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VOICES IN THE WILDERNESS
By Noam Ben Ze'ev
Ha'aretz
Sept 10 2008
Israel
PETRA, Jordan - Only the view makes the descent to the Red Rock
easier. Your feet hurt as they search for something to grab onto
on the meandering road down. But your attention is not directed at
them and their problems at all: At the foot of these chalk rocks with
their heads in the sky, which nature has formed into incredible shapes
and adorned with many colors, your eyes are always directed upward,
and your attention is occupied by an attempt to take in the sights.
And now another sense is activated, your sense of hearing: The song of
a choir suddenly echoes among the rocks, sacred Christian music. And a
few minutes later, another choir, this time an adaptation of an Arabic
song. By the last bend before the ancient Nabatean temple appears,
they are all singing, each in turn: choirs from Baghdad, Damascus,
East Jerusalem, Amman and Tripoli, Lebanon. Advertisement
That is how the historic first festival of choirs from the Arab world,
called Aswatuna, which means "Our Voices," reached one of its high
points. And at the end, in a large area at the foot of the Red Rock,
all the choirs gathered and sang together, realizing, in the blending
of their voices, the festival's ideal.
First encounters
"Three years ago, we began to plan the convention and the festival,
and it was a dream. Now it is coming true," said Andre de Quadros, the
artistic director and moving spirit behind Aswatuna, which ended two
weeks ago. De Quadros, a native of India who studied at the academy
of music in Bombay, is a conductor, professor of music and director
of the School of Music at Boston University.
"Our goal is social, consolidating the musical community in the Arab
world by means of song, and we have begun here, in the Middle East,"
he said. "Jordan was a logical choice because today, it is the only
place that everyone can reach overland."
And why in Petra of all places?
"Because it is an ancient historical site, a melting pot for the
nations of the region, but also because the place is isolated, in
the middle of the desert, like a monastery. Here there is no city to
which one can escape for shopping or entertainment in the middle of
the activity," he said with a smile.
And what motivated you personally to embark on such an initiative?
"As an Indian, I have a strong connection with the Arab world,"
said De Quadros. "But first of all, I really believe in building
communities by means of singing together, and that a festival has
the potential to be a breakthrough for that."
The power of music
A concerned note crept into the festive supper that opened
the gathering: The Sharagan choir from Baghdad, conducted by
Annie Melconian, had not yet arrived. Initial meetings among the
participants, who were scattered randomly among the tables in order
to break down barriers, took place in the shadow of this concern:
36 hours had already passed since the choir left the city, which is
less than a 12-hour drive away, and it was still en route.
Nevertheless, the meal was cheerful, and its conclusion enabled
the choirs to introduce themselves informally by singing among the
tables. The last to sing were members of a guest choir, Voces Nordicae,
from Sweden. Without even getting up from their seats, the choir's
members amazed everyone with their clean, clear sound. Their singing
defined an hierarchy that was maintained throughout the gathering: On
one hand, the Arab choirs, whose level is high by any international
criterion, but on the other hand, on an entirely different level,
Voces Nordicae: a super-choir of 16 virtuoso soloists with no vocal
or technical boundaries, which provided an educational model during
the event by demonstrating what heights a chamber choir can achieve
in terms of vocal ability and repertoire.
The next morning, after a few hours of sleep, the Iraqi choir
was already attending the festive reception that opened the day's
events. De Quadros introduced the choir excitedly, and as its members
described the trials they had experienced during the trip, the young
conductor Melconian burst into tears. She is a graduate of Baghdad
University, and during the two years that she has been conducting
the choir - which has been more or less rehabilitated since the war
and now performs on Christian holidays and at memorial events for the
Armenian holocaust - she has had to survive difficult conditions in
order to continue to lead the young singers.
De Quadros introduced the choirs and the conductors: Palestinian
representative Hania Soudah-Sabbara of East Jerusalem, a graduate of
the music academy in Jerusalem, and his Choir of the Custody of the
Holy Land; conductor and executive director of the festival Shireen
Abu Khader, who has a master's degree from the University of South
Carolina and conducts the Jordanian choir, Dozan wa Awtar Singers;
Viktor Babenko of Russia, winner of many awards, who has been teaching
since 1992 at the High Institute of Music in Damascus and founded its
chamber choir; and Lebanese-Armenian Barkev Taslakian, conductor of
the Al Fayha choir from northern Lebanon.
"Each of those who helped to produce the convention devoted hundreds
of hours over these years," said De Quadros to the hundreds of
attendees, as he thanked the participants and supporters, including
the International Festival for Choral Music (IFCM) and Sweden Concerts,
the Swedish association for concert music. "Not in order to make music
for fun, but out of thought for the long term - so that choirs will
meet one another year after year, for a week of work and singing. We
want to build the infrastructure for that together, and we believe
in the power of music. What this week leaves within us will define
the continuation."
The first Arab choral festival was underway.
Western influence
In the common perception, a mixed four-part choir of men and women
is a foreign implant in the Arab cultural-musical world. The Arab
vocal tradition is seen as based only on soloists accompanied by
an instrument, and the singing is meant to arouse strong feelings
by expressing profound sadness or great happiness. But the week of
singing at the choral festival demonstrated totally different aspects
of this culture.
The first hint of that appeared at a concert of the music institute
choir from Damascus. The 40-minute performance excited the festival's
participants, as they heard Western choral music, adaptations of Arab
songs, a Ukrainian folk song and, for the finale, an Arab spoken song
about a pretend quarrel between girls and boys, which brought the
listeners to their feet. From jazz rhythms to Arab quarter tones -
it had everything.
Religious, folkloristic and classical choral genres have always
existed in the Arab musical world alongside solo performances. That
was demonstrated by the head of the National Conservatory for Music
in Amman, Kifah Fakhouri, who related the history of Arab group
singing. People always sang together, he said - work songs, life cycle
songs and religious songs. But the rise of radio, Egyptian films and
the advent of missionaries from the West led to the emergence of the
concept of the choir.
One after another, the choirs demonstrated a high level of technique,
vocal production, work and choice of repertoire. But it turns out
that this high level did not result from a comprehensive, nationwide
musical education system in those countries. These choirs are isolated,
localized phenomena, the fruit of the vision of people dedicated to
the idea.
In Damascus, according to a Palestinian colleague who recently
returned after living there for eight years (Syrians are forbidden
to talk to Israelis, and at this festival, too, they strictly
observed this prohibition), the music institute's choir is the only
professional choir, and acceptance to the institute depends on one
of two conditions: growing up in a family with a Western cultural
bent that can afford to pay for music lessons for the children from
an early age, or being exceptionally talented. Nevertheless, it is
clear that the choirs at the festival reflect a process of awakening
to concert music that is occurring in all the Arab countries.
The most hidden emotions
The feeling throughout the festival was that there was no time to
waste. Organizers De Quadros and Abu Khader are totally devoted to
the event, and the schedule was murderous: After the early breakfast,
people immediately divided into working groups - separate vocal
workshops for the male and female singers, lectures about music in
the Arab world and choral music in general, a round-table discussion
about the problems of conductors and musical directors of choirs in
Arab countries and ways of solving them. At lunchtime, there were
concerts by the choirs, and after the quick lunch, a joint rehearsal
by all the choirs for the final concert.
The evening brought more workshops and individual rehearsals, or
special events such as the journey to Petra, and at night came the
opportunity for parties and meeting new people. And it was the same
every day. Only on the last day, before the final concert at Little
Petra, at the foot of one of the pinkish temples in the fissures
of the rocks, was it possible to find the words "free time" in the
schedule - two hours during which the hundreds of participants could
breathe easy for a little while.
The concert by the Al Fayha choir from Lebanon was another high point,
and as in other concerts, here, too, the special attitude of all the
attendees to the Palestinians and their struggle was evident. The
choir sang a refined repertoire of Arab music and Christian church
music and ended with the song "Jerusalem" by Lebanese singer Fairuz,
in which she integrated the calls of the muezzin and passages of
Christian prayer with great virtuosity.
All eyes were on Hania Soudah-Sabbara, the conductor of the
Palestinian choir. "I hope that next year, we will all be able to
hold the festival in Jerusalem, that you will all be able to come
to us," she said. "Jerusalem is yours just as it is mine. That is my
prayer." And many had tears in their eyes.
"This is a short event, but the idea and the vision behind it are
great: to bring together, for the first time, musicians and ensembles
from the Arab world who have never heard one another," said Shireen
Abu Khader. "This is a workshop for singing, but it is more than that
- it is building a community infrastructure and making peace. Music
can express our most hidden emotions, and through it, and through
the connection that has been formed among us, we will be able to make
this come true."
By Noam Ben Ze'ev
Ha'aretz
Sept 10 2008
Israel
PETRA, Jordan - Only the view makes the descent to the Red Rock
easier. Your feet hurt as they search for something to grab onto
on the meandering road down. But your attention is not directed at
them and their problems at all: At the foot of these chalk rocks with
their heads in the sky, which nature has formed into incredible shapes
and adorned with many colors, your eyes are always directed upward,
and your attention is occupied by an attempt to take in the sights.
And now another sense is activated, your sense of hearing: The song of
a choir suddenly echoes among the rocks, sacred Christian music. And a
few minutes later, another choir, this time an adaptation of an Arabic
song. By the last bend before the ancient Nabatean temple appears,
they are all singing, each in turn: choirs from Baghdad, Damascus,
East Jerusalem, Amman and Tripoli, Lebanon. Advertisement
That is how the historic first festival of choirs from the Arab world,
called Aswatuna, which means "Our Voices," reached one of its high
points. And at the end, in a large area at the foot of the Red Rock,
all the choirs gathered and sang together, realizing, in the blending
of their voices, the festival's ideal.
First encounters
"Three years ago, we began to plan the convention and the festival,
and it was a dream. Now it is coming true," said Andre de Quadros, the
artistic director and moving spirit behind Aswatuna, which ended two
weeks ago. De Quadros, a native of India who studied at the academy
of music in Bombay, is a conductor, professor of music and director
of the School of Music at Boston University.
"Our goal is social, consolidating the musical community in the Arab
world by means of song, and we have begun here, in the Middle East,"
he said. "Jordan was a logical choice because today, it is the only
place that everyone can reach overland."
And why in Petra of all places?
"Because it is an ancient historical site, a melting pot for the
nations of the region, but also because the place is isolated, in
the middle of the desert, like a monastery. Here there is no city to
which one can escape for shopping or entertainment in the middle of
the activity," he said with a smile.
And what motivated you personally to embark on such an initiative?
"As an Indian, I have a strong connection with the Arab world,"
said De Quadros. "But first of all, I really believe in building
communities by means of singing together, and that a festival has
the potential to be a breakthrough for that."
The power of music
A concerned note crept into the festive supper that opened
the gathering: The Sharagan choir from Baghdad, conducted by
Annie Melconian, had not yet arrived. Initial meetings among the
participants, who were scattered randomly among the tables in order
to break down barriers, took place in the shadow of this concern:
36 hours had already passed since the choir left the city, which is
less than a 12-hour drive away, and it was still en route.
Nevertheless, the meal was cheerful, and its conclusion enabled
the choirs to introduce themselves informally by singing among the
tables. The last to sing were members of a guest choir, Voces Nordicae,
from Sweden. Without even getting up from their seats, the choir's
members amazed everyone with their clean, clear sound. Their singing
defined an hierarchy that was maintained throughout the gathering: On
one hand, the Arab choirs, whose level is high by any international
criterion, but on the other hand, on an entirely different level,
Voces Nordicae: a super-choir of 16 virtuoso soloists with no vocal
or technical boundaries, which provided an educational model during
the event by demonstrating what heights a chamber choir can achieve
in terms of vocal ability and repertoire.
The next morning, after a few hours of sleep, the Iraqi choir
was already attending the festive reception that opened the day's
events. De Quadros introduced the choir excitedly, and as its members
described the trials they had experienced during the trip, the young
conductor Melconian burst into tears. She is a graduate of Baghdad
University, and during the two years that she has been conducting
the choir - which has been more or less rehabilitated since the war
and now performs on Christian holidays and at memorial events for the
Armenian holocaust - she has had to survive difficult conditions in
order to continue to lead the young singers.
De Quadros introduced the choirs and the conductors: Palestinian
representative Hania Soudah-Sabbara of East Jerusalem, a graduate of
the music academy in Jerusalem, and his Choir of the Custody of the
Holy Land; conductor and executive director of the festival Shireen
Abu Khader, who has a master's degree from the University of South
Carolina and conducts the Jordanian choir, Dozan wa Awtar Singers;
Viktor Babenko of Russia, winner of many awards, who has been teaching
since 1992 at the High Institute of Music in Damascus and founded its
chamber choir; and Lebanese-Armenian Barkev Taslakian, conductor of
the Al Fayha choir from northern Lebanon.
"Each of those who helped to produce the convention devoted hundreds
of hours over these years," said De Quadros to the hundreds of
attendees, as he thanked the participants and supporters, including
the International Festival for Choral Music (IFCM) and Sweden Concerts,
the Swedish association for concert music. "Not in order to make music
for fun, but out of thought for the long term - so that choirs will
meet one another year after year, for a week of work and singing. We
want to build the infrastructure for that together, and we believe
in the power of music. What this week leaves within us will define
the continuation."
The first Arab choral festival was underway.
Western influence
In the common perception, a mixed four-part choir of men and women
is a foreign implant in the Arab cultural-musical world. The Arab
vocal tradition is seen as based only on soloists accompanied by
an instrument, and the singing is meant to arouse strong feelings
by expressing profound sadness or great happiness. But the week of
singing at the choral festival demonstrated totally different aspects
of this culture.
The first hint of that appeared at a concert of the music institute
choir from Damascus. The 40-minute performance excited the festival's
participants, as they heard Western choral music, adaptations of Arab
songs, a Ukrainian folk song and, for the finale, an Arab spoken song
about a pretend quarrel between girls and boys, which brought the
listeners to their feet. From jazz rhythms to Arab quarter tones -
it had everything.
Religious, folkloristic and classical choral genres have always
existed in the Arab musical world alongside solo performances. That
was demonstrated by the head of the National Conservatory for Music
in Amman, Kifah Fakhouri, who related the history of Arab group
singing. People always sang together, he said - work songs, life cycle
songs and religious songs. But the rise of radio, Egyptian films and
the advent of missionaries from the West led to the emergence of the
concept of the choir.
One after another, the choirs demonstrated a high level of technique,
vocal production, work and choice of repertoire. But it turns out
that this high level did not result from a comprehensive, nationwide
musical education system in those countries. These choirs are isolated,
localized phenomena, the fruit of the vision of people dedicated to
the idea.
In Damascus, according to a Palestinian colleague who recently
returned after living there for eight years (Syrians are forbidden
to talk to Israelis, and at this festival, too, they strictly
observed this prohibition), the music institute's choir is the only
professional choir, and acceptance to the institute depends on one
of two conditions: growing up in a family with a Western cultural
bent that can afford to pay for music lessons for the children from
an early age, or being exceptionally talented. Nevertheless, it is
clear that the choirs at the festival reflect a process of awakening
to concert music that is occurring in all the Arab countries.
The most hidden emotions
The feeling throughout the festival was that there was no time to
waste. Organizers De Quadros and Abu Khader are totally devoted to
the event, and the schedule was murderous: After the early breakfast,
people immediately divided into working groups - separate vocal
workshops for the male and female singers, lectures about music in
the Arab world and choral music in general, a round-table discussion
about the problems of conductors and musical directors of choirs in
Arab countries and ways of solving them. At lunchtime, there were
concerts by the choirs, and after the quick lunch, a joint rehearsal
by all the choirs for the final concert.
The evening brought more workshops and individual rehearsals, or
special events such as the journey to Petra, and at night came the
opportunity for parties and meeting new people. And it was the same
every day. Only on the last day, before the final concert at Little
Petra, at the foot of one of the pinkish temples in the fissures
of the rocks, was it possible to find the words "free time" in the
schedule - two hours during which the hundreds of participants could
breathe easy for a little while.
The concert by the Al Fayha choir from Lebanon was another high point,
and as in other concerts, here, too, the special attitude of all the
attendees to the Palestinians and their struggle was evident. The
choir sang a refined repertoire of Arab music and Christian church
music and ended with the song "Jerusalem" by Lebanese singer Fairuz,
in which she integrated the calls of the muezzin and passages of
Christian prayer with great virtuosity.
All eyes were on Hania Soudah-Sabbara, the conductor of the
Palestinian choir. "I hope that next year, we will all be able to
hold the festival in Jerusalem, that you will all be able to come
to us," she said. "Jerusalem is yours just as it is mine. That is my
prayer." And many had tears in their eyes.
"This is a short event, but the idea and the vision behind it are
great: to bring together, for the first time, musicians and ensembles
from the Arab world who have never heard one another," said Shireen
Abu Khader. "This is a workshop for singing, but it is more than that
- it is building a community infrastructure and making peace. Music
can express our most hidden emotions, and through it, and through
the connection that has been formed among us, we will be able to make
this come true."