Spanish guitarist and composer Rafael Catala specialises in the guitar music of his homeland, which in turn is characterised by influences from a wide range of Oriental and Occidental styles. This melting pot of cultures can also be felt in his new CD "mare nostrum" with his ensemble M�sica Iberica. The ensemble has an unusual line-up, as the guitar is joined by oriental frame drums, the Swedish nyckelharpa (a keyboard fiddle) and a baroque violone (the predecessor of the double bass). And so baroque lute music is fused with elements of flamenco, jacaras, fandangos and other Spanish dances and immersed in new colours with oriental rhythms and many elements of improvisation.