ALAMI
Oud Junkie
Posts: 645
Registered: 12-14-2006
Location: Beirut
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Mood: No Mood
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Trying to inspire your wives or girlfriends
It is Christmas, Adha and New year I wish the best for everybody.
Allow me in this Holidays period to go out of the usual topics:
I am trying to inspire your wives or girlfriends.
Last October, we were just going out of a war in Lebanon, only my wife and my mother remembered my birthday with a small Happy birthday, no cake no
presents no party.
And just before the holidays I received the greatest gift of all.
No it's not a Nahat, but for guys in the fourties with a family and heavy workload it is something equivalent.
My wife told me: "from the 26th till the 2nd you're free, you take your ouds, you go up to the mountain house, you buy yourself some goat cheese, you
turn off your cell phone and just do me some nice music, you can even write a song, that's your birthday and christmas gift".
Amen!
I am at 1500 m facing the ancient cedars forest with 80cm of snow outside, trying to understand the difference between Oshak and Bayati and wondering
why don't we force all the leaders in the region to spend a week alone with a oud, a bad taksim is still better than a good war.
PS. If sombody's wife is accusing him of making it up, I am ready to testify.
PS2. It may be old news for some but I just discovered Aicha Redwane a moroccan maqam singer, it is really great, nobody has been singing this way
since Nour El Houda
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mavrothis
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1674
Registered: 6-5-2003
Location: NJ/NYC
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Mood: big band envy
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This sounds like the best gift - and you're right, our leaders would be much better at their jobs if they took some time to play taksim every day or
so.
Happy birthday!
mavrothis
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Contra
Oud Lover
Posts: 16
Registered: 12-28-2006
Location: Miami,FL . USA
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Mood: No Mood
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| Quote: | Originally posted by mavrothis
This sounds like the best gift - and you're right, our leaders would be much better at their jobs if they took some time to play taksim every day or
so.
Happy birthday!
mavrothis |
i think this is something all leaders should do.
make music not war.
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farukturunz
Oud Junkie
Posts: 569
Registered: 8-16-2005
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
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Mood: hopeful
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Happy bithday Alami, I understand your feelings very well. I wish those leaders could imagine the meaning of a short break for understanding the
difference between Ussak and Bayati for a while. I would make ouds as present of peace to all who could manage to grasp that.
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Time
Oud Maniac
Posts: 70
Registered: 12-20-2005
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Mood: No Mood
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Happy birthday Alami
this is an amazing gift, if you could make us see through your cameras lens how the mountain house and the 1500 cedar forest look like with 80cm of
snow at this time of the year as well as some of the music you played and your comments of the difference between Oshak and Bayati, it would be
appreciated.
I am just so jealous.
Wish you all the best.
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hakeem.ram
Oud Junkie
Posts: 107
Registered: 11-28-2005
Location: Singapore
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Mood: Ouding my time away
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If only people around us can really understand the true value of music as part of life and not just a hobby/passion that one does at his free time.
Music trancends beyond that "free time"
Music is therapy. I just can't relate enough words to show how music is important to humans.
Perhaps that is the reason why it is really hard to justify the necessity of music to the leaders of nations and wars.
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zalzal
Oud Junkie
Posts: 747
Registered: 12-9-2005
Location: Nîmes France
Member Is Offline
Mood: still alive
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This wife of some dude has put into practise all you folks are saying here:
Nassima
The Sufi Spirit, the Spirit of Love (Institut du Monde Arabe)
"Arab-Andalusian artist Nassima has gathered works of the great Sufi masters, from lbn Arab to the emir Adb el-Kader. She revisits almost a millennium
of tasawwuf mysticism using newly composed music that dwells on the originals' quest for universal peace. These recordings, were made at the Institut
du Monde Arabe in Paris, recorded live in concert. "
One of the percussionist there is Pierre Rigopoulos, who will be accompanying Said Chraibi at the IMA on february 2007.
Peace and love (starting with respectives wives and girlfriends...even boyfriends...not to exclude anybody)
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ALAMI
Oud Junkie
Posts: 645
Registered: 12-14-2006
Location: Beirut
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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Thank you guys for your feelings, I knew that only the guys on this site would understand how precious for us those moments can be. We hold our piece
of wood, a wood with soul, crafted with love and centuries of know how, we try to come up with something, a taksim, a song, some notes that were not
played before, most of us are not professional musicians or composers and will never be, we are here because music has a meaning in our life, Hakeem
said it beautifully :"Music trancends beyond that "free time"", we post a small piece of music, it could be liked or not it is not important, the
important thing is that it's going to be listened to, shared. I am happy to see that a small piece of music I posted 2 weeks ago has been downloaded
175 times, it means "listened to" 175 times,it was the first time "strangers" were listening to something I did, the comments the guys wrote made want
to try to do it again.
I am sure that people for whom music is important in life are the less harmful human beings.
Piece to all of you.
attached a photo of the village I took 2 days ago.
And I just posted a taksim on the Members sound clips. I just finished it.
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ALAMI
Oud Junkie
Posts: 645
Registered: 12-14-2006
Location: Beirut
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Mood: No Mood
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Okay Zalzal
....and boyfriends not to exclude anyone.
By the way, is oud a men thing?
I am not here since long but it seems that there are no women on this forum.
And thks for tip on Nassima
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Jameel
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1672
Registered: 12-5-2002
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Mood: No Mood
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What a view.
Would it be wrong to play some John Denver on the oud at this time? 
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ALAMI
Oud Junkie
Posts: 645
Registered: 12-14-2006
Location: Beirut
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Mood: No Mood
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I like John Denver but I think that Fayrouz would be a better bet.
This is the Kadisha Valley, the music in this region is Dabkeh and atabah (mountain mawals), by hiking around in the spring you'll hear sheperds
singing amazing Saba or Hijaz mawals, they play nay or mejwez (a double nay playing only Rast) and these guys are naturally gifted for modulation
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SamirCanada
Moderator
Posts: 3405
Registered: 6-4-2004
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بحبك يا لبنان
http://songs1.6arab.com/fayrooz..ba7ebak-ya-lebnan.rm
its time for some arak,,, Kessak ya Alami
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ALAMI
Oud Junkie
Posts: 645
Registered: 12-14-2006
Location: Beirut
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Mood: No Mood
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I just fixed an arak (really, and it's a baladi one), got the song, and Kessak Samir !
Let's hope that Fayrouz will always be right and that we will not break our beautiful country.
Kessak
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hakeem.ram
Oud Junkie
Posts: 107
Registered: 11-28-2005
Location: Singapore
Member Is Offline
Mood: Ouding my time away
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Sweet music there samir! i heard this before it was in one the the previous threads. in fact i tried to play another piece that was posted here on
Beirut. Ye Sheware3 beirut. I am not an arab myself but this kind of music really pull the strings of heart. The appeal and the attraction is like
bees to honey.
http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=4623
though i don't understand the language much, but the attraction is really beyond words. What happened in Lebanon really hurts me too. Why war when
there can be more love in this world.
jameel would love to hear some John Denver too! especially leaving on a jetplane, one of the songs i was often singing when i was away from the family
for 42 mths
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Time
Oud Maniac
Posts: 70
Registered: 12-20-2005
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Mood: No Mood
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Beautiful place
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kitharidis
Oud Lover
Posts: 10
Registered: 1-31-2006
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Mood: No Mood
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Salam Alami,
Happy Birthday and thanks for your post...really a beautiful place...and really a beautiful phrase too..."a bad taksim is still better than a good
war."
Cheers and Happy Feast,
K.
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Benjamin
Oud Junkie
Posts: 225
Registered: 7-23-2006
Location: Paris, France
Member Is Offline
Mood: sababa baba
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Let's drink arak and play oud alltogether in middle east ;-)
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Jameel
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1672
Registered: 12-5-2002
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I thought I would share these rare gems from my grandfather's closet.
http://www.khalafoud.com/media/Ataba.mp3
http://www.khalafoud.com/media/Odetkado.mp3
http://www.khalafoud.com/media/Youseftaj.rm
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Contra
Oud Lover
Posts: 16
Registered: 12-28-2006
Location: Miami,FL . USA
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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wow
ALami thats an awesome view, i hope all went well on the birthday.
ill try to chek out the tracks when i can but i dont kno if they make realplayer for mac so i gotta chek that,
shalom aleichem,
music music music bringin peace to this earth , amein? AMEIN!
may everyone on here have a blessed new year(if its new year for you or not) just have a healthy life and a life of happiness, and may the oud and
other forms of music bring peace amongst all mankind, violence is not the answer its actually a problem....
much love to you all.
Sha'ul
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zalzal
Oud Junkie
Posts: 747
Registered: 12-9-2005
Location: Nîmes France
Member Is Offline
Mood: still alive
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LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL
http://anaminbeirut.blogspot.com/2006/12/holiday-festivity-levels-l...
Holiday festivity levels … A la Libanaise
Festivity Level 1: You have invited twenty to thirty people from all walks of life you met in the last couple of years doing your work all over the
country. They are a true representative sample of Lebanese society. You even went out of your way to insist on inviting the local Hezbollah
representative you struck a friendship with doing work in that borderline southern village.
Your guests are chatting amiably with each other, admiring the Christmas tree, some of them have gathered around the oud and piano players and are
humming along that western-eastern fusion tune of Jingle Bells. All are enjoying Parfait Amour liqueur, Baileys or Drambuie and of course a panoply of
fruit juices and sodas for those who don’t consume alcohol. Hors D’oeuvres specially delivered from Noura(1) are having all the ravings of the
ladies without the calorie accounting.
Conversations are very civil and little laughters and “Allah Ykhallik – Allah Yi7fazak” (2) can be heard emanating from around the room.
Festivity Level 2: You notice that the conversation pitch has distinctly heightened. Some guests are talking loudly to each other, some to no one in
particular. The Hezbollah guy has moved next to the Baileys bottle. Others are gulping down Drambuie as if it was seltzer water. A group is wolfing
down hors d’oeuvres like there is no tomorrow. The oud player has a Stolichanaya bottle hidden under his chair while the piano player has switched
tunes and is playing an eerie version of the Pointers Sisters’ “I am so excited”. You can sense that the room has divided into “Aounisti”(3)
versus “Moustaqabalista”(4) and the apartment feels warmer just by the heat of the conversation!A woman is rearranging your Christmas tree
ornaments.
Festivity Level 3: The guests are arguing violently about which shade of color is better to rule the country. You notice the Hezbollah guy has
finished half the bottle of Baileys, you whisper in his ear: “Ya Hajj, this is Irish cream and it has tons of alcohol in it!” and he springs on
his feet and screams his lungs out: “Mitil Irish!!! (5) I love the feeling it is giving to my head and yummy yum it tastes greaaaaaaaaaat”.
All your alcohol beverages are out and you notice that no one touched the juices. The oud player has taken a chord out of his instrument to floss out
pieces of salmon stuck in his teeth. Although you made it abundantly clear to the musicians that you want them to play that famous Christmas song by
George Michael, “I want your sex” was not what you had in mind, at least not for this “holy” occasion. The political debate is reduced to loud
blabber even though you see some of the “belligerents” are starting to take pieces of their clothes off.
Noura shows up in person at your doorstep, her hair is a mess, she’s holding a half empty Jack Daniels bottle and she is going on and on about who
makes the meanest “Tarte aux poireaux”(6) in town.
Festivity Level 4: The piano player is placing hors d’oeuvres in the piano to try new sounds. The oud player has somehow managed to stick his head
inside the oud and he is trying all kinds of sounds for echo.
The woman rearranging the Christmas tree ornaments is now hanging Hors D’oeuvres on the tree. She has set fire to the gifts underneath the tree
because she wants you to taste the salmon “Flambé”.
Opposition and pro government debaters are smearing “Paté de Foie” over their naked upper bodies and starting a ritual war dance around the
burning Christmas tree.
You dash out quickly to the balcony and find that the “Makhfar Hbeich”(7) patrol is circling around your building as you hear fire engine sirens
getting closer.
The Hezbollah guy is making out with Noura in your kitchen after unloading all the items from the refrigerator!!!
You stand there and evaluate the situation for a second and realize that you don’t even remember why you held this party.
PS: If you ever decide to hold such a party, make sure you keep the festivity level at around three!!!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All of You.
(1) A famous Beirut caterer.
(2) “God bless you”.
(3) A leading opposition party.
(4) Pro-Government political entity.
(5) An Arabic expletive involving male genitalia.
(6) some kind of quiche with leeks and vegetables.
(7) The Vice Squad of Beirut.
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zalzal
Oud Junkie
Posts: 747
Registered: 12-9-2005
Location: Nîmes France
Member Is Offline
Mood: still alive
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Ya Oud – A haunting beautiful song by Elizabeth Ayoub sung in homage to an instrument spanning tribal/racial/religious divides. This young lebanese
singer is working with Marcel Khalife’s son Rami to rebuild Lebanon through music.
Whole song here
http://www.elizabethayoub.com/audio/ELIZABETH_AYOUB-Ya_Oud_Oh_Ou.m3...
Elizabeth Ayoub is both a poet and a musician. 'Music is that magical air that lives in our space. It knows no boundaries, carries no stigmas. It is
unconditional love expressed through one's energy. And like energy, music can neither be created nor destroyed - it is simply transformed, from one
soul to the other. May we all be the conduits of its magic.'
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Ararat66
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1025
Registered: 11-14-2005
Location: Portsmouth, UK
Member Is Offline
Mood: mellow yellow
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Happy birthday Alami - when was it. I just turned 40 on New years eve (hence Ararat 66, first mountain I saw properly and my year of birth). Happy
New year to everyone
Leon
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ALAMI
Oud Junkie
Posts: 645
Registered: 12-14-2006
Location: Beirut
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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Happy Birthday Ararat
As a small birthday gift I am posting a new Jabakji music sheet,you obviously liked this idea, I don't know but I feel that this music should have
been composed not far from Mount Ararat
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Ararat66
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1025
Registered: 11-14-2005
Location: Portsmouth, UK
Member Is Offline
Mood: mellow yellow
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Brilliant stuff Alami - I'll try to learn these as a way of learning to read music - I think this year I would like to begin reading a bit of music, I
have a good ear for sound and have played guitar since I was 16. Started playing the oud just over 1 year and feel I am starting to get going a bit -
I wish I had more time to practice ... (2 little girls, work etc) - but I am just grateful to have found the oud - I just love playing.
Any more of these would be gratefully received.
Have a good week
My best wishes
Leon
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