Excited to present: SONGS OF THE INNER HEART – concert on 29th April

A concert of Arabic & Jewish ‘Muwashshah’ songs

DATE: Wednesday 29 April 2015, 7.30pm

VENUE: The New London Synagogue, 33 Abbey Road, London NW8 0AT

“My heart can take on any form:
a meadow for gazelles, a cloister for monks,
For the idols, sacred ground, Ka’ba for the circling pilgrim,
the tables of the Torah, the scrolls of the Qur‘an.
I profess the religion of love;
wherever its caravan turns along the way,
that is the belief, the faith I keep.” [Ibn al-‘Arabi – 1165–1240]TICKETS: Tickets are £15 inc.solidarity donation; £10 normal; £5 concessions. Please support us by booking in advance!!BOOKING // FACEBOOK

We have been working hard to bring you this very special concert! A celebration of Arabic and Hebrew muwashshahaat (موشح/מוושח, pronounced mu-wa-SHaḥ) – poetry by the prominent Andalusian philosophers, Muḥyiddin Ibn al-Arabi and Abraham Ibn Ezra. These songs were based on the melodies and rhythms of popular music in medieval al-Andalus.We are lucky to have the collaboration of internationally renowned musicians including the Egyptian Musician and ney player, Mohammad Antar, who is composing original music for this concert, the Israeli singer Tal Ben Ari who will be singing in Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic, the Syrian singer Rabeea Anka who will be singing in classical Arabic, and the British percussionist Edward Banda who will accompany the performance. The programme has been organized by Mohammed Antar and Ed Emery (ethnomusicologist).The concert will be held on Wednesday, April 29th, 7.30pm, at New London Synagogue and intends to create a space for members of the Jewish and Muslim communities of London and our friends to enjoy our common culture. We are especially excited to be putting on this event considering the pain and difficulties our communities have experienced in recent months as it is a chance to enjoy what is shared between us and explore what is possible – co-creation of culture rather than just co-existence.

This will be an exciting sendoff for our world-famous, booked out Birthwrong trip to Andalusia!

It is also organised in the runup to the “Muwashshah and Zajal Conference” which will be at SOAS on May 3^rd and 4th, for inquiries about the conference please write to ed.emery@soas.ac.uk

PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME FOR THE CONCERT:

1 Fasil in Nahawand (sung by Rabeea Anka and Tal Ben Ari)

1. Brief improvisation
2. Instrumental in Nahawand Murabba
3. A Halabi (Aleppo-style) muwashshah – “Ma qorratu’l-ayn” by Ibn Arabi.
4. An Andalusi muwashshah – “Tsora hacheytani” by Ibn Ezra.

II. Fasil in Ramal El-Moya (sung solo by Tal Ben Ari)

1. Brief improvisation
2. Instrumental – simple Samai in Ramal El-Moya
3. Poem – “Galgal u mazalot” by Ibn Ezra.
4. An Andalusi muwashshah – “Ba’li rivi sh’u na” by Ibn Ezra.

III. Fasil in Ajam Ashiran (sung by Tal Ben Ari and Rabeea Anka)

1. Brief improvisation
2. Introduction – instrumental in Ajam Ashiran
3. A Halabi (Aleppo-style) muwashshah – “M’il yesh li” by Ibn Ezra.
4. An Andalusi muwashshah – “Atwa li Al-Muhayminu’t-turuqa” by Ibn Arabi.

IV. Fasil in Dugah (sung solo by Rabeea Anka)

1. Brief improvisation
2. Instrumental – simple Samai in Bayyati
3. A Halabi (Aleppo-style) muwashshah – “In kana manzilati” by Ibn Arabi.
4. An Andalusi muwashshah – “Waridatu’l-afrah” by Ibn Arabi.

V. Fasil in Hijaz (sung by Tal Ben Ari and Rabeea Anka)

1. Brief improvisation
2. Instrumental – a Samai in Hijaz Sengin
3. An Andalusi muwashshah – “Sa’altu juda faliqa’l-isbah” by Ibn Arabi.
4. An Andalusi muwashshah – “Shemesh be-yom va leyl lo yazach” by Ibn
Ezra.

All the instrumental and vocal works are composed by Mohammed Antar.

[Duration approx. 60 mins]

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LYRICS AND NOTES FOR SONGS

The lyrics of the Ibn al-‘Arabi muwashshaat are drawn from the volume:
Twenty-seven muwashshahaat and one zajal by Ibn al-‘Arabi of Murcia,
translated by Federico Corriente and Ed Emery, RN Books, London 2006.

The lyrics of the Ibn Ezra muwashshaat are drawn from the volume:
Twilight of a Golden Age: Selected poems of Abraham Ibn Ezra, ed. Leon J.
Weinberger, University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa, 1997.
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BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES OF PERFORMERS

Mohammed S. M. Antar

Website: www.mohammedantar.com,

See clips of his work here:

http://youtu.be/aJZT5cc3taY

http://youtu.be/BhJu-hn8sHk

Tal Ben Ari

Website: www.talbenarimusic.com

See clips of her work here:

https://youtu.be/1RQcv6nbVxI

http://youtu.be/_H6y7Q8KmWs

Rabeea Anka

See a clip of his work here:http://youtu.be/hijZ0fzqQxQ [at 2 mins 19 secs]————————–