It’s not your average string quartet that opens with an Iraqi piece called Oh Mother, the Handsome Man Tortures Me.

But Kronos are probably the world’s most adventurous string quartet and their opening set featured music that they have arranged or commissioned from around the world.

As this was the centre-piece of the Barbican’s Ramadan Nights series (all of which have sold out), most pieces came from Islamic sources — including a gorgeous lullaby from Iran and a commission from Palestinian rap group Ramallah Underground.

Kronos’s ears have always been open to extraordinary sounds of the world.

Their set was a prelude to a collaborative premiere with Alim Qasimov. He is the recognised master of Azeri mugham, a sophisticated form of sung poetry and music from Azerbaijan.

In exquisite duets with his daughter Fargana, he sang melancholy songs of unhappy love, translated, very helpfully, in surtitles.

His voice, surprisingly, was often pitched above his daughter’s. It pierced like a dart, high and ethereal, and then interwove with Fargana’s as if intoxicated with unrequited longing.

He gazed into the middle-distance as if getting inspiration from some divine spirit far away.
Between the vocals, Qasimov drove the music forward with his frame drum accompanied by the delicate sounds of Middle Eastern lute, fiddle, clarinet and percussion.

The five songs Qasimov and Kronos performed together were more cheerful in character — full of rhythmic interplay and striking textures. Kronos’s music didn’t attempt to imitate the traditional Azeri sound but extended it with a warmer tone, interweaving melodies and fuller bass. There was clearly a real musical meeting and understanding between the musicians.

It was support from the Aga Khan Trust for Culture that enabled the collaboration to take place and it was clear to those lucky enough to be there that something very special was happening.