Ignat Fialkovsky <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Hello everybody!  I'm seeking for a choral (?+ orchestra) work with
>arabic/muslim origins.  Something like "Requiem" in meaning.
>
>Unfortunately I don't have myself any idea how to find anything like this.
>Could someone probably help me?
>
>I would be really grateful for either a particular piece recommendation or
>just name of a person whom I could ask on the matter.

The finest Arabic music I know is by the Tunisian composers Anohar Brahem
and Becher Selmi, and the masterpiece is called "Barzakh". Barzakh is the
place where soul goes before resurrection. The piece isn't for chorals as
you seek, but the piece is a masterpiece which contains all of Arabian
mysticism and elegance. There used to be an album circulating called just
"Barzakh". Well worth the money if you can find it!

I wonder why this music is so seldom played in the west. It matches well
the quality of much western music [although I know it is built on somewhat
different grounds].

Mats Norrman, who is of semitic heritage
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