Al Farabi Concerto

London Sinfonietta, Rozario, Haram; Diego Masson

Queen Elizabeth Hall, 12 December 2008

Al Farabi Concerto is a showcase series of concerts in which new pieces written by Arabic composers who work predominantly in the Western classical tradition, are performed alongside recent compositions from their Western peers.

Ahmed Essyad's Voix interdites (Forbidden Voices), a cycle (of three songs and instrumental interludes, of which we only heard the songs) about pain and sadness based on Sufi poetry from the tenth century, makes explicit the syncretic impulse that drives the composer.

a plucked cello and bass accompaniment that is unmistakably redolent of an oud, whilst the ardent and passionate singing of Patricia Rozario

continuously brought to mind the devotional passion of Sufi musicianship, particularly in the anguished third song. The performance of this moving and mysterious work was measured and full of character in the instrumental septet