Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Christmas Hymns تراتيل الميلاد
Christmas Hymns
Even though Christmas is months away, the album gets you in the spirit of the holidays. I am sitting here anticipating snow to come falling. Or Santa to come down the chimney, even though there's no chimney.Unlike many other albums, all the songs on this album have the same theme, Christmas. What a revelation huh? Anyway from the introductory church bells through the other hymns and finally with church bells again, it's all about Christmas. And like Christmas it's ends fast.In the booklet, there are a number of photos taken from a television show.
All Songs are traditional.Lyrics and arrangments made by The Rahbani Brothers.
Album tracks:
1. Carillons 1'
2. Sawt El Eid (Silent Night) 2'40"
3. Laylet Eid (Jingle Bells) 2'51"
5. Najmet Eid (Les Anges Dans Nos Campagnes) 2'57"
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Monday, October 27, 2008
Christmas Carols اغاني الميلاد
Christmas Carols
doesn't say on the cover when this concert took place, but I think it's safe to say sometime in the eighties. Some of the carols are also available in the earlier Christmas Hymns. Even though the Rahbani Brothers wrote the music and lyrics for one carol, it's a masterpiece. What's distinctive about the versions of the carols on this album is the arrangement of instruments and audio quality. For instance, the low quality of the audio in Chobho Lhaw Qolo/Soubhan ElKalema on the Hymns album didn't do the hymn its justice. It sounds far holier on this album. There are also other carols and hymns on the album which make the album a must by, including a version of 'We wish you a Merry Christmas' which Fairuz sings in English and sounds very nice.
The words of Talj Talj, Chobho Lhaw Qolo (Arabic Part), Laylet Eid and Ayed Ellayl were written by The Rahbani brothers. The words of Hallelo Hallelouya, Kena Nezayn Shagara Saghira, Eid Eldeni, Molok Elmajoos and Roh Zorhon Bebayton by Joseph HarbMusic of Talj Talj by the Rahbani Brothers. The music of the other carols are based on previously written ones. See the album tracks below for more information.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Yes'ed Sabahak يسعد صباحك
Is there another song one wants to wake up to more beautiful
than Yes'ed Sabhak? And it's not just the featured song that engulfs a certain aspect of waking up in the morning from what is now considered an estranged era. They all fit themselves into the criterion of the long gone good old days. The songs can be described as simple and dreamy. The second track 'Arabet Lamia' is a musical sketch in which Fairuz takes the role of Lamia as she along with her friends go for a ride. It's hard not to start imagining their journey when the Rahbani Brothers provide you with all the scenery in their simple lyrics. The green pasture, the hills, the fields, the night, the nature one longs to. The other songs follow the same theme of simplicity providing colorful and vivid mental images of roses, butterflies and many other things. But it's not just the lyrics which Fairuz performs brilliantly, the music itself delivers a lot of the essence of the songs. It dances with the poems, it flies and clings to Fairuz's voice producing this masterpiece. At some parts, you'd start thinking, is Fairuz singing to the music or is the music playing to Fairuz's voice? Who's leading in this great conjunction of talent and absolute brilliance? Who's in control? The peak of such greatness can only be reached in the Rahbani-Fairuz collaborations, and this album shows it all. The songs don't sound re-mastered at all and just to be fair it doesn't say so on the cover. All the songs maintain the same quality which is close or maybe even less than the quality of radio broadcast.
Album tracks:
1. Yes'ed Sabahak 2'56"
2. Arabet Lamia 9'42"
3. La Tensany ... Ana Houna 3'43"
4. Zar Beskoun Ellayl 2'42"
5. Ihkili 2'46"
6. Ya Dar Betlouh 2'40"
7. Layl Eleed 3'55"
8. Marhaba ... Marhaba 7'43"
9. 'an Houbak Ghanaina 3'14"
10. Baytouna Filjazira 3'59"
11. Koset Alwared 4'28"
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