Damascus-SANA
Before leaving their homeland, in which they withstood the Syrian people in the face of the injustice of war and the cruelty of the siege, Syrian musicians carry a message that summarizes a 3000-year-old human achievement to show it in the largest global event through the Expo 2020 Dubai through the premiere of the epic musical work (Syrian Rhapsody) .
Musicians and singers from all over Syria and from abroad presented their preparations for the Syrian musical work, signed by musician Iyad Al-Rimawi, led by Maestro Misak Baghboudrian, under the dome of the most important cultural monuments in Damascus, Dar Al-Assad for Culture and Arts, and in the presence of a constellation of national media and journalists specialized in cultural affairs, to be the first witness to this exceptional work before its launch Official to the world on February 7 next at the Jubilee Theater in Dubai.
(Syrian Rhapsody), which came as a result of cooperation between the Syrian pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai as part of its cultural program with the Syrian Trust for Development and Cham Wings, is the first musical work dedicated to celebrating the history of collective singing in Syria and the world. On the Syrians’ conviction that what unites humanity is much greater than what divides it, and that our common denominators can transcend any war.
A unique cultural experience where the audience will live through a visual musical show a journey in the history of Syrian music through important periods, where the work begins with a new vision of the oldest musical notation known to the world, which is the hymn (Nikal), which was discovered on a clay tablet dating back to more than (1400) BC in the city of The Syrian Ugarit then takes the audience to the era of Syriac chants, which is the oldest form of church group singing, from which it moves to the traditions of Sufi chanting and then contemporary music in an unprecedented musical fusion.
In the details of (Rhapsody) as a musical form it is a one-movement work that is transverse, integrated and freely flowing in the structure and is characterized by a range of highly contrasting moods in color and tone with an atmosphere of spontaneous inspiration and musical improvisation that gives a sense of freedom in form more than other musical forms.
During the national media’s attendance of the show’s rehearsals and their meeting with the work team, the author Rimawi, Maestro Baghboudrian and a number of singers and musicians, Al-Rimawi reviewed the details of the work and its stages that talk about three thousand years of the history of Syrian and international music together in one musical show written specifically for this show, where he presents for the first time a chant (Nikal). ) composed a musical composition on the maqam al-bayat, as it is one of the ancient maqams located throughout the Syrian geography.
Al-Rimawi explained that the show will last for about an hour, and will include musical pieces that express the story of Syrian music in successive periods, from Ugarit to Syriac and Sufi chanting to contemporary. .
Maestro Baghbudrian pointed out that when talking about oriental music in general and Syria in particular, we think of oriental instruments, which imprinted in the memory of the West that our music is traditional, and what distinguishes this show is that we present our cultural and musical heritage in an orchestral language.
Baghboudrian indicated that Syria possesses important composers and musicians who are able to address the world in its language, and this show is presented by Syrian musicians and singers who studied in Syria and grew up there during the war, and others reside outside the country, most of whom qualified at the Higher Institute of Music in Damascus, which embodies an exceptional orchestral state and a contemporary vision of a history we have lived three thousand years ago. It conveys a message to the world that in Syria, our music continues despite all the harsh conditions.
Opera singer Mirna Kassis, who came from Italy after an absence of nearly seven years, where she obtained a master's degree in operatic singing, indicated that her participation will be by presenting the Ugaritic (Nikal) chant, in addition to her participation in other operatic passages during the work, expressing her happiness with this Syrian international participation with musicians. Senior.
As for the singer Ilona Danho, who comes from Sweden, she also expressed her happiness to meet again with her musician friends and academic professors through a show that tells the story of Syrian music with its historical stages to take the audience on a 3000-year-old journey that continues to this day.
The work team also includes editing and production assistant Mohamed Taqi, lighting design Radwan Al-Zarki, costume design Rajaa Makhlouf, the direction of the orchestra, Amir Qara Joly, director of the show Ammar Al-Ani and Executive Director Salah Mansour.
It is noteworthy that the aim of the concert is to communicate between people through music, the language of the world, while the word (Rhapsody) in Greek means the reader of epic poetry, and by the sixteenth century it began to be used in Europe as a label for other literary forms.
Rasha Mahfoud
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