Word: darweesh
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...small, but enthusiastic, group of classical music patrons gathered in Sanders Theatre on the evening of Feb. 18 to hear the Chicago Classical Oriental Ensemble (CCOE) perform selections from the oeuvre of Sheikh Sayyed Darweesh. Sponsored by Xauen Music, Inc., a Chicago organization dedicated to the preservation of traditional music from the Near East, the performance showcased the work of now-deceased Darweesh, who is considered Egypt’s premier 20th century composer and one of the great innovators in Arabic music...
Composer of Egypt’s current national anthem, “Biladi” (My Homeland), Darweesh was as innovative as he was prodigious, and he is famous for introducing harmony and counterpoint to Arabic composition and including parts for Western symphonic instruments in his ensemble pieces. His career was tragically cut short by a cocaine overdose in 1923, but his productive years were enormously prolific: he left behind 30 musicals, 150 songs and eleven adwars (complex, multi-section, songs...
...exotic “flavor,” Darweesh’s use of Western musical tropes is a true synthesis of styles. The violin and cello parts were not merely ornamental to their Arabic counterparts, but rather integral components of Darweesh’s sonic palette—Darweesh did not bridge the gap between Western and Arabic music, so much as he recombined elements from both traditions into a bold new aesthetic...
...enjoyable as Kassab and Agha’s performances were, they brought to light the concert’s single fault: the paucity of explanatory information for listeners unfamiliar with the Arabic musical tradition. The program notes provided a succinct biography of Darweesh, but little else...