Henna: Young Female Voices from Palestine (Kirkelig Kulturverksted, 2021)
The album Henna: Young Female Voices was conceived to inspire and support young female singers from Palestine to become flourishing artists. Norwegian producer Erik Hillestad came up with the idea and formed a partnership with Suhail Khoury, director of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music and its production unit. The result is this compilation of original songs by up and coming artists as well as recreated, nearly forgotten songs.
The talented vocalists featured include Nour Fretiekh, Hanin Alijleh, Samira Kharoubi, Daughters of Jerusalem, Miral Ayyad, Ehsan Saadeh, and Henna Haj Hassan.
The opening song is “Jaffa – Everything has changed,” an Arabic folk-pop song performed by Nour Fretiekh. Nour was born in Nablus in 1994. She studied Arabic music specializing in the ud and vocals at Al Najah University. She performs with several Palestinian groups and has toured in Palestine and internationally. She re-arranges Arabic classical songs with a contemporary vision, presenting modern songs addressing different themes.
Track number 2, “Shou Mkhabili (What’s in store for me)” showcases the intertwining of traditional Palestinian sounds and modern electronic beats performed by Hanin Alijleh. Hanin was born in Gaza city in 1996. She sings with several bands in Gaza, and in particular with the National Music Conservatory. She launched her first music video in 2020 titled “‘Almina” and is working on her first original album.
“Zahratan” (Two flowers) is a lovely neotraditional song performed by Samira Kharoubi with backing vocals from Leen Tarazi, Noor Fahham, Aida Qunbar, Nawras Moughrabi, Areen Abu Swai, Reem Sharif, and Noor Alawy.
Daughters of Jerusalem, led by Suhail Khoury, is a wonderful large ensemble of 30 female singers and instrumentalists formed in Jerusalem in 2013. They perform two songs, “Ma Damat Li” (As long as I have…) and “Gaza.” The ensemble released its first album in 2018 produced by the National Conservatory of Music and Kirkelig Kulturverksted (KKV). The group won the “Best Regional Choir in the Middle East” award at the 2016 Dubai Middle East Choir Festival. Since its founding, the group has performed in Palestine and abroad.
Daughters of Jerusalem include vocalists Aida Qunbar, Areen Abu Swai, Dona Ayaad, Hania Naserideen, Leen Tarazi, Layan Khayat, Margo Misleh, Mariam Khalil, Noor Alawy, Noor Fahham, Nawras Moughrabi, Rama Nasser, Reem Sharif, Saheed Azzeh, Sara Mushasha, Siba Younis, Suha Abu Aker, and Zeina Nasser. Instrumentalists: Dalia Kaloti on qanun, Hanin Rajabi on flute, Intisar Abu Shelbayeh on ud, Mariam Afifi on double bass, Maya Atari on violin, Rahaf Moughrabi on viola, Rama Badarne on qanun, Rand Khoury on cello, Reem Obeidi on qanun, Sama Tarazi on violin, and Yasmin Abu Shelbayeh on percussion.
Miral Ayyad delivers an exquisite performance on track 5, “Oyoun al Narjas (Eyes of the Narcissus).” Miral Ayyad was born in 2002 in Abu Dis, East Jerusalem. She is studying Arabic music, specializing in Arabic singing at Birzeit University, and plays the qanun at the National Music Conservatory. She was received with great acclaim in Palestine and the Arab world when she participated in the famous children’s talent show “The Voice”. She later produced several original songs and collaborated with different music groups performing in Palestine and the world.
Track 6, “Lao Tarafi” (If you only knew), presents another fabulous singer, Ehsan Saadeh. She was born in 1993 in Al Jib village, north of Jerusalem. She studied music at the Dar al Kalimah Arts college in Bethlehem, and performs with “Jawa”, a music group that she co-founded. In addition to singing she teaches music with special focus on choirs for children and people with disabilities.
“Yammi Qultillek” (Mother I told you) presents the beautiful neotraditional style of Henna Haj Hassan. She was born in Jenin in 1993. Ehsan studied Arabic singing at Birzeit University. She has performed as a solo vocalist and collaborated in several music local and international performances. She teaches Arabic singing at the Al Kamanjati association and is particularly interested in Arab musical heritage in general, and the Levantine in particular.
The solo vocalists were accompanied by some of the finest instrumentalists in the Palestinian music scene: Ashraf Dabbah on guitar; Charlie Rishmawi on bass and piano; Dalia Kaloti on qanun; Ehab Haniyeh on buzuq; Hani Asaad on percussion; Hanin Rajabi on flute; Heather Bursheh on flute; Intisar Abu Shelbayeh on ud; Iyad Staiti on ud; Izzeddin Said on qanun; Majdi Tanib on ud; Mariam Afifi on double bass; Maya Atari on violin; Mohammed Khamayseh on ney; Mohammed Kahlah on ud; Rahaf Moughrabi on viola; Rama Badarne on qanun; Rand Khoury on cello; Reem Obeidi on qanun; Salma Abbassi on ud; Sama Tarazi on violin; Tarek Aboushi on buzuq and electronic sounds; Yacoub Hammoudeh on qanun, ud, double bass; and Yasmin Abu Shelbayeh on percussion.
“We hope this CD will inspire the singers in it to create their independent recordings in the future. By this project, we also hope to encourage more original Palestinian songs to be written, recorded, and performed as part of the endeavor to create a unique identity for Palestinian music,” said Suhail Khoury.
Buy Henna: Young Female Voices from Palestine
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.