June 27, 2007
Top Mideast, Arab Musicians
Set for Cairo Musical Dialogue By
Marwa al-A\'sar
Cairo
Surrounded by a panoramic view of the ancient monuments of Cairo and
Salah Eddin citadel, seven top oriental musicians are due to engage
in a three-day musical dialogue July 6.
At least 1,000 Egyptians from the country's cultural community and
people interested in non-commercial music are expected to attend the
performances featuring oriental compositions and improvisations, all
held under the umbrella of Dozan Modern Oriental Music Festival.
"It is a good opportunity for music fans to listen to a collection
of different compositions in a condensed period," said novelist and
columnist Sahar al-Mougy.
"We can't easily get hold of such music in an era when low-quality
Arabic pop music overwhelms the market," she added.
Organized by the Egyptian Culture Resource Organisation, the
festival will be held at Geneena open-air theatre in Cairo's Azhar
Park.
The festival programme includes three major concerts by the
following musicians: Raed Khoshaba (Iraq), Khaled Jubran
(Palestine), Barbaros Erkose (Turkey), Youssra al-Dahaby (Tunis),
Andre Hajj (Lebanon), Abdu Dagher and Hazem Jahine (Egypt).
They are scheduled to perform solo performances as well as joint
recitals and improvisations.
One of the most recognized participants is Palestinian Jubran, a
composer and master of the oriental instruments of buzuq, a
long-necked, fretted lute, and oud, a pear-shaped, stringed
instrument, similar to a lute used in traditional Arabic and Middle
Eastern music.
He is also the founder of al-Urmawi Centre for Mashreq (Eastern)
Music, a Palestinian institution promoting innovation in Arab music
and developing the skills of young Arab musicians.
Khaled Jubran has released two albums: Em El Khelkhal in 2000 and
Mazamir in 2005.
Jubran is dissatisfied with the status of music in the Arab world
and believes that festivals and public performances at cultural
centres are a way for non-commercial musicians to reach people.
Arabic and oriental music, he said, currently reflect the
deteriorating state of the Arab nations. "If a society is
prosperous, music will echo this prosperity and vice versa. 80 per
cent of Arab listeners listen to commercial pop songs through video
clip channels."
Jubran's compositions are purely oriental, yet untraditional, with
Iranian and Turkish touches based on instruments like buzuq and nai,
an oriental wooden flute.
"My music represents the Arab people of the 21st century, not any
other era," said Jubran.
The festival is set to conclude with compositions and joint
improvisations by renowned violinist and composer, Abdo Dagher,
accompanied by the young, talented, composer and oud player, Hazem
Jahine.
Dagher, whose training and methodology is accredited
internationally, has given Egyptian music a unique flavour through
using highly sophisticated musical phrases and symphonic patterns,
where traditions are combined with the contemporary.
Master of the traditional art of monodic (non-harmonized) Arabic
music, he categorizes his music as "classical Egyptian" and plays in
Europe regularly.
Jahine, Dagher's festival companion, is an exceptional Egyptian oud
player, composer and instructor. He is the founder of the Egyptian
band Eskenderella, a group reviving Egyptian musical heritage.
He is a founding member of another musical band called Massar:
Mazzika bas (Track: Only pure music), which released its first album
in 2006. Jahine said he is reluctant to categorise music. For him,
"music is a language with different dialects".
A simple line of rhythm, melody and percussion characterizes
oriental music. Yet, some contemporary music composers have come up
with new trends, which include adding western instruments. Some have
even orchestrated their music, adding to it a sense of harmony,
while retaining its exotic nature.
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