The Arabian Heritage Project is concerned with myriad customs, including folklore, music, handicrafts, poetry, literature, and art and community rituals. The Arabian Heritage Project regularly partners with government and international organizations and key individuals.
The group of musicians rehearsed for a five-day workshop, totaling 40 hours of harmonious jamming. They produced 10 musical pieces, a blend between different kinds of music.
Each musician brought some musical flavor from his own country by playing classical compositions reflective of his traditional customs. Members of the group came from an assortment of countries, including Kuwait, Bahrain, England, Saudi Arabia and the US. This mixture helped the music to merge with their different backgrounds.
Each piece was a blend between one eastern and one western tone. For instance, one composition was a fusion of Yemeni and Dutch.
“It was really hard to teach the Westerners our traditional melodies using their instruments,” explained Ahmed Bahashwan, a Saudi dulcimer player, “but after all the hard work, it turned out to be a really beautiful harmony.”
The musicians gained a great deal from this experience. Following a week of intense rehearsals, Bahashwan still held onto his excitement.
“I’m so delighted to have had this opportunity to work with these exceptional musicians in this productive project, which proves the point that music is really a universal language from seven letters.”
Bahashwan was the highlight of the event as he preformed the Taif majroor that he had taught the other musicians.
“It was fascinating and remarkable to see all of these artists from so many different cultures joining in on this old style of Hijazi music,” said Bahashwan.
“Who would have thought majrour performed on a saxophone with Kuwaiti mirwas and Bahraini flute would sound so exciting,” said Lisa Urkevich, Director of the Arabian Heritage Project and a leading musicologist on the music of the Arabian Peninsula.
The project brought new interest to traditional music, which gave a new perspective to a dying heritage by blending it with a modern one
“We were panicking at the beginning. We didn’t know how the audience would react to our music since most of them were foreign students who knew nothing about our Arabic heritage,” said Bahashwan.
“Classes would visit the musicians during the rehearsal and they were very impressed with the collaboration,” said Urkevich.
The audience was amazed and fascinated by the performance as they were introduced for the first time to the old Arabian music.
“The audience’s reaction was so good. They all applaud and cheered after the concert, which gave us confidence and encourages us to produce more in the next concert,” said Bahashwan.
