The Singer Said (Q​ā​la al​-​Mughann​ī​)

from The Singer Said: Bird of Dawn by Reem Kelani

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about

The first track on this EP is in effect the ‘āvāz’ metre-free vocal form, the main genre in Persian music which is based on improvisatory interpretations of a classical text. To this end, I chose a poem in classical Arabic which speaks of the travails of an unnamed singer, penned by Palestine’s national poet Mahmoud Darwish (1941-2008).

Serendipity dictated that the lyrics of ‘The Singer Said’ (Qāla al-Mughannī) could have easily been written about Shajarian himself,
about his journey and his purpose, down to rhyming Arabic words shared with Farsi.

Mahmoud Darwish was born in Al-Birwah village, east of Acre on the Mediterranean Sea, which was captured and destroyed by Israeli forces in 1948. This poem is from Darwish’s famous early anthology ‘Lover from Palestine’ (‘Āshiqun min Filiṣṭīn),1966. I use some excerpts in the song, rather than the full poem.

For Darwish, the singer does indeed have a ‘say’. The great Palestinian poet and literary historian, Dr Salma Khadra Jayyusi, places special emphasis on the musicality of Darwish’s poems because of their [transl.] “intimate and lyrical tone that seeps into the depths of heart and soul…”
Darwish passed away at the age of 67, leaving behind a rich legacy comprising 30 anthologies of poetry and prose, as well as numerous books and essays. His poetry has been translated into many languages, including Hebrew.

lyrics

The singer said:
This is how trees grow
And how pebbles fade


Slowly, but surely,
From the murmurs of the river

The singer, on the road to the city
Humming a tune, in the ‘life’ of night

Wearily, he told the wind:
Destroy me! So long as my life is you!
So long as fate continues to make its claim
Consume me! In honour of the triumph of ruins
This is how rain falls

He said to those around him:
Anything… but regret(s)
This is how I died… standing
Standing… I died like the trees

This is how rain falls
This is how trees grow

credits

from The Singer Said: Bird of Dawn, released March 21, 2022
Poetry: Mahmoud Darwish
Music: Reem Kelani (MCPS)


The musicians:

‘Oud
Basel Zayed (Palestine/US)

Piano
Bruno Heinen (UK/USA)

Double bass
Ryan Trebilcock (UK)

Tombak
Fariborz Kiani (Iran/UK)

Drums
Riccardo Chiaberta (Italy/UK)

Vocals & dāireh
Reem Kelani (Palestine/UK)

license

all rights reserved

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Reem Kelani London, UK

Reem Kelani is an independent artist. Please buy Reem’s music & support her work.
Get your copy of Reem's 2022 EP release "The Singer Said: Bird of Dawn". Reem's amazing booklet comes with the download!

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