Abdullah Chhadeh is one of the Arab world’s most innovative qanun players. He has re-designed the traditional oriental instrument by the addition of an octave, which enables him to play a wide variety of Middle Eastern classical music, from the Turkish, Azerbaijani, Persian, Arabic and Andalusian repertoire.
Born in Damascus in 1968, Chhadeh was raised in a camp for refugees from the Golan Heights and was schooled there. He later studied Mathematics at Damascus University. Chhadeh also studied at the Damascus Musical Conservatory, where he specialized in both Eastern and Western Classical music, and graduated with a degree in 1997.
He studied composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, from 1997-1999, with Adrian Thorne and Malcolm Singer (Head of the Menuhin School of Music). Trained in western classical music, he has performed his adaptations of works by Vivaldi, Bach, Handel, and Mozart for the qanun with both chamber and symphony orchestras, in the Arab world and in the West.
He is a talented and rigorous composer. His compositions for qanun were performed by himself and broadcast on BBC World Service Radio.
His composition for Symphony Orchestra had its world premiere performance in 2000. He regularly plays as a guest performer with Classical, Jazz and World Music groups.
In 2001 he formed the ensemble Nara, which plays principally his own compositions. The band’s first album, consists of material recorded live during its set at 2001’s WOMEX world music trade fair in Rotterdam.
Abdullah sees Nara as a flexible ensemble which can invite guests to perform with it; at Rotterdam singer Natacha Atlas made a guest appearance, joining Chhadeh’s qanun, Matthaios Tsahourides’ Pontic lyra, Bernard O’Neill’s double bass and the Kurdish percussion of the three Zahawy brothers.
In 2010, Abdullah Chhadeh joined Nick “Dubulah” Page (Dub Colossus, Trans Global Underground and Temple of Sound) and Irish double bass player, composer and MD Bernard O..Neill in a three way collaboration called Syriana. The writing and recording took place in London, at Real World Studios and in Damascus.
Syriana was described as a dialog between East and West, where ancient civilizations vye and blend with iconography from spy novels, 1960s television themes and Cold War film soundtracks.
Discography:
Seven Gates (2005)
The Road to Damascus, with Syriana (2010)
Official Web Site: www.abdullahchhadeh.com
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.
