Roustom, Kareem

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I. How Beautiful The Light Of The Rising Sun
II. Antiochian Hymn
III. Oh People, Leave Me To My Sorrows
IV. The Silenced Guardian
V. Enough! I Intended To Leave You

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Anything that is said or written about Aleppo, or Syria in general, after the year 2011 is stated in the past tense. Because after the non-violent uprising slid into a devastating war nothing remains the same. Aleppo was a city known for many things such as its wonderful cuisine, its seven miles of covered markets, and the warmth of its people, but Aleppo was always a musical city. By writing this I hope to share some of Aleppo’s musical treasures in a new setting; one that hopefully compliments the richness of this tradition but also avoids ‘orientalist’ clichés. Movements I, III, & V are drawn from a musical tradition called qudud which are urban folk songs. The second movement is based on an Antiochian hymn from Aleppo and the fourth is a reflection on the artist Kevork Mourad's charcoal drawing of the Aleppo Citadel. All profits from sheet music sales as well as royalties generated from 2016 – 2018 performances will be donated to Doctors Without Borders to support their work in the Middle East. Composed in 2016.
Duration: 5 Movements ca. 16 minutes