Almost 40 days after the devastating Beirut Port blast, artists continue to seek out ways to pay tribute to those lost and to comfort the bereaved.
Over the coming week, three musical tributes and memorial concerts staged, seeking to inspire some hope in these emotionally trying times.
Organized by arts and civic engagement NGO Action for Hope, the concert “Thou Shalt Live” was on Mar Mikhael’s Vendome Steps on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. Featuring vocalists Ahmad Kaabour, Amal Kaawash and Christine Zino, alongside musicians from the Action for Hope Music School, the two-hour memorial is dedicated to the blast victims.
“We hope that by providing a public event, in a public space, for the residents of Mar Mikhael, that it will enable them to share emotions and have a communal feeling of grieving together,” Action for Hope director Basma El Husseiny told The Daily Star. “We started with some Syriac hymns and then four pieces by our music school graduates, which are well known songs from the traditional Lebanese repertoire.”
This included Fairuz’s “Sawfa Ahia,” “Watani,” Marcel Khalife’s “Ya Bahriye” and some instrumental pieces. Kaawash performs four of her own tracks, which look at loss and recovering after a tragic event. Kaabour will sing some of his popular tracks like “Ya Baher Beirut.”
The free event providing face masks for those without and asks that everyone social distances responsibly.
Sept. 12 marks 40 days since the explosion, and at 6:30 p.m that day the performance “#RecollectBeirut” will be livestreamed and broadcast on local TV channels from near Beirut Port.
Under the direction of Jean-Louis Mainguy and Bassem Christo, 250 singers from across Lebanon performed to honor the blast victims. The show will feature the Antonine University choir, the Notre-Dame University choir, the Al Fayha’a choir and the Al Mabarrat choir, accompanied by a chamber orchestra of 30 musicians.
Vocals, poems and testimonies will be given by Fadia Tomb el Hage, Rifaat Torbey, Omar Rahbani, Tania Saleh, Zade Dirani, Gabriel Yared, Abdel Rahman El Bacha, Wajdi Mouawad and Amin Maalouf.
Another concert on Sept. 20 seeks to raise funds for people affected by the blast. Organized by Rio de Janeiro’s Consulate General of Lebanon, the campaign “A Hug in Beirut” will consist of a musical TV program shown in Brazil and in Lebanon, as well as on social media channels.
Organized by Brazilian maestro Tim Rescala, composer and musician, Ricardo Feghali and Lebanese conductor Harout Fazlian, the event will gather a host of Lebanese and Brazilian artists, including the Beirut Orchestra, Jahida Wehbe, Claudia Leitte and Brazilian trio Melim. Organizers say the event has the support of Lebanon’s Culture Ministry.
“The consulate filmed these huge Brazilian stars in their houses or studios doing the singing, and then they arranged the music for orchestra,” Fazlian said. “I brought together a small orchestra and as their videos were playing, we accompanied them live with the music from our side and filmed the whole thing in a studio. There are three giant screens for the videos of the singers and then the orchestra around them.
“We wanted to collaborate musically between cultures so I got Jahida Wehbe and had the idea to do a very famous Brazilian song called ‘Samba em Preludio’ and asked Jahida to sing half in Portuguese and half in Arabic,” he added. “I like to do these things to link Lebanon and show people what Lebanon is and how culturally advanced we are. This way we introduce each other to [new musical cultures].”
Wehbe will also revisit Wadih al-Safi’s song “Rah Halfak bel Ghosn ya Asfour,” as well as a choral rendition of Zaki Nassif’s “Ya Aachikat al Wardi.”
“Thou Shalt Live” took place at the Vendome Steps, Mar Mikhael, on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. “#RecollectBeirut” livesteam showed on Sept. 12 at 6:30 p.m.: youtube.com/watch?v=vPOSObd03wM&feature= youtu.be. “A Hug in Beirut” can be seen on LBCI at 3 p.m. on Sept. 20.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
