Ahlam Babiliyya - Babylonian Dreams
modern iraqi maqam music for oud and percussion
Saif Al-Khayyat - Oud
Nora Thiele - Riq, Mizhar, Def, Darbuka, Zanbour
Collected on this CD are traditional Iraqi maqam melodies, compositions of Classical masters, and self-composed pieces. On the one hand, the aim of this recording is to preserve Iraqi traditional music, and, on the other, to simultaneously make audible a gentle renewal and further development. Maqam is a musical style primarily rooted in the Orient as well as the overall term for the scales employed in it. The moment, the musical meditation, the art of improvisation are the central aspects. It is the task of the maqam interpreter to attain the affect of a maqam as well as possible and, with sensitivity and virtuosity, to transport the audience into its mood.
Saif Al-Khayyat studied classical Arabian lute at the Bagdad Conservatory. Among his masters were Rawhi Al-Khammash, Salem Abdul Karem, and Sami Nasim. In 1999 he left Iraq and found in Germany a new home as well as the possibility to further develop musically. In Leizpig, he founded the oriental jazz ensemble “Ho- Jazz” in which Arabian classical music and jazz are combined.
www.oudmusic.de
Nora Thiele (b 1981) studied percussion, ethnic percussion, and piano in Leipzig, and is a specialist for oriental and historical percussion. She moves between the areas of early music, world music, jazz, and improvisation. Traditional, experimental, and classical music are likewise part of her repertoire. Living as a freelance musician in Berlin, Nora Thiele composes pieces for frame drum and other chamber music. As a soloist and with her ensembles, she has appeared in Europe, the Near East, and China. Nora Thiele has participated in over thirty CD productions.
www.norathiele.de
