figueras, a host of instrumentalists present music from Hungary to Armenia, where the splendidly named Haig Sarikouyoumdjian evokes lonely Armenian landscapes on his double-reeded duduk.

An energetic Romanian hora dance may remind some of jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli and his Hot Club Quintette of the 1930s -- not such a surprising parallel when one realises just how fluid musical connections and influences can be.

Savall sees this magnificent package as a stand against the worrying takeover of digital downloading. He wants us to take our time to listen and to read through what is essentially a gripping saga.

Starting with Creation itself, the 53 tracks travel through all four seasons, from the dreams and celebrations of spring to the final sacrifice, exile and death of winter. The last seven pieces, under the title of (Re)Conciliation, carry with them a potent political message.

A moving Sephardic chant, sung in Hebrew, is followed by lively Greek and Turkish dances. All share the same melody, proving that, despite centuries of historic enmities, we are all human and, hopefully, music may ultimately bring us together.