The alchemist of music: Rabih Abou-Khalil is coming to Istanbul
Lebanese-born composer and oud virtuoso Rabih Abou-Khalil will meet Istanbul art lovers on March 9 at the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) Cemal Reşit Rey (CRR) Concert Hall with his latest work, in which he brings German and French literature into music.
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Abou-Khalil will be accompanied by Albanian singer Elina Duni in this project, where he pushes the boundaries of language and music by interpreting German and French literature.
Duni stands out not only for her ability to sing flawlessly in French, English, German, Albanian, and Italian, but also for her sensitivity to the complex and constantly changing rhythms in Abou-Khalil's music.
The concert, where poems by German, French, and Portuguese poets will be transformed into music with Arabic, jazz, and Western rhythms, will begin at 20:00.
A POETIC BRIDGE BETWEEN LANGUAGES FROM SCHILLER TO VERLAINE
Rabih Abou-Khalil, who combines traditional Arabic melodies, jazz improvisations, and classical music techniques in his music, has been intertwined with poetry as well as music from a young age.
Despite the complex rhythms and unconventional melodic structure of his work, the artist has transformed approximately forty poems into music so far.
He has built a bridge between languages by selecting works not only from German writers such as Goethe, F. Schiller, Friedrich Rückert, Christian Morgenstern, and Joachim Ringelnatz, but also from French and Portuguese poets such as Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, and Théophile Gautier.
MUSICAL ALCHEMIST
Rabih Abou-Khalil is known as a rare alchemist in the music world. The artist, who won everyone's appreciation with the performances he held in caravanserais with German groups in past years, later drew attention with the mesmerizing vocals of the Sardinian bass tenor he brought with him.