Marcel Khalife: Oud, Darvish and Revolt

wp2 Mahmoud Darwish was an inspiration for many, especially among peace workers and human rights activists all over the world. Through his simple but highly powerful poems, the Palestinian writer attracted millions of people and persuaded them to line up against the Israel occupation. Many revolutionary movements, especially the musical groups used Dervish’s verses and words for their campaigns and ventures. Marcel Khalife, Lebanese composer and performer is the artist who used poems of Darwish in his musical ventures with perfect blend. He used these great poems while he performed as an Oud Master.

Marcel Khalifé was born on June 10, 1950 in Amchit, Lebanon. He studied the Oud (the Arabic lute) at the Beirut National Conservatory of Music and graduated in 1971, and, ever since, has been injecting a new life into the Oud. From 1972 to 1975, Marcel Khalifé taught at the Beirut National Conservatory of Music, public Universities and other local private music institutions. During that same period, he toured the West Asia, North Africa, Europe and the United States giving solo performances on the Oud. Oud playing was traditionally constrained by the techniques that governed its playing. Highly talented and skillful musicians such as Marcel Khalifé were, however, able to free the instrument from those constraints and thus greatly expanding its possibilities.

In 1972, Marcel Khalifé created a musical group in his native village, Amchit, with the goal of reviving its musical heritage and the Arabic chorale. The first performances took place in Lebanon. 1976 saw the birth of Marcel Khalifé’s Al Mayadine Ensemble. Enriched by the previous ensemble’s musical experiences, Al Mayadine’s notoriety went well beyond Lebanon. Accompanied by his musical ensemble, Marcel Khalifé began a lifelong, far-reaching musical journey, performing in Arab countries, Europe, the United States, Canada, South America, Australia, and Japan.

Marcel Khalifé has been invited several times to festivals of international fame such as: Baalbeck, Beit Eddine (Lebanon), Carthage, El Hammamat (Tunisia), Timgad (Algeria), Jarash (Jordan), Arles (France), Krems, Linz (Austria), Bremen (Germany), Re Orient (Sweden), Pavia (Italy), World Music Festival in San Francisco, New York, Cleveland (USA), Wellington Music Festival (New Zealand) and the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music in Morocco.

He has performed in such prestigious halls as the “Palace of Arts” in Montreal, “Symphony Space” and “Merkin Concert” in New York, “Berklee Theatre” and “New England Conservatory” in Boston, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, “Royal Festival Hall”, and “Queen Elizabeth Hall” in London, “UNESCO Palace” of Beirut, Cairo Opera House (Egypt), “Reciprocity”, “House of the Cultures of the World” and “UNESCO Hall” in Paris, “Central Dionysia” in Rome, “Yerba Buena” in San Francisco, “Sodra Teatern” in Stockholm, “Bozar” in Brussels, Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam, Konzerthaus in Berlin, “Detroit Symphony Hall” in Detroit, “Sydney Opera House”, “The Arts Centre” in Melbourne, Australia, “The Champs Elysees Theater” in Paris and the “Teatro Alla Scalla Milano” in Italy.

Marcel Khalife has also composed purely instrumental works like The Symphony of Return, Sharq, Concerto Al Andalus- Suite for Oud and Orchestra, Mouda’aba (Caress), Diwan Al Oud, Jadal Oud duo, Oud Quartet, Al Samaa in the traditional Arabic forms and Taqasim, duo for oud and double bass which was awarded the Grand prize of the prestigious Charles Cros Academy in France in November 2007. One of his recent works, Sharq, a choral symphonic composition was performed by the Italian Philharmonic Orchestra and the Piacenza Choir. His latest work, “Arabian Concerto”, premiered at the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra inaugural concert and was performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and the Champs Elysees Theater in Paris.

Marcel Khalifé’s compositions have been performed by several orchestras, notably the Kiev Symphony Orchestra, the Academy of Boulogne Billancourt Orchestra, The San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of the city of Tunis, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Italian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra and the “Absolute Ensemble”.

Since 1982, Marcel Khalifé has been writing books on music that reflect his avant garde compositions and the maturity of his experience. He published Al Samaa, a collection of compositions for various traditional Arab musical instruments (1981), a six part methodology for the study of the Oud (1982), and Arabic Music-Theory and Practice (French Edition, 1984), Jadal oud Duo (1996), OUD (1997), Andalusian Suite for oud and Orchestra (2002). His challenges, however, are not only musical in character. Interpreter of music and Oud performer, he is also a composer who is deeply attached to the text on which he relies. In his association with great contemporary Arab poets, particularly Palestinian poet par excellence, Mahmoud Darwish, he seeks to renew the character of the Arabic song, to break its stereotypes, and to advance the culture of the society that surrounds it.

Marcel Khalifé’s lyrical and instrumental recordings add up to more than 20 albums and DVDs, Promises of the storm (1976), Rain Songs (1977), Where from, do I Enter the Homeland? (1978), Weddings (1979), At the Borders (1979), Stripped Bare (1980), Happiness (1981), The Bridge (1983), Collections – 3 Albums (1984), Dreamy Sunrise (1984), Ahmad Al Arabi (1984), Peace Be With you (1989), Ode To A Homeland (1990), Arabic Coffeepot (1995), Jadal Oud Duo (1996), Magic Carpet (1998), Concerto Al Andalus (2002), Caress (2004), Voyageur DVD (2004), Taqasim (2007), Sharq CD & DVD (2007).

Since 1974, Marcel Khalifé has been composing music for dance which gave rise to a new genre of dance, the popular Near Eastern ballet (Caracalla, Sarab Ensemble, Rimah, and Popular Art Ensemble). His compositions for dance include The Marvels of the Prodigy (1974), The Black Tents (1978), A shot of Glory (1980), The Taming of the Shrew (1981), Echoes (1981), Summer Night’s Dream (1992), Alissar, Queen Of Carthage (1997) and Andalusia (2000).

Marcel Khalifé has also been composing soundracks for film documentaries produced by Maroun Baghdadi like Kamal Jumblatt (1976), The Martyr (1977), All for the Homeland (1978), Whispers (1979), and Maarouf Saad (1979) by Samir Zaki. He also scored music for fiction film The Half meter Incident (1981) and The Box of the World (2003) by Ousama Mohammad. His published music has also been used in Hollywood produced films like East West (2006) and Rendition (2007) and also used in independently produced films like Driving to ZigZigland (2006) by Nicole Ballivian and Me, the Other (2006) by Mohsen Melliti.

Marcel Khalifé’s works has been critically acclaimed both in the Arab World and worldwide. His creativity, innovations and his educational and humanitarian concerns and contributions to the promotion of arts and Culture in the Arab world has earned him tens of awards in the Arab World and Internationally. Upon his receipt of the National Palestine Medal for Arts and Culture in 2001, Khalifé contributed the financial part of the Award to the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music in Palestine. The Conservatory has since established in his name an annual music competition under the title of The Marcel Khalifé National Music Competition grants young gifted musicians financial support for their continued music education. Following are some of the awards and recognition that Marcel Khalifé has received throughout the years. He is an activist too.So inspiring was his music that when Israel invaded his native Lebanon in 1982, Israeli officials confiscated his cassettes, lest he inspire a resurgence of Arabic pride. Peace, reconciliation, and boundary-breaking are the hallmarks of Marcel Khalife’s music.

On his journey, Marcel Khalifé invents and creates original music, a novel world of sounds, freed of all pre-established rules. This language elevates him to the level of an ambassador of his own culture and to the vanguard of Arabic music in search of innovators. In June 2005 Marcel Khalifé was named UNESCO Artist for Peace for his artistic achievement and humanitarian contributions. In 2008, Marcel Khalifé helped in the establishment of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra (QPO) and was named as its music director and resident composer. . Born into a Christian family and brought up in an Arabic culture, he uses musical influences from both traditions to create a sound that is both soothing and stimulating.

Courtesy for many of the information in this article is to the official website of Marcel Khalife www.marcelkhalife.com

Listen to him at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pYLscVFPXk