The Beauty and The Sea

by Mor Karbasi

Four months after it was packed, our stuff finally arrived to Fuerteventura. The stuff includes books, CDs and DVDs. Now I started unearthing the music that I did not listen to for a while. The Beauty and The Sea was among them.

As it was explained a while ago, back in 2008 I missed Mor Karbasi’s Cambridge gig because Uriah Heep were playing next door. That won’t happen next time, I promise, but nobody knows when this next time will be. According to her website, she plays two dates in Spain next week, 21^st December in Malaga and 22^nd in Madrid. I hope some of my Spanish friends can catch her!

Back to the album: it is a beauty. The songs are all beautiful. (Do I use this word too much? Unavoidable here.) My favourite is Fuego, with guest musicians Kai Eckhardt and Trilok Gurtu. And then the story by Shoshana Karbasi, which links the songs together. I only wish it had the original Ladino or Spanish lyrics there.

“Tell me kind old lady, what is the name of this street?” “This street has no name, my child.” “Does this street lead to the sea?” I ask. “All of the streets around here lead to the sea, my child.” “Have you seen my beloved?” I ask. “Is she pretty, my child?” she replies. “Yes, very pretty.” “A red flower in her hair?” she asks. “Yes! Oh yes!” I answer, “Have you seen her?” “Your beautiful has gone to the sea... She has gone to the sea.” “And how would you know kind lady?” I ask, “How do you know?” “All lost loves go to the sea”, she says with great sadness. “This is how it is with loves.”