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Hicham Chami, a virtuoso of the hammer dulcimer called the qanun, moved here from Morocco almost a decade ago and in 2003 assembled the Chicago Classical Oriental Ensemble, which began with ten members and at times grew to two dozen. The group developed a spot-on re-creation of the stately yet florid Arabic classical style made famous in the 30s and 40s by singer Umm Kalthoum, and its first album, 2006’s The Songs of Sheikh Sayyed Darweesh: Soul of a People, tackled the repertoire of the beloved Egyptian composer who modernized the music in the early 20th century by adding Western orchestral strings. Since then the group, renamed the Arabesque Music Ensemble, has shrunk to a six-piece (qanun, oud, ney, violin, cello, and percussion), but on its new The Music of the Three Musketeers—the title refers to a trio of Egyptians who wrote for Kalthoum at the zenith of her career—it still sounds fabulous. Its crowning glory is veteran Syrian-born vocalist Youssef Kassab, who can bring the rigor and austerity of sacred music to a popular love song. Unless you travel to the Middle East, it’s hard to see this stuff played live—and nearly impossible to find a group that can do it with such elegance and passion.
Arrow 7:30 PM, Preston Bradley Hall, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, 312-744-6630. Free All Ages
— by Peter Margasak 01/31/08 >> go there
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