‘Karitas’ is a spellbinding composition by acclaimed British musician Sami Yusuf. It was recorded live at the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam in June 2022 and delivered with exceptional artistry by Cappella Amsterdam, the Amsterdam Andalusian Orchestra & the composer’s own ensemble. The work moves with intelligence and fluidity from Western choral music to Middle Eastern modes to the cadence of Andalusia. Modes traverse boundaries from the distinctive Bayati Shiraz and Rast maqams to the aeolian. Subtly flowing rhythms and improvisation, entrancing solos on the Chinese erhu, oud, ney, and violin, underscore the depth of the dialogue among traditions taking place here. Lyrics by Fuzuli, a 16th-c. Azerbaijani writer known as a poet of divine love, are echoed here in the words of the 12th-c. German mystic Hildegard of Bingen. Intoxicatingly beautiful mawwals take verses from the Andalusian poet Abul Hasan al-Shushtari (13th c.) and Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi, a 17th c. Syrian writer.