Nora Thiele

Framedrums, percussion, piano
"Nora Thiele is a musician who moves fluidly among work in early music, world music, jazz and improvisation. Her repertoire encompasses traditional, experimental and classical music in equal measure. Her musical work is concerned above all with sounding out the intersections, boundaries and connections among genres, epochs and cultures. Nora Thiele, who is resident in Berlin, is considered one of the leading and most innovative specialists for frame drums. She has furthermore gained a reputation as an accomplished and experienced leader of workshops in that field.
She has given concerts in Germany, France, Poland, Italy, Turkey, Iran, Syria and China with her ensembles ‘The Playfords’ (earlymusicfolk), ‘Duo Doyra’ (art of frame drum), with the Iraqi oud performer Saef Alkeat (traditional Arab music), and as a soloist and guest musician." Nora Thiele WebSite, 15.6.2015
==Projects==
(if not otherwise mentioned the information is based on Nora Thiele's website http://www.norathiele.de, 15.6.2015):
===Solo===
as percussionist and presenter od music of the Trecento
===Duo===
*Dou Doyra - Art of frame drum. "Nora Thiele and Joss Turnbull are among the youngest and most progressive representatives of the growing international percussion scene. They have dedicated themselves to one of the oldest percussion instruments of the world – the extremely versatile Frame Drum. With their breathtaking virtuosity and a mixture of composition and improvisation Duo Doyra brings tradition and innovation to a marvellous whole. In the beatifully intimate atmosphere created with these fine instruments and their melodic sound the both musicians reach out to their audience and whisk them away on fantastical journeys."
*Gedankenreise. "Thanks to his imaginative and associative music, the Weimar-based guitarist and composer Falk Zenker ranks among the leading acoustic guitarists in Germany. In the young, exceptional percussionist Nora Thiele, Zenker found a musical interlocutor and kindred spirit with whom he entered into a tantalising, somnambulistic and spontaneous dialogue. In this project, Nora Thiele performs on her distinct ‘ethnic percussion set’."
*Duo Al Khayyat/Thiele — Traditional Iraqi music and original compositions. "At the centre of this project is the compelling art of improvisation, in which the music flows from and is embodied in the meeting of the musicians. We perform traditional Iraqi music and original compositions based on that tradition. Like a seemingly unending current of water, the rhythm conveys the oud’s sighs, lamentations and wild, whirling shouts of joy. w/Saif Al-Khayyat (Oud)
*Saz Semai – Music for baglama and percussion. "With their programme ‘Saz Semai’, Nevzat Akpinar (Baglama) and Nora Thiele whisk their listeners away for a musical voyage through Anatolia. They perform folk music from Izmir, Ankara, Silifke, Thrace and the Black Sea coast."
*Ballate per Giovanna – The Art of Minstrelsy in the Middle Ages. Italian Music of the Fourteenth Century. "This programme is built around the estampie, one of the first types of instrumental compositions to accompany dance that was written down. In addition, we perform ballate and other pieces from the Rossi, Squarcialupi and Faenza Codices as well as original compositions and improvisations." w/ Martin Erhardt (Flöten, Einhandflöte und Trommel, Portativ, Viola da Gamba, Stimme), Nora Thiele (Rahmentrommel, Riq, Darabucca, Glockenspiel, Portativ, Stimme)
*Duo Sassoon/Thiele. "This piece brings together two musicians, both with roots in classical music, who are equally driven to stretch their musical boundaries. The duo’s music is characterised by powerful, moving rhythms, long arcs of flowing melodious expression, floating acoustics and meditative and minimalist elements." w/ Julie Sassoon (Piano)
*Duo Beilschmidt/Thiele. "This combination unites two musical worlds that are deeply rooted in the nature of human spirituality. Inspired by the musical structures of non-European musical cultures, minimal music, historical practices of improvisation as well as contemporary principles of composition, Thiele and Beilschmidt combine European as well as Asian influences. Theirs is a search for an authentic music that transcends barriers of style." w/ Daniel Beilschmidt (Organ)
*QuadroLux – electro loops. "... is like a leap into space that lasts forever. We produce sounds, trap them in a type of electronic dragnet, alienate them and draw renewed inspiration from them. Here and there, precious and remarkable musical gems are woven into this tapestry of sound. Marcus Horndt plays both the more traditional black-and-white keyboard as well as that belonging to the computer; I play anything and everything that can be struck or stroked. Metamorphosis from the earthly into the electronic-minimalist, loops, popjazz, electronic, drum&bass, quiet"
==Trio==
*Trio Femmes du Monde - le tarab au féminin "Dieses Trio vereint Musikerinnen verschiedener Nationen, die die Leidenschaft für traditionelle arabische Musik miteinander teilen. Wir spielen maurisch-andalusische Lieder aus dem mittelalterlichen Spanien und klassische arabische Musik. „Le tarab au fémin“ zeigt einmal mehr, wie Musik religiöse, regionale und kulturelle Grenzen überwinden kann." w/ Naziha Azzouz, Algeria/France (Vocals), Sofia Lampropoulou, Greece (Khanoun), Nora Thiele, Germany (Percussion)
*Foscarini Experience. "Guitar, percussion, bass — the rock trio as envisioned by the Renaissance guitar virtuoso Giovanni Paolo Foscarini, who went by the name ‘Il Furioso’ and taught at the Accademia dei Caliginosi in Ancona. Manneristic dance rock music from the seventeenth century." w/ Frank Pschichholz (Barockgitarre), Daniel Zorzano (Violone), Nora Thiele (Perkussion)
*NU:N - instrumental. "The estampies and ‘dances royales’ found in the ‘Manuscrit du Roi’ are courtly dances from thirteenth-century France, recognised today as the oldest surviving instrumental music in the West. In reviving them, Falk Zenker combines a knowledgeable and respectful sensibility with the freedom of a jazz musician, exhibiting resolution, a lust for adventure and the joy of discovery. These ‘first standard works’ of music history enjoy a lively and colourful resurrection in Zenker’s performance." w/ Falk Zenker (Gitarre), Gert Anklam (Saxophone), Nora Thiele (Perkussion set)
==Ensembles==
*Simkhat Hanefesh - Hebrew and Jiddish Renaissance and Early Baroque Music. "Simkhat Hanefesh (Joy of the Soul) was founded in 2008 and specializes in Jewish Music of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The group’s emphasis though lies on Yiddish Songs from about 1500 to 1800. All musicians are committed to early music, and the ensemble is firmly grounded in historically informed performance practice together with research about Old Yiddish song culture. Since its foundation, the ensemble has already performed dozens of rediscovered tunes, supplying the melodies with its own arrangements. The Debut-CD was released in October 2014." w/ Diana Matut (Voice, Recorder, Nyckelharpa, Moderation), James Hewitt (Baroque Violin); Erik Warkenthin (Lute), Theorbo (Baroque Guitar), Dietrich Haböck (Viola da Gamba), Nora Thiele (Percussion, Glockenspiel, Colascione)
*The Playfolds. "Das mitteldeutsche Ensemble The Playfords steht für authentische und innovative Interpretation von Tanzmusik aus Renaissance und Frühbarock." The Playfolds Website, 18.6.2015 w/ Björn Werner (vocals), Annegret Fischer (recorder), Erik Warkenthin (lute, renaissance guitar), Benjamin Dressler (viola da gamba), Nora Thiele (percussion)
=Discography=
==2007==
*'Oranges and Lemons - John Playford's english dancing master (1651)- The Playfolgs (CD: Coviello Classics COV 20709)
The Playfords: ; COV, 2007
==2008==
*NORA. modern oriental frame drums
Nora Thiele: frame drums, riq, mizhar, tamburello, kanjira, percussion-set, vibraphone, cymbals, gongs, small percussion, etc.; CAB-116, 2008
=References=