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Sample Track 1:
"Ya Bahgat er-Roh" from The Songs of Sayyed Darweesh: Soul of a People (Xauen Music)
Sample Track 2:
"Bint el-Youm" from The Songs of Sayyed Darweesh: Soul of a People (Xauen Music)
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The Songs of Sayyed Darweesh: Soul of a People (Xauen Music)
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Concert Review

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The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Concert Review >>

A worthy tribute to a prolific Arab composer
By PHILIPPA KIRALY
SPECIAL TO THE P-I

The short career of Egyptian composer Sheikh Sayyed Darweesh came and went like a meteor early in the 20th century, but left an indelible mark, influencing Arab composers to this day.

His prolific output before an untimely death at 31 included 30 musicals, many long-song forms called adwar and more than 150 songs. He expanded the range of Arab music to include Western techniques such as harmony and counterpoint, and Western instruments along with Near Eastern ones. When he died, he was planning to study opera in Italy.

Darweesh's music was celebrated by the Chicago Classical Oriental Ensemble in its concert Tuesday night at Town Hall, and was attended by an enthusiastic audience, including some who clearly were knowledgeable about the music and its forms.

The comprehensive and well-written program notes gave information about Darweesh and those who came after, as well as about this ensemble, but unfortunately, no explanations or translations about the musical works performed. The titles of works on the program were written in Arabic, so those who could not read it were left without signposts to understand how the program was designed, was being played, whether an expressive, passionate song was religious or patriotic, or about love or politics. Some were clearly narrative, some had verses and choruses, all were wonderfully eloquent and the music beautiful, no Western scales in use.

The ensemble included the oud, the versatile Near Eastern lute; the riqq, a tambourine with a whole range of percussion sounds; and the qanun, zither-shaped with many strings, and capable of being tuned to quarter-tones, played with both hands with plectra; plus violin, cello and two singers.While nearly all the music was in unison or octaves and mostly within a relatively small pitch range, the subtleties came with the different timbres of the instruments, the ornamentation and variety within the beat. Flowing or soulful, declamatory or with hesitations, cheerful, contemplative or plaintive, the emotions of everything played or sung drew in the listener.

The whole was fascinating, the performance polished. I just wish I had understood more. 03/02/06 >> go there
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