Ifrah ya Qalbi

This sublime CD may not be well served by its title.  Forget about pre-industrial warfare and the French Revolution, these “musketeers” are 20^th century Egyptian composers, and among the best.  Muhammad al-Qasabji, Zakariyya Ahmad, and Riyad al-Sunbati all set great poetry to music for the legendary diva Umm Kulthum, as iconic a figure as Arabic music has ever produced.  Seven of these composers’ works are performed here by the Chicago-based Arabesque Music Ensemble.  When this group formed in 2003, by the way, it was called the Chicago Classical Oriental Ensemble.  The name has changed, but the group’s mission as one of very few US-based ensembles performing classical Arab repertoire—particularly at this exalted level—remains intact and persuasive.  The ensemble established itself with an acclaimed 2006 CD and subsequent performance tour focused on the songs Egyptian composer Sayyed Darweesh.  Muhammed al-Qasabji, the eldest of the three composers featured here, was a contemporary of Darweesh’s.  So this music is a little more recent, but in character, very much from cut the same cloth.

Umm Kulthum sang with an orchestra behind her, and from some time in the 30s up until her death in 1975, those performances riveted much of the Middle East when they were broadcast live on radio.  Arabesque renders these works in somewhat shortened format and using just six instrumentalists and one terrific vocalist, Youssef Kassab.  Kassab transcribed scores from recordings, and arranged the pieces for the smaller ensemble.  Remarkably little is lost.  Al-Qasabji’s contributions here sound a little more staid and deliberate than the others, also darker in mood.  But Kassab’s vocal, especially on “Ya Fayetni (You Who Have Left Me” conveys both strength and vulnerability, emotion that is at once overwhelming and absolutely under control. 

Zakariyya Ahmad is said to be the most “traditional” of the three composers, in part a reference to his use of colloquial melodies.  Umm Kulthum scholar Virginia Danielson has commented on the “sing along” quality of his melodies, particularly evident in the latter portions of “Ana f”Intizarak (Waiting for You).”  On Ahmad’s “Habibi Yessa’ed Awkatu (May My Love’s Days be Joyous),” ensemble and vocalist go back and forth satisfyingly, their sounds wonderfully unified.  In near unison passages (known as heterophony) flute and violin shadow Kassab’s voice, but the real beauty lies not in their perfect alignment, but in the slight variances between these elements.  When Kassab stops, the ensemble soars briefly and then lands squarely on a beat to realign with him as he re-enters, creating the illusion of spontaneous interaction in a precisely ordered musical universe.

Riad al-Sunbati was mentored by Sayyed Darweesh, but went on to be something of a progressive, favoring the use of Western classical instruments.  Sunbati’s “Ifrah ya Qualbi (My Heart)” is lively and lyrical, almost funky in the hands of this spirited ensemble.  There is no substitute for the recordings of Umm Kulthum, but kudos to Arabesque for helping the music she performed live on, and for bringing it to Western audiences who never had a chance to hear the great lady in her time. 

Arabesque Music Ensemble tour dates for February-March, 2008

Contributed by: Banning Eyre for www.afropop.org