Sanaz's songs and poems are about longing: for love, freedom and for self-determination. Sometimes with a gentle, sometimes with a strong voice, but always impressive, always provocative, the poet and singer recites her mystical texts. Further she also sets these texts to music and performs them together with her repertoire of Turkish and Azerbaijani folk songs.
Sanaz comes from the Azerbaijani territory of Iran. The silencing of all female voices and the threat of reprisals against a critical, creative woman caused her to leave her home country in 2008 and move to Germany in 2010, after two years spent in Istanbul.
She began her musical career in 2012 with the music group "Mah-e Manouche. Encouraged by the immensely positive feedback and praise of many fellow artists, musicians and critics she started a new project in 2019, in which she recites her own texts in Persian and German and sings songs from Persia, Azerbaijan and Turkey.
She is accompanied by an illustrious ensemble of outstanding musicians: Benjamin Stein on oud, tar, santoor and guitar, by Uwe Böttcher on double bass, violin and viola, by Mohamed Najem on clarinet and Ney and by Steffen Thormählen on various percussion instruments.
Wenn eine Künstlerin es versteht, das Publikum zu berühren, es mitzunehmen auf eine sehr persönliche Reise, dabei Gefühle der Melancholie, der Trauer, des Zorns aber, und das ist Wichtigste, der Hoffnung zu vermitteln, dann darf man von einem wahren Glücksmoment sprechen. Ein solcher war das Konzert von Sanaz & Friends am Sonntagvormittag im Rahmen der Matineekonzertreihe von Chudoscnik Sunergia.
von Hans Reul
Foto@ MirsamirSalahov
''The presence of Sanaz’s voice immediately has an intimate and emotional effect. Her expressiveness, especially when she sings the Persian and Azerbaijani ballads, makes them into objects of great sensual pleasure. The songs touch us and do not let go.
Beguiled by the richness of these songs, by the beauty of the language and its timbres, her voice combines with the artistry of her excellent instrumentalists to make this music into a truly special experience.''
