Thessaloniki, Greece – On Saturday February the 15th 2003 the Eastern Music Ensemble of the National Lebanese Conservatory and the Takht Ensemble of the Institute of Arab Music of Cairo will perform in a unique concert at the Thessaloniki Concert Hall, presenting an imaginary journey to two important musical destinations: Egypt and Lebanon, the countries that gave birth to the two greatest voices of the Arab world, Um Kalthum and Fairuz. The concert, which is a coproduction of the Cultural Organization “En Chordais” and “Thessalonikis’ Concert Hall, focuses on works of the classical Arabic musical traditions from the 16th to the 19th centuries, whilst also bringing to the surface the affinities that exist with Byzantine ecclesiastical music.
The members of both ensembles are virtuoso musicians and singers and important representatives of the Arabic school, performing mainly on the ud, the qanun, the violin, the darbuka and the ney. Ghada Shbeir (voice), Imane Homsy (qanun), Simir Siblini (nay) have already performed at the Thessaloniki Concert Hall in October 2002 with En Chordais, and Charbel Rouhana (ud) performed at the International Oud Meeting in November 2002, also in Thessaloniki.
The concert is a part of the MediMuses project that is being realized by En Chordais with financing of the Euromed Heritage II program of the European Union. It has also received the financial support of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
