Taqasim

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About Taqasim

Product Description Marcel Khalife's new composition Taqasim is a duo for oud and double bass accompanied by Near Eastern percussion. Khalife is accompanied by Peter Herbert on double bass and Bachar Khalife on percussion. From the Artist I specifically intended this set of Taqasim as a tribute and an expression of fidelity from Marcel Khalifé to Mahmoud Darwish. Some may wonder, as they listen to Taqasim, about the meaning of this dedication, for no part can be found in the score for the poetry of Darwish or for my own voice. Yet, nowhere have his poetry and my voice been as intensely present as in this work. In Taqasim I shall entrust to the broad range of the lower registers of the oud and double bass the task of communicating those tremendous but obscure dimensions that are often ignored by the listeners' ears - the task of expressing the profound consonance between the poet and the musician. In Taqasim my music will not "portray" anything or "refer" to anything. Rather than attempt to reconcile two systems of expression, it will re-create what the poetry of Darwish has created in me, in a manner analogous to the way digital systems process information, with analog material faithfully reproduced after being digitally encoded. In Taqasim I will try to reproduce, only as music can, the esthetical, spiritual, emotional, and intellectual resonance of Darwish's poetry. Through a purely musical idiom, I will attempt to communicate what my singing voice has never been able to communicate in any setting of Darwish's poems. I will "encode" his poetry in a system of rhythm, melody, and harmony. To the listener's sensitivity, I shall entrust the task of decoding, which I sincerely hope will be truly faithful to the source. About the Artist Marcel Khalifé was born in 1950 in Amchit, Mount-Lebanon. He studied the oud (the Arabic lute) at the Beirut National conservatory where he later taught between 1970 & 1975, and, ever since, has been injecting a new life into the oud. Oud playing was traditionally constrained by the strict techniques that governed its playing. Highly talented and skillful musicians such as Marcel Khalifé were, however, able to free the instrument from those constraints and thus greatly expanding its possibilities. In 1972, Marcel Khalifé created a musical group in his native village with the goal of reviving its musical heritage and the Arabic chorale. The first performances took place in Lebanon. 1976 saw the birth of Al Mayadine Ensemble. Enriched by the previous ensemble's musical experiences, Al Mayadine's notoriety went well beyond Lebanon. Accompanied by his musical ensemble, Marcel Khalifé began a lifelong far-reaching musical journey, performing in Arab countries, Europe, the United States, Canada, South America, Australia, and Japan. Since 1974, Marcel Khalifé has been composing music for dance, which gave rise to a new genre of dance, the popular Eastern ballet (Caracalla, Sarab Ensemble, Rimah, and Popular Art Ensemble). Marcel Khalifé has also been composing soundtracks for film, documentary and fiction, produced by Maroun Baghdadi and Oussama Mouhamad among others. He has also composed several purely instrumental works like The Symphony of Return, Sharq(Orient), Concerto Al Andalus "Suite for Oud and Orchestra" Mouda'aba (Caress), Diwan Al Oud, Jadal Oud duo, Oud Quartet, Al Samaa < in the traditional Arabic forms and Taqasim, duo for oud and double bass. Marcel Khalifé's compositions have been performed by several orchestras, notably the Kiev Symphony Orchestra, the Academy of Boulogne Billancourt Orchestra, The San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of the city of Tunis, the "Absolute Ensemble," and the Itlain Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 1982, Marcel Khalifé has been writing books on music that reflect his avant-garde compositions and the maturity of his experience. His challenges, however, are not only musical in character. Interpreter of music and oud performer, he