Qatar Foundation (QF) is launching a new platform for live musical performances that offer a truly authentic listening experience, strengthening the place that contemporary Arabic classical music holds in Arab identity.
Under Qatar Foundation’s Al Ghorrah for Literature and Arts – which celebrates the cultural heritage and arts of Arab Islamic civilisations – Heart to Heart is a series devoted to both ancient and contemporary maqamclassical music, a melodic Arabic music technique, with all performances being free of screens, amplification from loudspeakers and mobile phones.
Heart to Heart is curated by musician, composer, researcher and oud player Mustafa Said, founder of the Asil Ensemble, who will be the series’ opening performer on November 1 at 7pm in the Black Box Theater at Multaqa (Education City Student Center).
Mustafa’s performances embody his belief that the purity and authenticity of sound, melody, poetry and the human voice lie at the origins of memory and identity, and that live music performed in this way is “the most honest dialogue between performer and recipient – from heart to heart”.
He added: “Heart to Heart is intended to help restore people’s clarity of communication with their senses, especially their sense of hearing, and take them on a unique journey spanning the eight centuries of maqam – from the past to the present to the anticipation of the future.
“The calculations of wavelengths embody knowledge of natural and astronomical phenomena, such as the movement of stars, the blowing of winds and the ebb and flow of tides. Harmony and dissonance are inherent to these calculations, which are also to be found in music.
“When an audience listens directly to an oud player, for example, without the aid of a microphone and headphones, they can recognise the composition of wavelengths that creates natural harmonics, even if they have not studied acoustics. This precision in highlighting natural harmony is lacking when using amplification, because audio amplification systems cannot transmit the structure of the sound, depriving listeners of the true depth of harmony.
“Heart to Heart aims to continue the tradition of authenticity. Listening to pure, natural sounds, including music, is the best motivation for contemplating the essence of the universe and giving precedence to hearing over sight. Through these performances, we are also seeking to highlight maqam to listeners and music lovers, producing a new and contemporary melody that, if we nurture it, will help to ensure this aspect of Arab civilisation has its rightful standing in the world.”
The opening Heart to Heart performances will include melodies that will be heard for the first time, having been composed through extensive research into Arabic melodic manuscripts. Drawing on cultural heritage, Said will perform these contemporary works with Tawfiq Mirkhan, Ahmed Al-Kouri, Ibrahim Kadr and Hani Al-Khatib – all teachers of the Arabic Department at QF’s Qatar Music Academy – as the Doha Ensemble For Classical Maqam; and with Ali Hout from the Asil Ensemble.
Following the performance, the audience will have the opportunity for a conversation with the musicians, organised in partnership with QF’s BilAraby initiative. These interactions will also be part of subsequent Heart to Heart performances with musicians who have dedicated their lives and art to maqam: Negar Bouban will perform by the end of November in an edition titled Women and the Oud; Dr. Ahmed Al-Salhi, a Kuwaiti musician and researcher, will perform in an edition titled Gulf Sound Traditions by the end of January; Fikret Karakaya will perform Ottoman Maqam in March; and Mohammad Antar will perform With the Ney in May.
The Heart to Heart series of evenings includes workshops in cooperation with QF’s Herfah programme, where those interested in music will also be able to participate in sessions focused on arts and heritage. These workshops will take place before the musical performances begin at each event.
GO: Visit https://educationcity.qa/heart-to-heart for more details or to book tickets.
