Lebanon - the country that refused to disappear

anyone know anything about Lebanese music?

"Oh, do they have music in your country?" (Either a U.S. or Canadian customs agent--I forget which--once asked Lebanese musician Marcel Khalife this question after he identified himself as a musician.)

I'll take a rockist approach here and start with the most canonical of Lebanese singers, Fairouz. Unfortunately, I'm not at home, and don't have easy access to CD titles. Either way, the best Fairouz recordings I have are on cassette copies with songs titles only in Arabic, or no song titles at all. Fairouz has a "perect" voice, which can take some getting used to because it is so perfect. I would say that her output is uneven, but her voice always sounds good. I definitely would not start with recent recordings. "Andalusiyat" (sp?) is good, for the most part. "Ihsar" is a little kitschy at times and has a cocktail sort of feel to it, but it works for me, and not merely on an ironic level. (The version I have on cassette is different from and better than the version I have on CD, annoyingly.) I also like "Soiree avec Fairouz." The first three songs on "Wahdoun" are quite upbeat, with fantastic rhythms played on doumbek, but the last two tracks are unbelievably dreadful, marred by bad use of electronics and horrible production. I have also heard some songs on tape which seem to be from one of her children's albums and I liked those. Check out www.fairouz.com, which has reviews. The reviews are uncritical (except regarding sound quality), but they will give you some sense of what's what. Many of Fairouz's recordings are based on musical plays she performed, and I haven't especially enjoyed the ones I've heard. (This is probably a case where not knowing Arabic is an obstacle to enjoying them.)

Samira Tewfic. Not on the same level as Fairouz, but I am very fond of her. I particularly like a couple recordings from the 70's (sorry no titles), but they don't seem to be widely accessible at the moment. Everything I've heard by her has featured dance rhythms of some sort. I would go for less recent recordings. I think her heyday is over.

Milhem Baraket may actually be Syrian, but I can't keep track. He was probably at his peak in the 70's. Lots of fun electric organ and clapping. (Segues well with some songs from the Beatles "White Album.") He can sound a bit goofy at times, but I think some of his work is just great.

Marcel Khalife is a composer/performer who justly deserves his image of being a serious artist. He wrote songs protesting the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, but he does not allow himself to be pinned down as a protest singer. He has also composed purely instrumental works, including two CDs worth of somewhat experimental oud material. Nothing really out there, but a departure from tradition. I don't actually care for it much. He has written erotic songs which have attracted some criticism. He was accused of blasphemy for his setting of a poem by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish which contained a line from the Qur'an, though either the case was dismissed or he was found innocent. (Setting the Qur'an to music is forbidden, though reciting the Qur'an using the same modes that are used in Arabic music is perfectly acceptable.) My favorite recordings of his are his protest songs and his love songs. The purely instrumental work doesn't do much for me, and some of it is rather heavily based in European classical music (somewhat ironic considering his political commitments, but not really unusual for an Arabic composer).

Those are the ones I like most or am most interested in. I've heard one Azar Habib song which was a weird 70's quasi-psychedelic thing which I once amazed one of my friends with. He said something like, "This is what Bongwater should sound like." However, everything else I have heard by him is pretty bad, so proceed with caution.

what a beautiful place too ...

but after having the living tar beaten out of me (unprovoked) and left unconscious in the middle of the road by a carload of lebanese men (here in canada, to boot) the whole place leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.

the good news is, that after a couple of weeks of prejudice and contempt following the attack i went out with the specific purpose of getting to know lebanese people to put this prejudice to bed. i met some really amazing, friendly people ... i'm glad i wasn't stupid enough to retain a lifelong prejudice based on a few minutes of violence.

Or go back to the main page for a decent collection of Lebanese and other Arabic music: Classic Music

The thread I would not let die.

I accidentally left the morning alarm on today and found myself listening to Sunday Worship on Radio 4. I think - though I was half asleep - that it was a broadcast from Lebanon ... and some of the (religious) music was beautiful. Any recommendations?