By Diana Nollen/SourceMedia Group

(Barbara Furtana photo) Barbara Furtana, an a cappella quartet from the French island of Corsica, launched the 2010 Landfall Festival of World Music with grace and elegance Wednesday night at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Cedar Rapids. They will perform again Thursday at 6:45 p.m. in the church sanctuary.

CEDAR RAPIDS — Landfall brought a windfall to downtown Cedar Rapids on Wednesday night. (9/22/10)

The third annual world music festival staged by the cutting-edge Legion Arts/CSPS could not have started more miraculously.

The weather gods did not turn it into the Rainfall Festival, although at the start of the 6 p.m. indoor concert, I wasn’t so sure the 7:15 p.m. outdoor concert would go as planned. It did, creating a thunderous storm of fun in Greene Square Park.

The four-day FREE festival is a rain or shine event, bringing the music of 13 countries to the park and across the street to First Presbyterian Church. Here’s hoping for plenty more shine, despite the week’s iffy ending forecasts.

Did I mention the entire lineup is free? Volunteers will stroll the crowds with red buckets, should you wish to make a donation. If the rest of the festival mirrors the opening night — and I have no doubt it will — you’ll want to toss whatever you can afford into the coffers.

Wednesday’s series was sublime — sacred sublime from  Barbara Furtuna, a male a cappella vocal quartet from the French island of Corsica, and spirited sublime from the Romanian brass band, Mahala Rai Banda.

The church sanctuary’s beautiful acoustics provided the perfect backdrop for the ringing tones and intricate polyphonic vocal layerings of Barbara Furtuna.

Everything about the concert was reverent, beginning with pieces from a Mass for the dead, continuing through the  lost-love laments near the end,  flavored with more of a pop feel.

Some of the works reflected ancient texts and chants, others embraced baroque styles and vocal jazz with dissonance stacked so tightly you couldn’t floss between the notes.

The men’s visual presentation was as interesting as their music. Standing in a tight semicircle, second tenor Maxime Merlandi and bass Andre Dominici used hand gestures not only for expression but to affect the tone and blend.

Whenever the pitch started to dip — which I blame entirely on the atmospheric conditions — they could massage the tones and bring the four voices back to perfect alignment. (That only happened in the beginning of the 75-minute concert. They quickly settled into their sound and the ever-so-slight pitch challenges vanished.)

Their concert ended with an immediate standing ovation and cheers from an audience of about 100. They will perform again, from 6:45 to 8 p.m. Thursday in the church. Don’t miss this chance to hear them!

(Mahala Rai Banda photo) Romanian musicians Mahala Rai Banda set everyone dancing on their feet or in their seats Wednesday night in Greene Square Park in downtown Cedar Rapids.

As one concert ended, the party in the park was just getting started. About 300 people brought their lawn chairs and boogie shoes, ready to get down with the Romanian version of Tower of Power.

Mahala Rai Banda is a virtuoso collection of 11 musicians blending brass precision with violin, percussion, accordion and vocals. They never stood still and neither did their audience, through 90 minutes of astonishing music.

Some songs were laced with gypsy folk traditions, others dripped with pure golden brass, some were sensual, others were blistering and at least one felt like the Pink Panther could come slinking through at any moment.

All were delightful, jubiliant and exotic. 

Nothing was more exotic and delightful than The Dragon Knights from San Francisco. These puppeteers and stilt walkers atop whimsical creatures strolled through the park engaging all ages in wonder at their lifelike antics. They will be back Thursday night, as well.

The festival continues Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening. This is a world-class bazaar of world music only found in major metropolitan areas. And Cedar Rapids.

Do not miss the fun.

FAST TAKE

• What: Legion Arts/CSPS presents Landfall Festival of World Music
• When: Through Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010
• Where: Greene Square Park, Third Avenue and Fifth Street SE, and First Presbyterian Church, 310 Fifth St. SE, both in downtown Cedar Rapids
• Admission: Free; donations accepted
• Thursday: 6 p.m. Red Baraat from India and New York (park); 6:45 p.m. Barbara Furtuna (church); 7:30 p.m. Cimarron of Colombia and The Dragon Knights (park)
• Friday: 6 p.m. Kenge Kenge of Kenya (park); 6:45 p.m. Portico Quartet of England (church); 7:30 p.m. Cordero of Mexico and Brooklyn, N.Y. (park)
• Saturday: 1:30 p.m. Turkana of Turkey and Iowa (park); 2 p.m. Salaam of Iraq and Indiana (church); 3 p.m. Afro-Cuban Ensemble (park); 4 p.m. Calle Sur of Colombia and Panama (park); 5:30 p.m. Zedashe Ensemble from the Georgian Republic (park); 6:30 p.m. Salaam (church); 7 p.m. Nation Beat from Brazil and Brooklyn, N.Y. (park); 8:30 p.m. The Sway Machinery from Brooklyn, N.Y. (park)
• Information: www.legionarts.org or (319) 364-1580