We travel in the Universe, seeking for the Self…
We are the travelers looking for the Light…
A luminous Light raised, clearing the blessing of serenity…
As who broke the chain and departed…
Far further than a vision…
Closer than the core of the heart…
Contiguous reaching the Soul...

Hiba Al Kawas

Inspiring Opera Singer, Moving Soprano, Talented Composer, Brilliant Educator, Pioneering Artist, Compassionate person, and Gentle Soul, all words used to describe world renowned Opera Singer and Composer Hiba Al Kawas



Hiba embarked on her Musical journey very early. She first played the piano at the tender age of two and a half and composed her first piece at the age of four. She Holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Clinical Psychology, a diploma in Piano studies, and two Cum Laude Master's Degrees one in opera singing under the guidance of Toufic Kerbage, and the other in composition and musicology under the supervision of Walid Gholmieh. Her early studies gave a glimpse into her true potential, her tremendous creative and artistic talent. She was awarded a special scholarship from the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Italy, where she pursued advanced studies in opera singing with Carlo Bergonzi and composition with Franco Donatoni. Since, she has pursued a successful and brilliant musical career.




Hiba Al Kawas composes for symphony, chamber and string orchestra; she also composes for piano and voice and various ensembles. Traditional Arabic instruments were included in her compositions. She incorporates Oriental-Arabic music elements within the overall composition techniques, bridging cultural borders of the continents of music, the Lyrical East and the Symphonic West.
Twenty of her early works were recorded with the Dniepropetrovsk Symphony Orchestra-Ukraine under the direction of Viascheslav Blenov. Ten more recent works were recorded with the Symphony Orchestra Krakow. She has recently recorded nymerous works with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine and the National Choir of Kiev conducted by Vladimir Sirenko.

Track List :
01. Hiba Al Kawas - Li'anni Ahya (Because I Live)
02. Hiba Al Kawas - Tabqa Li (You Remain to Me)
03. Hiba Al Kawas - Asra Bi Qalbi (Glory to the Creator)
04. Hiba Al Kawas - Ashamamta Itri (Have You Smelled My Attar)
05. Hiba Al Kawas - Ya Naseema El Reeh (Oh Breeze of Winds)
06. Hiba Al Kawas - Yaduka (Your Hand)
07. Hiba Al Kawas - Njoum Eddini (Stars In Your Eyes)
08. Hiba Al Kawas - Yaduka Instrumental (Your Hand Instrumental)
09. Hiba Al Kawas - Li'anni Ahya Instrumental (Because I Live Instrumental)

Lebanese singer Rima Khcheich was born in the village of Khiam in southern Lebanon, in 1974. She began singing classical Arabic music at the age of nine, and was awarded the bronze medal at the Bizert Festival for Mediterranean Song in Tunisia in 1985.

Rima's singing career began at a young age with the children's choir at the Arabic Cultural Club in Beirut, and later evolved into a solo performance with the Beirut Oriental Troop for Arabic Music under the supervision and direction of Maestro Salim Sahab.



Rima went on to study the tradition of classical Arabic singing at The Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music in Beirut; her efforts were supported by her father Kamel Khcheich who encouraged her to memorize and master classics from the Arabic music heritage including Muwashahat, Adwar and other styles. She has performed the music of the great masters Zakariah Ahmad, Al-Kassabji, Sayyed Darwish, Kamel Al Khal'i and Muhammad Abdel Wahab, amongst others.

Having participated in various concerts in Lebanon and around the world, Rima has gained international repute and admiration for her gift in performing complex Arabic classical forms such as Dor 'Emta El hawa', and Muwashah "Anta al Mudallal." Since 2001 she has collaborated with the esteemed Dutch jazz ensemble, the Yuri Honing Trio, and has recorded three albums -- "Orient Express", "Yalalalli" and her most recent release, "Falak" -- in which she seamlessly melds the established Arabic song repertoire into the western jazz idiom, creating an exciting new sub-genre.

In addition to her solo career, Rima teaches oriental singing at the Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music and is invited on a yearly basis to the United States where she teaches voice and classical Arabic singing at the annual Arabic Music Retreat held at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, directed by renown musician and composer Simon Shaheen.

Rima Khcheich and ‘Hawa’

Gracing the stage with her signature combination of Western and vintage Oriental music, Rima Khcheich mesmerized the audience during the release of her newest CD, “Hawa”.

  Khcheich opened he concert April 25 in USJ’s Pierre Abou Khater amphitheater by dedicating the night to her late friend Iman Homsi, a talented young Qanun player who died recently at the age 45.

  After a smooth 40 minutes of classical “Muwashahat,” Rima interrupted the program for an extra song also dedicated to Homsi. Rima stated that the song “Baiti Ana Baitak” had been one of the last things she and Homsi had been working on before her death. With a heartfelt performance, the audience remained speechless. And so the night went on to end with two last songs.

  Closing off the night, Rima and her musical ensemble—consisting of a double bass, clarinet player, percussionist, and “rib” player—were called back on stage for an encore, where she once again took the audience into her own world, by her famous rendition of “Harrama Al- Nawma Alayna,” finishing off to a well-deserved standing ovation.

  Some of the audience members were overheard saying that what made the night so special was Khcheich’s “mixing of two very different musical genres, giving the night a jazzy feel while staying true to the inherent emotions of the traditional ‘Muwashahat.’”

  What was notable about the audience was that the majority of those in attendance were elderly, reflecting the target audience to which Khcheich’s music appeals. Though  a young and fresh face, she narrows down her performances to old original music initially performed by the music giants of the Arab world, such as Um Kulthum and Sayyed Darwich.

  Khcheich is currently a professor in AUB at the Department of Fine Arts and Arts history, where she is director of the AUB Arabic Choir. The newly established choir will have its first concert on May 6 in Assembly Hall. Through the choir, Khcheich attempts to extend the target audience of Oriental music to a younger group of people, and to keep the memory of some of the greatest musicians of the Arab World alive within the AUB community.

Sera Chamseddine

http://outlookaub.com

 Track List :

01. Muwashah Rama Qalbi
02. Muwashah Ya Hilalan
03. Mawwal Toul El Layali  MUwashah Laha Badru El Tim
04. Muwashah Wajhak Mushriq
05. Muwashah Ramani Bi Sahm Hawah
06. Muwashah Salla Fina El Lahtha Hindiyya
07. Muwashah Ya Nahif El Qawam
08. Muwashah Ya 'Akha El Badr
09. Muwashah Shajani Yafuqu
10. Muwashah Ya Man La'ibat
11. Dawr Ibtissam El Zahr

 

The third release from traditional fusionists Ghazal, combining Persian and Indian musics, which are closely related but highly differ in their own ways.

Kayhan Kalhour is a virtuoso on the kemantche, as is Shujaat Khan on the sitar. Together they are able to make stunning runs through the combined sounds of the two traditions. The opening number, "Fire in My Heart," allows for a nice run of call and response between the two instruments, with Kalhour switching over to plucking the kemantche for a bit as well.

Eventually, the two players combine to create a texture of sound that swirls around the backing tabla and tamburas at top speed. The interplay between the two stringed instruments is outstanding here, as is the accompaniment by Swapan Chaudhuri on tabla. In the second number, the duo opts for a light dhun, powered largely by the lighter tones on both the kemantche and the sitar's more carefree twang. In the third number, Khan breaks out of his usual Urdu singing and into Persian for a relatively long composition about the nay. Rather surprisingly, the nay isn't utilized at all in the song to its tribute.

Instead, the kemantche mimics its sound to the best of its ability. Also, the tombak is added to the ensemble to add an additional bit of Persian flavor to the sound. The Indian and Persian traditions are closely tied, both historically and in their mutual strife to re-create the perfection of the human voice. Here the traditions are joined to wonderful effect.

Pick it up for a nice fusion of two virtuoso instrumentalists performing in largely traditional manners, a rarity for fusionists it would seem. Moreover, pick it up as a generally enjoyable album for newcomers and the initiated alike.

~ Adam Greenberg, All Music Guide


Track List :

1. Fire in My Heart
2. Pari Mahal
3. Besh'no az Nay (Listen To The Nay)

Adnaan was born in Swaida, southern Syria in 1977. He began his musical journey late at the age of 14 when he got his first oud. Being enthused and fascinated by the sound of oud, he learned very quickly and it took him less than two months to take hold of family nights and friends parties' with his music.

At the age of 19, Adnaan moved to Damascus to study civil engineering. There, he met Syrian oud master Fayez Zahreddeen and started studying the oud with him for 5 years.

Adnaan natural talent soon became apparent. His desire for music pushed him to go ahead and study music academically. He was accepted into the prestigious Higher Conservatorium of Music in Damascus where he studied Western Classical, as well as, Arabic and Middle Eastern music. Adnaan specialized in the oud and was fortunate to have Askar Ali Akbar (Azerbaijani) and Samir Orabi (Syrian) oud masters, as his teachers.

During his studies, Adnaan was chosen to play with accompaniment of the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra (SNSO) on its 10th anniversary. He also participated with the SNSO at the opening ceremony of the Syrian Opera House.

After finishing his music degree in 2008, Adnaan moved to Australia. He lived in Adelaide for 3 years and then moved to Melbourne, where he is continuing his studies in composition at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.

Adnaan released his debut album Dinaan in 2011, which is comprised of his original compositions for the oud.

Track List :
01 . Intro
02 . Forgotten Dreams
03 . Lawha
04 . Dinaan
05 . Melodies from the Other Side
06 . Ya Balady (Oh, thou my home)
07 . Portrait of Love
08 . Finale

Born in Al Fakiha in 1966, Oumeima El Khalil started her career as a singer at twelve. She lived in an art-loving family; this is how she was discovered at an early age in the singing world.
 El Khalil pursued her secondary studies in the Bekaa, and then moved to Beirut where she studied music theory and vocal techniques.

 Meeting Marcel Khalifé at an early age was a good occasion for Oumeima to venture into the world of singing as it gave her the opportunity to sing as a solo in his “Al Mayadin” band where she showed a high level of professionalism in the domain.
 The 12-year old girl had her own songs that she interpreted worldwide for over 27 years at high-level concerts in which Marcel Khalifé and his band participated.

Oumeima’s songs were written by reputed poets from the Arab worlds such as: Mahmoud Darwich, Badr Chaker El Sayyab, Mohamad El Abdallah, Talal Haidar, Henri Zogheib, Nizar El Hindi and others.
 Oumeima is currently working, with her husband, the musician Hani Siblini, on CDs and concerts, in parallel with her collaboration with Marcel Khalifeh. She has already produced two CDs in cooperation with Hani Siblini and gave several performances in Lebanon and the Arab countries.

Oumeima’s first live performance, was at the age of 16 (1981) in 16 American States. One of the poshiest performances she was involved in was at “Places des Arts” in 1992.
 She sang in many countries such as:
 America and Canada (5 times); Europe (Twice); Australia (once); Africa (once); Moscow (once); Algeria; Tuisia; Morocco; Emirates; Libya; Bahrain; Oman; Kuwait; UAE; Egypt; Sudan.
 Oumeima had countless performances in Lebanon: Beit al Dine; Unesco Palace; Assembly Hall (AUB); Pierre Abou Khater Theatre USJ…


TrackList:

1. Tabaa El Wosta
2. Niyalak
3. Rasayel
4. Thilalouna
5. Hatha
6. Fi Akher Al Ashyaa
7. Leh (Revisited)
8. Bint W Sabi
9. Arifou Biladan

Bonded to their instruments, committed to their friendship, Taksim Trio is a sublime example of what happens when three like-minded souls mix, mingle and merge into one. Featuring three of Turkey's most in-demand master instrumentalists, Taksim Trio is made up of Hüsnü Senlendirici on the clarinet, Ismail Tunçbilek on the baglama and Aytaç Dogan on the quanun. Dancing between different musical styles such as traditional, arabesque, jazz and classical, the musicians emerge with a sound that is the sum of their experiences





"Taksim Trio...making music inspired by the heart of Istanbul. / Taksim Trio is a super-ambient album meant to seep into the listener's mind and unravel over time. "

Track List :

01. Unutmamalı
02. Yeşil Başlı Gövel Örde
03. İç Benim İçi
04. Seni Kimler Aldı
05. Elfa Laila
06. Sevda Değil
07. Naz
08. Kumsalda Dans
09. Unutmadım
10. Mahur Saz Semaisi
11. Yalan Dünya
12. Hicaz Mandıra

“Soundscapes,” the newly released album by “The Secret Trio,” is the first studio collaboration by Dinkjian, Pinarbaşi and Lumanovski. The music has 11 tracks, and is a hybrid of many cultures, yet distinct styles. From the haunting first track, “Without You,” to the last—the improvisational piece “Soundscapes,” which lends its name to the album—we get a melodious mix of contemporary interpretations of favorites by the three artists. There are no vocals, no drum, and no bass in the trio, but the tunes are so multifaceted that they adapt beautifully to the three instruments. Outstanding is the old favorite “Slide Dance” by Dinkjian, beautifully arranged here.



The musicians are neighbors, which gives East Coast dwellers an added plus. On a recent spring evening in the Manhattan neighborhood known as Hell’s Kitchen, the trio was heard performing live at a cafe called Balkanalia. The audience, some of whom had never witnessed the scene of Armenians crowding 8th Avenue nightclubs after World War II, enjoyed the ad hoc scene. The cafe didn’t have special lighting nor a stage, but they improvised. The musicians also did a few call and response type pieces, while patrons clinked their glasses filled with Macedonian wine in syncopation. Some stood up to dance.

The musicianship of “The Secret Trio” is of the highest caliber, and the compositions impressive, but this reviewer (who has been following Dinkjian’s work for the past 25 years and who is very grateful for this album) is at a loss at the selection of track # 7, an Indian tune. Somehow it doesn’t fit into the program.  She also wishes there were better liner notes. Still, music appreciators worldwide will have an enjoyable experience, and the ancestors would approve of this beautiful project.
(The Armenian Weekly)

01. Tamer Pinarbasi, Ismail Lumanovski & Ara Dinkjian - Without You
02. Tamer Pinarbasi, Ismail Lumanovski & Ara Dinkjian - Slide Dance
03. Tamer Pinarbasi, Ismail Lumanovski & Ara Dinkjian - Erangi
04. Tamer Pinarbasi, Ismail Lumanovski & Ara Dinkjian - Enzeli Triumph
05. Tamer Pinarbasi, Ismail Lumanovski & Ara Dinkjian - The Invisible Lover
06. Tamer Pinarbasi, Ismail Lumanovski & Ara Dinkjian - Crosswinds
07. Tamer Pinarbasi, Ismail Lumanovski & Ara Dinkjian - Kriti
08. Tamer Pinarbasi, Ismail Lumanovski & Ara Dinkjian - Silent Cue
09. Tamer Pinarbasi, Ismail Lumanovski & Ara Dinkjian - Classical Gas
10. Tamer Pinarbasi, Ismail Lumanovski & Ara Dinkjian - Heart Key
11. Tamer Pinarbasi, Ismail Lumanovski & Ara Dinkjian - Soundscapes

MAias Alyamani, violinist and composer, began his professional musical career as a solo violinist in 2000. His performances include the traditional classical repertoire and other musical genres including his personal compositions.

MAias has a master degree from Vienna University of Music, majoring in violin performance with special focus on Composition. During his studies he won the Competition of  Vienna University of Music and participated in the international Paganini Competition in Italy. He was the only Arab ever to participate in these competitions.



He was a member of Südbahnhof Band in Vienna. The band is still performing in Europe and it was a finalist and won the Audience prize at the World Music Awards which took place in Vienna 2006.  In 2006 MAias established the ensemble MAqam in Vienna, specializing in classical Arabic music. The ensemble is a big success in Austria and neighboring countries. He is also a member of the Damascus Festival Chamber Players ensemble, which focuses on contemporary Arabic music. He made a large number of solo recordings for film, music bands, live theatre and TV-show soundtracks.

    He has four music albums:  White with Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra.
    Live at Aspire Hall  with MAqam.
    Blended Cultures with OPEC Orchestra for violin and orchestra.
    Syrian Contemporary Chamber Music chamber music album with DFCP.




White Album "2011"
Memories from Syria : Suite for Violin and Orchestra in four Movements

01. Dominoes 2011
02. Caucasian Dance
03. 0+Tango
04. Sea Waves
05. Zigan
06. Longa Nahawand

The tale of Aufgang starts with the new century in the star city of the New World. Rami Khalifé and Francesco Tristano met in New York where they were studying at the prestigious Juilliard School. Being almost as assiduous in clubbing than studies, the two began a affair with electronic music.

Things started shaping-up when Aymeric Westrich sealed their union under the auspices of a attraction for experimentation. Aufgang is right between electro and classical music.




 They are two pianists and one drummer (drummer for Phoenix and Cassius). Listening to Aufgang collectively or individually, on a dancefloor or in a living-room is an ever evolving experience: a track can go through many different stages, having many different layers.
(french-music)

InFine announce the second album from trio Aufgang who return with their unique double piano and drums setup. The vinyl package consists of 180 gramme vinyl records, a poster and an embroidered shield.

Tracklist :

01. Kyrie
02. Balkanik
03. Ellenroutir
04. Vertige
05. Abusement Ride
06. African Geisha
07. Diego Maradona
08. Stroke
09. Rachael's Run

Paris-based Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf learned a Middle Eastern quarter-tone technique from his brass-playing father, started out winning classical competitions, and then taught himself jazz. This New York quintet session, including US star sidemen Mark Turner (sax) and Clarence Penn (drums), seems certain to broaden his audience.

Maalouf has dedicated this album to Miles Davis, and it often uncannily echoes Sketches of Spain, but transformed in pitch by an Arabic influence. It's a session of poise, variety and sublime skill, moving from folk themes with Celtic lilts to hook-based funky pieces and evocative ballads. Some passages build like Brad Mehldau pieces, hinting at melodies and grooves. Sensuality has a stealthily playful theme and a steady Cuban dance pulse, but keeps throwing stylistic surprises. A startling new voice in contemporary jazz has arrived.
(Guardian)

Asked by the French national film library to choose and then write the music for a film from among the silent movies in the Albatros catalogue, Ibrahim Maalouf chose, from the selection proposed, René Clair's film " The Prey of the Wind". The project allowed Maalouf to fulfil two wishes - first to compose for a film, and second to compose a piece that could be very much inspired by Miles Davis' music in Louis Malle's "Lift to the Scaffold" but with the quarter-tone trumpet.

As Ibrahim himself tells it: "I wanted to reproduce that mysteriously melancholic atmosphere, dripping with suspense, contributing a discreet yet powerful arabic hue, blended into the typical jazz quintet played for many years by Miles' mythical quintet.
The album was recorded in New York City in half a day. Each piece was recorded in a single sitting. There are no post production tricks. The mixing was carried out the following day in the same studio. I also chose to work with jazz musicians able to flirt with my arabic sounds, without being destabilized.

The New York team is a trio composed of Larry Grenadier (bass), Clarence Penn (drums) and Mark Turner (saxophone). These musicians are greatly respected both in traditional and avant-garde jazz circles for their openness of mind, their creativity and their musicality. I also wanted to involve the pianist Frank Woeste, for the arrangements, so as to be as « accurate » as possible in my musical approach. Frank is also an excellent arranger and jazz composer."
(harmoniamundi)

Track List :

01. Doubts
02. Suspicions
03. Waiting
04. Questions & Answers
05. Waiting 2
06. Excitement
07. Certainly
08. Sensuality
09. Issues
10. Surprises
11. Doubts 2
12. Mistery

Stylistically, Who's Gonna get the Ball from behind the Wall of the Garden Today? is an impossible album to pin down. Starting off with a two-minute organ dirge worthy of a Giallo flick, second track "Yas Nas," a traditional Kuwaiti song, is an irresistible Arabic stomper with a heavy piano riff, blistering percussion and a kick-drum that recalls the organic dance music of Brandt Brauer & Frick. Bachar Mar-Khalife is a classically trained, French-Lebanese pianist and percussionist who started out as a professional concert performer. Conceived of as a meeting of East and West, the stylistic and linguistic split presented herein illustrates Mar-Khalife's feelings of a dual nationality and complex identity. "Machins Choses" (which features a duet with singer Kid A), a cover of a Serge Gainsbourg number, is contrasted with "Marea Negra," another cover, this time of a revolutionary song concerning the Arab Spring, with lyrics by late Syrian poet Ibrahim Qashoush. A heady mixture of Arabic and French, stompers and ballads, it's a superb and uniquely musically schizophrenic album.
(Infine)

Bachar Mar-Khalifé is a free man.
With him, freedom is not a state of affairs, it is a state of mind. At a time when questions of identity are central and civil status doubles as a service record, Bachar keeps shaking up the registers, sending labels flying.

First of all, he stresses that being born in war-torn Lebanon is no justification for trying to look good by claiming martyr status. And yet, like a whole generation of Lebanese and, more generally, Middle-Eastern kids, the war has always been part of his life. But war is certainly not something to dwell on. Which is why in France – the ally his family escaped to when he was 6 – he readily empathised with the silence of those who had lived through war. 
The old dichotomy, resistance or collaboration, is very simplistic. People should not be so quick to judge, there is no such thing as heroism.


 Tracks :

01. Memories 
02. Ya Nas
03. Mirror Moon
04. Machins Choses (feat. Kid A)
05. Marea Negra
06. Xerîbî
07. Progeria (Solo Version)
08. Requiem
09. K-Cinerea
10. Distance (Solo Version)

I have called it, “Aah...aah”, because my sorrows are still buried in the depth of my depths. What has surfaced is very very little…


From Macedonia to Vienna to Paris to Beirut…contradictory worlds…

Dense dreams and feelings in which childhood mixes with cruelty, calm with stormy currents, and hymns with crying and lamentation. 




 
I hear pain…old men and children…I see determination…women and young men…I touch sadness on the face and eyes…I feel sickness in the body and soul…


Since childhood returned to our house, I was born anew with every murmur, every laughter, every moon, every glimpse of beauty…


And fear came back…how could I trust a world like the one in which I am living? How many times was I suffocated for the sake of children who have been stolen by hatred and killed by the beast in the forest…


Pain, pain and pain…while I run from my malady...endlessly, I look for my humanity…


Like my preceding work, this has lived in me for a long time. It took shape through meetings between doubt and certainty, between determination and surrender, between desire and brokenness…


A look at the scent of freedom… happiness bound to come…

A burning memory, fast-paced aging, a small wing that angels did not protect…


A certain look at the ever present woman…dreamy, revived and wakeful…

And because life is stronger than anything else… and because the most beautiful of births after a painful labour is richer…


Dedication to those whose souls soared like butterflies in the horizon of the expansive universe…

And to the new grass of March… my little ones who are radiant with light…


1. Let Me Love You (feat. Rami Khalife)
 
2. When You Touch (feat. Marcel Khalife & Rami Khalife)

3. When I Love (feat. Peter Herbert, Joanna Lewis, Anne Harvey-Nagl, Elaine Koene & Melissa Coleman) 

4. We Are All from Clay (feat. Rihab Al- Helou, Peter Herbert, Joanna Lewis, Anne Harvey-Nagl, Elaine Koene & Melissa Coleman)

5. Do Not Look (feat. Joanna Lewis, Rihab Al- Helou, Peter Herbert, Anne Harvey-Nagl, Elaine Koene & Melissa Coleman)

6. O My Heart (feat. Anne Harvey-Nagl, Joanna Lewis, Peter Herbert, Melissa Coleman, Rihab Al- Helou & Elaine Koene)

7. When I Am a Child (feat. Anne Harvey-Nagl, Joanna Lewis, Peter Herbert, Melissa Coleman & Elaine Koene)

8. In My Wings (feat. Nathalie Guenet Fancois, Xavier Bigorge, Florence Guenet, Briggitte Said, Rania Awada & Franck Russo)

9. Travel (feat. Bachar Khalife)      

Elie Rizkallah is one of the few singers working to preserve the heritage of classical oriental music in an increasingly deteriorating Arabic music scene.


‘Shi Mesh Shakhsi’ is Rizkallah’s first album. Inspired by legends such as Sayyed Darwish, Oum Kalthoum and Mohammad Abdel Wahab, Rizkallah is attempting to prevent them from being resigned to outdated names in history. Composed and arranged by Ziyad Sahhab, ‘Shi Mesh Shakhsi’ is a classical Arabic album with a contemporary twist, bringing to mind the legendary singers of the past but with a distinctly modern edge.



Elie Rizkallah is a Lebanese classical singer who preserves oriental musical heritage and introduces its essence to a new generation of artists and audiences, Elie is often accompanied by a set of musicians also referred to classically as 'Takht Sharki', chamber orchestra, trio, and symphonic orchestra.


Track List :

1 Ala Khaddik
2 Itfaddali
3 Kalam el Leil
4 Khadti Wa’tik
5 Chou Baddik Bil Haki
6 Ba’oullik Eih
7 Mush Faker
8 Ma Bis’al Annik
9 Chi Mish Chakhsi

Abu al-Mughîth al-Husayn Ibn Mansûr, al-Hallâj (Iran 858 - Baghdad 922)
 After his arrest in Sûs and a lengthy period of confinement  (c. 911-922) in Baghdad, al- Hallâj was crucified and brutally tortured to death. A large crowd witnessed his execution.

He is remembered to have endured gruesome torture calmly and courageously and to have uttered words of forgiveness for his accusers.

Al-Hallâj left behind revered writings and supporters who courageously affirmed his teachings and his experience. In subsequent Islamic history, therefore, the life and thought of al-Hallâj has been a subject seldom ignored.

I have been studying Sûfi texts and trying to incorporate ethnomusicological approaches while composing selected Sûfi works for almost ten years. Al-Hallâj was one of the most that I admired.

Therefore, the preparation process for this work was exhausting. While keeping in mind the alternative musical tradition that Sûfism has penetrated throughout the years, the tools of ritualistic- expression that Sûfi fraternities used had and the significant  role in the establishment of varied alternative musical experiences that seek ecstasy, I faced major problematic matters that eventually had to be overcome. Musically speaking, the so-called \"classical\" musical tradition had developed dramatically in the courts of the  Islamic Empire while the alternative Sufi musical-tradition was developing in a different direction away from the courts and gradually applying more local musical elements.

This relative separation between the two traditions and the limited and careful musical interaction between the two traditions was the essence of the problem that I meditated while composing al-Hallaj\'s poetry. So in order for this work to reflect the musicality of the maqam system and the philosophical aspect of the text and its drama, a high level of artistic application of the expressed \"matters\" became necessary for the process of emphasizing the common and/or unique perception of al-Hallâj\'s surroundings, and bridging the outcome with current dilemmas. Depending on Maqam tradition on one hand and text on the other, the outcome was merely a composed text congenial with both its philosophical content and development of Islamic Court Music.

The significance of this work is its use of the musical tradition of the Islamic Empire as whole while selecting certain tools of expression to enhance the outcome. The ethnomusicological approach used in the composition eliminated any prejudicial technique and forms from being excluded.

Therefore, understanding the dynamics of this diverse tradition and developing a greater sense of respect to distinct and unique cultural characteristics that determined much of the musical character of each era, this work is opening doors to other aspects of our musical identity and exploring the artistic core of one of the greatest establishments.

The challenges that this work has generated for performers and listeners are fascinating and conceptual. All of the technical and interpretational aspects of the work are well thought off and contain well-furnished fine details.

Issa Boulos
Issa is a composer, \'ud performer, critic, researcher, writer and lyricist, his works have covered various genres and acquired worldwide recognition.

He is featured in many recordings and festivals throughout the world as both composer and performer and covered by virtually all media major networks including CNN, PBS, CBS, NBC, CLTV, CAN TV, Chicago Tribune, the Suntimes, the Reader, Chicago Weekly, RedEye. His latest commission was by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra where he wrote four pieces for orchestra and takht. His works include Kawkab Akhar, Shortly After Life, Lysistrata, Catharsis, Sama, al-Hallaj, Rif, Being Peace; A Palestinian Memoir, and the music for the PBS documentary \"The New Americans,\" and most recently for the critically acclaimed documentary \"Nice Bombs.\" Issa writes music reviews for Four Magazine and This Week In Palestine and is a recipient of several awards and fellowships including most recently an Artists Fellowship Award by the Illinois Arts Council and the 2006 Palestinian Cultural Fund Award. He is a lecturer at the University of Chicago where he directs the Middle East Music Ensemble.


This recording features various artists including Basel Zayed, voice; Samer Totah, ud; Yousef Zayed, percussion; Ibrahim Atari, qanun, and Issa Boulos on ud and supporting vocals. Compositions by Issa Boulos, poems by al-Hallaj.


Track List :

1 - There Is Something In My Heart
2 - The Eye Recognizes
3 - Profound Love
4 - The Entity Of My Entity
5 - You\'ve Lived In My Heart
6 - I Haven\'t Found Consolation
7 - Love Is Still Unsafely Dispirited
8 - I Am The One

The national catastrophe known as Nakba had a significant impact on the Palestinian cultural journey.

A culture journey which was interrupted with the deportation of the educated class of Palestine in 1948, and followed by the isolation of those who remained on their land from fellow Palestinians in the areas occupied in 1967.
This project comes 61 years after the disaster to defy attempts to obliterate the cultural identity of the Palestinians and challenge the Israeli policy of divide and rule practiced against Palestinians.


Baladna – Association for Arab Youth presents this project: creating a music album which is the first of its kind, which brings together young Palestinian artists from all sectors in the name of Palestinian music, deliberately ignoring the historical and geographical division.

This will be great chance to introduce modern artists to Palestinian youth who are desperate for fresh and young Palestinian culture.
This project is a part of the association's new strategy of planning money generating projects able to fund other activities brought to the community by Baladna.
All the benefits from selling the album will be used to cover the expenses of Baladna’s campaign against the Israeli civic service program that threatens the Palestinian identity and the national unity, and eventually can drag Palestinian youth into the Israeli army.
Both the album content and the gigs carried out for promoting it will deliver a political messages aiming to raise awareness to the importance of preserving the Palestinian identity and rejecting the Israeli civic service among Palestinian youth.
The content and the production of the album are made with a very young spirit that will suit the young Palestinian audience.

Track List :

01 - Palestine
02 - Palestinian Resistance
03 - Suffocated Electronics
04 - The Dice Man
05 - To Change Tomorrow
06 - The Third Generation
07 - Beast
08 - Oh Kufye Man
09 - No Longer Mine
10 - Lover & Hope

WAJDA
result of meetings between:
- Three artistic expressions (music, poetry, song)
- Two cultural worlds (East - West)
- Two parts of the Arab World (Machriq - Maghrib)
- Tradition and modernity

WAJDA
Western approach:
- Listen to the songs wajd like opera! and non-Arabic speakers they exceed the barrier of language,
- His world is the "spleen"
- And the interrogation of Duras' how to empty love. "
But that is wajd of love divine or human, it is always addressed to a loved one experienced lover.


Naziha Meftah: Singer performer
Indifference first album recorded in Cairo
Second album in Brussels in training Qayna (first voice)
Songs broadcast on Radio Orient, RMC, Medi1, RTM, ...
Participation in events like the Festival d'Avignon, 2003 and the Festival of Cultures Maghreb in Caen, 2005, ...
First Arab voice of Paris "in support of Radio Orient in 1990

Ghaïss Jasser: songwriter
first album of music, Bloom-Fruit, registered in California in 2002,
a dozen concerts (United States, France, Syria) where she played his compositions,
Doctor in French literature,
President of the International Film Festival of Women

Khaled Roumo: Bilingual Poet
author
researcher and lecturer
consultant in intercultural
designer and artistic director Wajdi

Track List :

01. Des miettes de souvenirs
02. Terre natale, refuge de l'âme!
03. Pourquoi m'aimes-tu
04. Le Pont des Arts
05. Exil
06. Retrouvailles
07. Souvenance
08. Le parfum de nos contrées

Ali Amr, vocalist and an instrumentalist, playing the qanun, a 72-string Arabic lap harp. As a 19-year-old virtuoso, his music experiences are rich and varied - included among them are performances with world-renowned musicians; appearances at cultural events in countries such as Sweden, Dubai, Norway, Germany, Holland, and Palestine; and first-place honors in competitions. In the U.S. he has participated in a 13-state tour , as well as jazz, folk, and Middle Eastern music festivals.

Track List :

1 - My Beloved Country
2 - O God, We Call
3 - Bosphorus Scenes under the Moonlight
4 - In Silence We Wait
5 - Suite in D Minor (feat. Clara Takarabe)
6 - Asfour
7 - Improvisation on the Qanun
8 - Poem
9 - Come and Fill
10 - Sirto Longa

Led by vocalist, composer Christiane Karam, the ZilZALA Middle Eastern Ensemble is a Boston & New York based World Music band that draws from several musical cultures to re-interpret classical, traditional and folk Arabic Music.


The outcome is a powerful and uplifting blend of Eastern and Western influences that range from Lebanese, Egyptian, Turkish, Greek and North African grooves and melodies, to contemporary Jazz harmonies, that creates a truly unique musical experience.

The ZilZALA Ensemble has been playing to packed houses in Boston and New York, bringing together music lovers from the Middle East with a western audience that is eager to learn about and enjoy the exotic middle eastern rhythms and melodies.

ZilZALA won 1st Runner Up for Best World Music Act in Boston in the 2006 Phoenix Best Music Poll and was nominated again in 2007. In addition to leading the ZilZALA ensemble, Christiane writes and performs in various musical settings, and this year had the privilege to perform at Carnegie Hall with Bobby McFerrin and 19 other vocalists from around the world.

Christiane is also an award-winning songwriter and is on the faculty of Berklee College of Music as a an Assistant Professor of voice, ensemble and songwriting.

www.myspace.com/zilzala

"East and West collide in the music of the ZiLZALA Middle Eastern Ensemble...This international cast of musicians provide a distinctive flavor and an irresistible rhythm." Luke O'Neil, the Boston Globe

"Christiane Karam & ZilZALA take you on a sensuous sound journey... You'll start on the narrow winding streets of Beirut and Damascus, hop a caravan ride through the desert, make a stop at a cinema in Cairo and, from there, they might lead you... just about anywhere!" Hankus Netsky- New England Conservatory


Track List :

1. Lamma Bada Yatathanna (trad. att.Sheikh Abdel Halim el Masloub/arr.C.Karam)
2. Ederlezi (trad. arr.C.Karam/inspired by Kuku Band/bulgarian lyrics by Ivaylo Vulchev)
3. Ehkili Ehkili (Rahbani Bros./arr.C.Karam)
4. Hibbi Daani Lil Wissal (Sheikh Sayyed Darwish/arr.C.Karam)
5. Khalleik Bel Beit (Ziad El Rahbani/ arr. C.Karam)
6. Gypsy Desert (C.Karam)
7. Nahna Wel Amar Jiran (Rahbani Bros./arr.C.Karam & G.Merega)
8. Storm/Oror (C.Karam/trad./arr.C.Karam)
9. Kan El Zaman (E.Rahbani/ arr.C.Karam)
10. Dunya Bir Dolap (C.Karam.text by Asik Veysel/vocal arr.by Joey Blake)

"As Blue as the Rivers of Amman" is the name of Yacoub Abu Ghosh's new album, Amman 2011. The songs and pieces of this project that carry deep inspirations from the local and regional Arabic musical heritage mixed with the pulse and the sounds of modern arrangement approaches of the global musical culture form a reflection of the artist's vision on the creative capabilities inherent in the social movement accelerated in the modern Arab city, in its harmonies and disorders. Lyrics are a mix between contemplative look at the Jordanian identity, the country rural nomadic side and the mystic Soufi poetry.

"كزرقة أنهار عمّان" هو اسم الألبوم الجديد ليعقوب أبو غوش عمّان 2011. تشكل أغاني ومقطوعات هذا المشروع والتي تحمل تأثرات عميقة من التراث الموسيقي المحلي و العربي ممزوجة بنبض وأصوات الفكر الحديث في التوزيع الموسيقي العالمي إنعكاس لرؤية الفنان عن القدرات الإبداعية الكامنة في الحراك المجتمعي المتسارع في المدينة العربية الحديثة بتناغمها واضطراباتها. أما نصوص الأغاني فتمزج بين نظرة تأملية في الهويه الاردنية والبلاد شامية الريفية والبدوية والشعر العربي المتصوف

Track List :

01 - Blue Car
02 - Mashghoul
03 - Senses
04 - On the Fly
05 - Tal Al Safar
06 - Bossa Share3 Al Malfouf
07 - Asma
08 - Sama3i Sa3eed
09 - Mushtaq
10 - Sukkar

People who are interested in David Peña Dorantes Kudsi Erguner Ryuichi Sakamoto should consider this album..



Mohammad Haddad is a Bahraini composer and music critic. He is an active artist in the music scene of Bahrain and a leading composer in the film scores of Bahraini films. He is best known for his work on the soundtrack of the critically acclaimed Bahraini motion picture A Bahraini Tale.



was born on October 2, 1975, in Muharraq, Bahrain, the second child of father Qassim Haddad and Mother Moza Al Shamlan, along with his elder sister Tufool Haddad and younger brother Mahyar Haddad. His father poet Qassim Haddad is an influential cultural figure in Bahrain.

In 2000, Haddad had obtained his bachelor degree in Music composition and conducting with an honors with distinction degree from the Cairo Conservatory of Music, Academy of Art, Egypt.
Between those seven years 1993 - 2000, Haddad studied score-reading, orchestration and conducting under maestro Ahmed El-Saedi, counterpoint and music analysis under professor Awatef Abdel Karim and composition basics under Ahmad Abdulla, Mona Ghoneim and Rageh Dawood.

In 1997, while Haddad was enrolled in his bachelor program in Cairo, he also Participated in Bahrain in a musical workshop for Oud under the supervision of the Iraqi Musician Naseer Shamma.

Upon his return from his educational journey in Cairo, Haddad was immediately involved in the art scene in Bahrain. In 2000, he composed the music for the play “Three Girls…Harem” right after his graduation. And continued composing the music and sound effects for a number of plays afterward including, “Wedding Night” in 2001, “Adhari” and “Life Is Not Very Serious in Its Bits and Pieces” in 2003, “At Midnight” in 2004 and “News of the Mad Lover” in 2005.

Also, in 2005, while he was in a visit to Scotland, he composed music for the experimental animation “Emotion in Motion”- graduation project by Hiba Abulhosn, Edinburgh College of Art.

By the year 2006, Haddad had established himself as one of Bahrain’s rising music composers, the same year he was assigned by Bahraini film director Bassam Al-Thawadi to compose the score of the Bahrain motion picture “A Bahraini Tale”. The movie received excellent reviews all around the Persian Gulf region.

2008 was a productive year for Haddad, he composed the score for six independent films, “Future Vision”, a documentary directed by Bassam Al-Thawadi, then “A Dinner” directed by Hussain Al-Riffaei, “Absence” directed by Mohammed Bu-Ali, “Yaseen” directed by Jamal Al-Ghailan, then he worked with Emirati director Khalid Al-Mahmood in his short film “Bint al nokhitha”, and his last film in 2008 was “Mraimy” a short film directed by Ali Al-Ali.

Mohammed Haddad had also been writing critical publications about music in several Bahraini newspapers since 1995 until today.


Original Release Date: 11 Nov 2011
Label: Mohammed Haddad Records
Copyright: 2011 Mohammed Haddad
Total Length: 28:44

Track List :

01. Mohammed Haddad - Transformations of Tarafa
02. Mohammed Haddad - Khawla Alone
03. Mohammed Haddad - ...Kindred
04. Mohammed Haddad - The Palanquin's Knights
05. Mohammed Haddad - Lacrimosa
06. Mohammed Haddad - Ibn Yaamen
07. Mohammed Haddad - Road to Alheera
08. Mohammed Haddad - The Return of the Poet (Khawla's Recall)
09. Mohammed Haddad - Temple of the Body

When a group of seven young, talented, and highly inventive musicians get together to rehearse daily for six months on the first floor of a derelict building, the end result is ‘Qarar Izala’, the first album from Egyptian/Syrian band Dor el Awal. Their name is a pun on the Egyptian expression for ‘the first floor’, as well as a reference to this promising band’s first musical foray.



Meshing their different musical backgrounds together, they have succeeded in creating an intensely personal tapestry of sounds, one that fuses oriental ‘Taqassim’ on qanoun and flute, jazzy improvisations on saxophone and flute, as well as Spanish/flamenco meanderings on two tracks.


Track List :

1. Blue hair
2. Qarar izala
3. Bossa
4. Hawiyya
5. Hawdag
6. Rehla
7. Iskandaria
8. Megansa
9. Sohba

Arabandi emerged from the meeting of exceptionally gifted artists from diverse Eastern musical cultures. Each is a master in his field, having a background rich in musical experience as compose, improviser, teacher and performing artist of the highest intenational standards.
In contrast to other musical encounters betwen East and West, Arabandi is a unique fusion between East and East. Although each of the Eastern musical traditions represented in this album has its own specific characteristics (Indian, Arab, Persian and Turkish), they have much in common - both musically as well as historically. Such a collaboration is, threrefore, not only natural but even expected.



Arabandi comprises three of the most prominent Israeli musicians in the field of world ethnic music, all of whom enjoy wide-renging international careers. Tayser Elias - oud & violin, Zohar Fresco - percussion and Amir Shahsar - Persian ney & vocals. They are joined by Krishnamurti Sridhar, one of the most prominent sarod players in India.
Recorded Live in Tel Aviv.

Track List :
1. Bint elshalabia - (Lovely Girl)
2. Seven Gates
3. Dawn
4. Shisheler
5. Arabandi
6. Frame Drum Monologue
7. Bandar
8. Durbarod
9. Hope

After more than a year in the making, Adonis Band's first CD is now done, complete, finito, ready for you to grab a copy and blow your friends' car speakers up through sunny summer rides to faraway beaches and Grandma's village houses.

Adonis is a musical project that came to life on the rooftop of an anonymous building in an anonymous Northern suburb. It was sparked by a desire to create fresh and bold variations on local musical themes, an effort to move away from the stagnant, the recurrent and the self-referential modern pop music recipes.   In July 2010, the project matured into a group of six young local musicians.

Armed with a remarkably eclectic baggage of musical influences and cultural models, joined by their love for their musical identity and the desire to see it grow and evolve, Adonis became an amalgamate of festive tunes, beaming colors, folky beats, adolescent rebellion, playful arrangements and street nonchalance, creating a sound addictive in its simplicity, poignant in its honesty.  Inspired by the small town of the same name, Adonis feeds on the stories of its residents, their things and places, their hidden lives and taunting secrets, the dullness of their street lights and the flatness of their building facades. Adonis is where the ordinary hasn't yet been exotisized under intellectual pretenses, where kitsch belongs back to the world of gestures and effects, and where music is nothing but a simple celebration of the beauty and the magic of the everyday.

Track List :

01 Ajnabiyyi
02 Stouh Adonis
03 Daw L Baladiyyi
04 Sawt LMadini
05 Daw L Baladiyyi (2)
06 Ma Kan Mafroud
07 Aman Aman
08 Chajret El Jararank
09 Awaat
10 Chbabik
11 Ma Endi Fekra

« L'espoir en otage », en arabe classique.
C'est le titre que j'ai donné à ce petit album comportant six chansons et trois poèmes. Un album que je dédie, au nom de la commune humanité, à mes amis rencontrés en Palestine, et à tous les peuples du monde vivant sous loi martiale, tous les peuples subissant au quotidien occupation militaire, enfermement, privations, engendrées par un régime politique autoritaire quel qu'il soit.
Je ne suis pas arabe, et je suis un arabophone débutant. Mais j'ai souhaité m'exprimer dans une langue qui n'est pas la mienne, l'arabe classique, pour toucher dans leur langue les gens que j'ai pu rencontrer lors des tournées dans le monde arabe (Palestine, Algérie, Maroc, Egypte).
J'ai écrit quelques poèmes et chansons en français, et des amis palestiniens, algériens, tunisiens, les ont adaptés en arabe classique. Le résultat est une adaptation, pas une traduction littérale, et j'ai travaillé la plupart du temps en phonétique.

Ces quelques poèmes et chansons parlent de la lutte de l'Homme universel pour la conquête de ses droits civiques et pour sa dignité. Ma référence, c'est la déclaration universelle des droits de l'Homme. Mon combat, c'est celui du droit:
Application du droit international. Respect de la liberté des peuples à disposer d'eux-mêmes. Désir de paix, d'une paix juste, basée sur l'égalité des droits pour tous.
Ces quelques poèmes et chansons sont, pour certains, inspirés directement de poèmes écrits par des palestiniens lors d'ateliers d'écriture en Cisjordanie.

Les textes de ces quelques poèmes et chansons je les ai voulu engagés, dénonciateurs, mais aussi porteurs de vie et d'espoir. N'y cherchez pas un mot violent, ou haineux caché au détour d'une phrase. Il n'y en a pas. 

Ces quelques poèmes et chansons, j'ai tenté d'en peser chaque phrase, chaque mot. J'espère que j'y suis parvenu. Dans tous les cas, je les veux ouverts à la critique, au débat, à l'échange, au dialogue.
Ces quelques poèmes et chansons, le ton en paraitra peut-être naif et décalé à des occidentaux
pour qui la conquête de nombreuses libertés est une histoire ancienne, et un fait acquis. Voilà pourquoi ils ne sortiront pas en France, Par contre ils seront disponible au téléchargement gratuit.
Ces quelques poèmes  et chansons sont le fruit d'une démarche personnelle, détachée de toute étiquette politique. 

Ces quelques poèmes et chansons, je les livre à qui voudra bien y prêter une oreille. Je les livre, convaincu que c'est la libre circulation des idées
qui précède les évènements et non l'inverse.
Convaincu qu'il faut tout faire pour sortir des impasses, des traumatismes, par d'autres voies que les voies militaires.

En espérant que les mots du musiciens puissent contribuer un tout petit peu, à leur échelle, à redonner espoir, et à faire tomber les murs.

Kwal


 

Amir ElSaffar is an Iraqi-American trumpeter and vocalist. He is also a skilled interpreter of Iraqi maqam, which he sings and plays on the santur. Inana builds on those concepts influenced by Middle Eastern music, and improvised jazz music. The first eight tracks of the album make up the Inana Suite, named after and inspired by the ancient Middle Eastern goddess, whom inspired some of the compositions on this album. ElSaffar is joined on this multi-cultural adventure by a group he calls The Two Rivers Ensemble, composed of highly-skilled, creative musicians: Nasheet Waitson drums, Carlo DeRosa on bass, Tareq Abboushi on buzuq and saxophonist Ole Mathisen. The music deftly combines jazz and Middle Eastern music in a unique way, finding common ground in improvisation on the opening tracks, “Damuzi's Dream" and “Venus, the Evening Star" which evoke desert landscapes with the combination of plucked instruments, trumpet and ricocheting drumwork. This becomes even more passionate in the suite that follows, “Inana's Dance" which develops in multiple parts, using spaciousness and patience which allow the music to develop organically.

This natural development is also clearly stated on the lengthy and episodic “Journey to the Underworld" which reveals its mysteries slowly and evolves into an evocative suite of its own. ElSaffar's studies in both jazz and ethnic music have placed him in good stead to carve out a unique place in the current improvised music. His music and musicial concept is clearly evolving, and this is a very exciting development.


Track List :

1. Dumuzi's Dream
2. Venus, the Evening Star
3. Inana's Dance (I, II, III)
4. Inana's Dance (IV)
5. Lady of Heaven
6. Infinite Variety
7. Journey to the Underworld
8. Venus the Morning Star
9. Al-Badia