Marcel Khalifé: Fall of the Moon By Donna Bird, on August 2nd, 2012

Fall of the MoonThe publicist at Rock, Paper, Scissors who sent me a review copy of this double-CD set told me I would love it. I do, I do! But then I generally love Middle Eastern music, and that it is, at least in part.

Marcel Khalifé is a Lebanese singer, songwriter, composer and oud player. Fall of the Moon offers a respectful homage to his longtime friend, the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, who died in 2008. Both Khalifé and Darwish can be described as political and spiritual dissidents and in that sense citizens of the larger human community. Khalifé has more than once faced charges of insulting religious values for quoting the Quran in one of his compositions. Darwish was for many years involved with the PLO and was a member of its Executive Committee from 1987 to 1993.

A visit to Khalifé’s official website shows how prolific he has been. Born in 1950, he released his first album, Promises of the Storm, in 1976. His discography includes twenty other titles. He’s also written about playing the oud, in an effort to articulate some of the traditions associated with this instrument. The oud, by the way, is a stringed instrument often used in Middle Eastern and North African arrangements. While it is considered to be an ancestor of the guitar, I noticed that Khalifé often plays it with a bow. In this configuration, it sounds like a very resonant ‘cello.

The final version of this CD set is in a rather stunning tri-fold package showing a full moon behind black tree branches against a deep purple sky background. Cover copy is in English and Arabic, which is a nice touch. The opening fold includes liner notes in an inside pocket. These offer lyrics translated into English, although they are in black against deep purple, which renders them a challenge to read. Fortunately, they are also available here.

Although neither the liner notes nor the site include details on the history of individual tracks or on the musicians playing on them, they do provide an overall list of performers. They include the Kiev Philharmonic Orchestra, the Al Mayadine Ensemble (Khalifé’s long-time back-up band), two female vocalists, Khalifé’s sons Rami and Bachar on piano and percussion respectively, as well as double bass, ‘cello, accordion, clarinet and guitar players. My remarks below are based on this information as well as on my listening.

Altogether, Fall of the Moon offers nearly two hours of listening and eighteen tracks. The title track opens the second CD. It’s a seven-plus minute instrumental that was clearly performed by the Kiev Philharmonic. I was somewhat taken aback by this, as it sounded like pretty typical (not bad, but not remarkable) orchestral neo-classical music. There are four other instrumentals, including “The Stranger’s Bed,” the all-too-brief “Jahar Kah,” “Two Guitars,” which is just what it sounds like, and “Waltz for Rita’s Winter,” which, like the title track, is just a bit too symphonic for my taste.

Everything else includes some vocal work, sometimes solo male, sometimes solo female, often choral work. The first track on the first CD, “The Pigeons Fly,” starts with a long piano instrumental, which shifts into an interplay between the piano and oud with a male vocal, then adds some marvelous percussion. At thirteen-plus minutes, “Houriyeh’s Instructions” is one of the longer tracks. It features a lot of interesting percussion and a solo female vocal. “Mohammad” is an a capella female vocal. The lyrics (in English translation) read in part:

Mohammed nests in his father’s lap

a bird terrified

of the hell in the sky

“Father, protect me

from flying

up in the air

my wings are small for the wind

and light is black”

The second CD in the set wraps up with two very lively pieces that together run about eleven minutes in length. The lyrics for “The Most Beautiful Love” include these lines, which remind me of the Sufi poet Rumi:

I love you as caravans love an oasis

some water and grass

and as a poor man loves a loaf of bread.

We’ll always stay friends

Given the recent troubles in Syria, “in Damascus” seems especially prescient, saying:

In Damascus

the traveler sings to himself:

I return from Syria

neither alive

nor dead

but as clouds

that ease the butterfly’s burden

from my fugitive soul

Earlier this year, Khalifé played in a few major US cities in support of Fall of the Moon. I wish I’d seen him, I’m sure I would have found the experience tremendously moving. Even listening to the recorded music is very, very intense.

Nagam Records, 2012