It flowed into a strongly emphasised Waltz-tempo for the quintet, including a fine Nay improvisation from Hassan al Faqir. The final section of the programme began with a long virtuoso Qanoon solo intro to Haleem al Khatib’s ‘Ensiyaab’ (Flow). There was a slower middle section with more chromatic syncopated themes from Qanoon, and then up tempo again to conclude, with cheers and great applause from the assembled. ‘Longa Shahnaz’ by Adham Effendi was a well-known, busy, rhythmic dance, featuring a fine high Nay tune.

It was followed by Khatib’s rhythmic Tango, ‘The Mermaid’s Passage’, featuring an extended Oud passage from Humam with each musician given a chance to shine.Ī song made famous by Umm Kulthum had the Egyptian in the row behind singing along to, ‘Darit al Ayyam’ (Days Have Passed) by Abdul Wahab, a fairly slow, long, winding melody which everyone could identify with.

‘Longa Riyad’ was a fast and lively instrumental dance by Riyad al Sunbati, a playful, amusing piece full of foxy, syncopated rhythms for the whole troupe to enjoy. ‘Lamma Bada’ (When she began to Sway), a mid 19th century art song, was the most beautiful performance, beginning very quietly with a tender duet between Qanoon and Oud (the short-neck fretless Arabic lute) and continuing with a chromatic Qanoon melody echoed by the Nay, all over hypnotic repeating ostinati from the group, creating a dream-like quality. It was punctuated by glissandi from the Qanoon – a trapezoid Arabic Zither – and an Oud solo from Humam Eid ending with lively rhythmic Qanoon sweeps.Īnother instrumental by Haleem, ‘Ightiraab’ (Exile) was a lively, rhythmic composition, sounding almost like an Indian Raag, with an interesting violin or ‘Kamenche’ solo from Abdel Rahim. It opened with a beautiful, slow Nay melody from Hassan al Faqir who added much throughout the recital on his bamboo, vertical reed flute. al Qasabaji, though sounding quite folk-like. ‘Zikrayati’ or ‘Memories’ is a famous instrumental composition by the Egyptian, M. The tempo moved on, to end with a faster Qanoon solo. The recital started straight in with a Qanoon intro from the leader in his own composition, ‘Samai’ Hijaz Haleem’, backed by the other Ensemble members. On Saturday at noon, they presented an impressive group as the Quintet sat in an arc on a raised platform, facing a growing audience of all ages and nationalities, which later on became a ‘standing room only’. The Al Haleem Ensemble was formed by Qanoon player Haleem Al Khatib together with his brother, the fiddle player Abdel Rahim al Khatib, and three other of Amman’s best traditional Arabic musicians. It was an extraordinary recital of classical Arabic music performed by five of the best musicians from Jordan. The last of ROHM’s Lunch Music series of the season took place at the Opera Galleria this weekend.

Traditional arab music