Qudduson
Sacred Songs of East and West
“the sheer sound was dizzying, and the metaphor it offered of things
long-separated coming back together was moving too.”
The Daily Telegraph
“a glorious fusion of vocal, cultural and religious fervour”
Early Music Review
“brilliant programming remains one of The Clerks’ winning features ...
ravishingly sung ... utterly uplifting and yet gloriously severe.”
Church Times
Ancient Chant and Polyphony from Europe and the Middle East
Qudduson – Sanctus – Holy: the word reverberates through the sacred music of East and West. In this new programme, The Clerks join three Middle Eastern singers steeped in Islamic and Christian music.
Exploring music within very different faith traditions, Qudduson sets aside the artificial boundaries between cultures and religions. It is a conversation between Eastern and Western musical genres and techniques. What unites these traditions is the power and transcendence of the human voice.
The programme has evolved from musical director Edward Wickham's work with choirs in the Middle East, in particular his 2007 concerts which brought together student choirs from Lebanon and Britain.
Qudduson presents Middle Eastern chant and Western polyphony side-by-side. The ancient Syriac liturgy of Aleppo – thought to be the oldest Christian chant repertoire in the world, the Islamic music of Sufism and songs from the Coptic Egypt are set alongside chant and polyphony from the Cathedral repertories of the Western Middle Ages and Renaissance.
East meets West
Melody is paramount in the sound-world of Middle Eastern vocal music, with its rich quarter-tones and virtuoso ornamentation. Musical forms are shaped out of the sophisticated elaboration of familiar melodies. Western church music likewise uses exuberant flourishes in the ecstatic jubilations of the Alleluia and other chants.
This fascination with melody and its elaboration lies at the heart of Qudduson. It reveals some astonishing parallels between East and West – between the improvisatory techniques of Islamic singing and the and the highly decorative polyphony of medieval Europe; between the formalised liturgical chants of the Syriac Orthodox Church and the structured cantus firmus mass settings of the 15th century; between the sophisticated muwashshah of the Middle East and the ornate madrigals of Renaissance Europe.
Religion and Music in Modern Syria
Contemporary Syria is an elaborate patchwork of religious communities and musical traditions. The chant of Greek and Syriac Orthodox churches can be traced back to the 3rd century AD. That of the Church of Hayy Surian in Aleppo - which traces its origins to the Church in Edessa (in modern Turkey) - is arguably the oldest continuous Christian chant tradition in the world. Its musical connection to medieval Sufi repertoire mirrors the close relations between Christians and Muslims in the region.
Syria is rightly proud of the way in which its religious communities, so antagonistic in many parts of the world, have sustained a long history of toleration. As 20th-century Armenian refugees have arrived with their own musical repertoires, the heady mix of influences on Syrian music continues to grow.
The Artists
George Qas-Barsoum is a bass soloist at the Church of Hayy Surian in Aleppo, which was built by refugees fleeing Edessa in the 1920s. His experience and knowledge of singing the Syriac Orthodox liturgy of this ancient community, some of the oldest Christian chant in the world, is unsurpassed.
Merit Ariane Stephanos is a Coptic Egyptian/German singer and composer, who draws on Arabic and Western classical contemporary influences in her music. She is particularly interested in exploring dialogue between people and musicians from different cultures.
Merit has a BMus Hons from Edinburgh University, an MMus in Contemporary Music Studies from Goldsmiths College with distinction and a Postgraduate Diploma in Creative Leadership from the Royal College of Music.
She sings regularly with medieval group Joglaresa, classical Arabic ensemble Al Farabi, her own Arabic/Jewish ensemble Jaljala, her duo Hjaz with pianist Alcyona Mick, contemporary modal group Troja Nova and as a guest singer with virtuoso string Trio Kosmos. She sings contemporary vocal music with the New London Chamber Choir and her Soprano Quartet Tongue Stuff. Merit teaches as outreach mentor at the Royal College of Music.
Abdul Salam Kheir studied music at the Lebanese Conservatoire, specialising in Muwashahat (classical Arab song) as a singer and oud player. There he also focused on composing in various musical idioms, which has enabled him to travel all over the world performing and promoting Arab music in live concerts and with ensembles of many nationalities.
In August 1994, Abdul Salam was invited to arrange three songs for Led Zeppelin, which he performed in a live concert on GMT. In 1995, he was involved in the composition of the soundtrack of the French Film ‘Marie de Nazareth’. Later that year, Abdul Salam worked with the renowned flamenco guitarist Juan Martin and his group, a collaboration which culminated in the release of Musica Alhambra, a CD exploring Flamenco, Arab, Moorish, Indian gipsy and Sephardic music. This CD was performed live during several tours throughout England, Scotland, Ireland, Algeria, Oman and Turkey.
In 2004, Abdul Salam took part in a Channel 5 Documentary about Andalusian music with the Spanish singer Clara Sanabras. In 2005, he joined the Ex-Cathedra Choir in Birmingham for a concert of Christian and Islamic music. Also in 2005, he was one of the soloists for the ‘Big Voice Festival’ in Birmingham, for which a choir 1000 singers came together. In the same year, he performed with the lute player David Miller in the Kilkenny International Festival in Ireland. With his ‘Arabic Group’, Abdul Salam performed in many festivals throughout the UK, including the Worcester Festival and the English Heritage Festival in Cheswick.
In 2006, Abdul Salam performed for His Highness Prince Charles and Prince Mohammed of Saudi Arabia in the Llangollen Festival in Wales. Later that year, he released the album ‘Convivencia’ with the famous soprano Catherine Bott, lute player David Miller and percussionist Stephen Henderson.
As a performer and teacher of Arab singing and oud, Abdul Salam has a longstanding association with Dartington International Summer School. As a composer, Abdul Salam has written songs for many of today’s famous Arab singers, including Sabah.
Artistic Advisor
Tala Jarjour is currently completing a PhD at the University of Cambridge on music and culture in the Middle East; specifically the repertory of the Church of Hay al-Suryan in Aleppo. She received a BA in music performance (violin) at the Higher Institute of Music in Damascus as well as post-graduate degrees from Ohio and Cambridge Universities. She has taught at the Higher Institute of Music in Damascus, was a founder member of the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra and a founding Director of the Music Ministry programme at the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon.
The Programme
Qudduson interweaves - and occasionally fuses - complementary repertoires of East and West.
Click here for the full programme in PDF format.
Recent performances:
| October 2009: | Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge |
| October 2009: | St David's Hall, Cardiff |
| October 2009: | National Centre for Early Music, York |
| July 2009: | St George's Concert Room, Liverpool |
| July 2009: | Christ the Cornerstone, Milton Keynes |
| July 2009: | Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Street, London |
