18
all of which untitled.
By the way, I had a great weekend. thought provoking conversations. silly laughs. interesting people. silly talks. tamer hosny’s ba3ish (i have a story with this song. i love it. it reminds me of Palestine), milk, WTF moments, coffee, food, Whatever moments, poetry, music, let’s get it over with moments,
Historical Background: Tal Al- Za’ atar (the Hill of Thyme ) was the largest Palestinian refugee camp established in 1948 in the northern part of what became Christian East Beirut during the Lebanese civil war of 1975-1990. According to the Lebanese Forces website, “June 29 1976 saw the camp at Jisr el Basha fall and then efforts were directed against Tal al-Zaatar, one of the largest Palestinian camps in the country and situated on the Christian side of the Green Line. The battle for Tal al-Zaatar was the final showdown between the Palestinians and the Lebanese Front in Beirut. Tal al-Zaatar contained about 2,000 Palestinian guerrillas intermixed with a civilian population of roughly 15,000 facing them were some 4,000 Lebanese Front militiamen. The Lebanese Front were supported and advised in the siege by the Lebanese and Syrian armies; Israeli advisers were also present.” On August 12 1976, after 7 months of siege, Christian forces overran the camp. At the end of the siege, about 2,000 Palestinians were killed and 4,000 wounded. The surviving civilians were deported to Palestinian held areas as the camp was entirely wiped.
What: A Tribute to Gaza - Marcel Khalife’s world Premier of his operatic work Ahmad Al-Arabi from Mahmoud Darwish’s epic poem, Ahmad Al-Zaatar. Darwish documented the 1976 siege and massacre at Tal Al-Zaatar in his poem, Ahmad Al-Zaatar.
When: January 21st & 22nd, 2009
Where: The Opera House in Damascus - Syria
Who: Marcel Khalife: composer, oud, vocals
Oumaima El Khalil: vocals
Bachar Khalife: percussion
Accompanied by the National Syrian Symphony Orchestra &
The Choir of the National Conservatory of Music
Conducted by Missak Bagbodarian
For information on tickets: www. damascus. org. sy
All proceeds go to benefit the children of Gaza.
Snippets of Marcel Khalife’s tour And We Love Life - a Salute to Mahmoud Darwish in Damascus, sealing a week long tour with his Al Mayadine Ensemble; with the last two concerts dedicated to Gaza.
Gaza has been undergoing the latest barbaric airstrikes by israel since Saturday (12/27) leaving 395 dead and 2,000 injured. [source]
“Never to forgive, Never to forget,” Bachar Khalife thought aloud, his eyes brimming with steely defiance as he reflected on the rising death toll in Gaza and the continuing occupation of Palestine. [source]
“Remembering them [Palestinians] is the greatest thing I can do right now. I saw footage of the bombardment before the concert and I cried. I couldn’t believe it. I would like them [israel] to understand that they will not come by a result in this way, with guns and weapons. This [Palestinian] race has a right to exist. They have the right to continue to fight to protect this right. I don’t know why there is silence about this issue in the Arab world. There is no stance. How is a race being killed everyday? Houses are being destroyed. Nobody is speaking out. How could they not see?” - Omaima Khalil. [source]
If you’re in the USA, I encourage you to attend Marcel Khalife at The Kennedy Center in Washington DC on March 7, 2009. Details here or here.
Qatar Philharmonic - Arabian Concerto. Composed by Marcel Khalife and featuring Bachar Khalife on Tabla.
I love singing. I do it for myself. Actually it helped me a lot in building my self-esteem. It’s a long story, but what’s important here is that I just love singing. I think it’s amazing to be able to do things in your life that you enjoy and love and find yourself into. But that’s all. I don’t want to be labeled as a singer or anything. Seriously I wouldn’t want to. I am not taking the whole thing seriously, if I do it wont be fun anymore…if you know what I mean said a friend when I asked her if she would ever consider going public with her songs/music.
What do you find yourself (with)in…
What: Palestine embraces a legend - live in concert for the first time in Palestine
Who: Marcel Khalife
Where: Ramallah Cultural Palace
When: May, 2009
And he would draw massive crowds, smiles and dancing hearts extending from Ramallah all the way from different directions and reaching to Birzeit , Nablus , Bethlehem, Hebron, Jerusalem all the way to the Galilee
…
and we would demand a 30 minute version of this song for the closing…
I wont begin to speak of the one objection I got from some random yet not so random person as to why I’m wearing a t-shirt with a cross - especially in Ramadan … Ooooooo! migod!
But I must say, lots of positive feedback!
Daisy Rae Gemini developed by Root.designed by Iman
...Login
Powered by WordPress... Logout ... Rss Feed. Rss Comments