Shamma and Neaimi present orchestral works with Lebanon Philharmonic Orchestra

INA – Baghdad 
Composer and oudist Naseer Shamma was set to present orchestral works for oud in collaboration with composer Qoutayba Neaimi and the Lebanon Philharmonic Orchestra.

This came in a statement by the composer Qoutayba Neaimi to Iraqi News Agency – INA.
“I have the pleasure to collaborate with Iraqi world-famous musician and composer Naseer Shamma, who will perform a concert jointly with the Lebanese National Philharmonic Orchestra on April 9th 2021, under the baton of Maestro Fazlian,” said Neaimi.


He expressed his happiness to see that the famous cultural life of Lebanon is still thriving in spite of difficult and challenging times, “it is a pleasure to contribute to it”
The oud and orchestral program was set to be presented as homage to the events in Al Amriya as the famous composition “Al Amriya” by Naseer Shamma has been revisited in collaboration with Neaimi.

“We all know about the painful and tragic events of Amiriya. This prompted me to discuss the topic about a year ago with the artist Naseer Shamma, and to propose a new orchestral version, with a strong focus on the possibilities of dialogue between oud and orchestra, with the secondary aim to extend and export the orchestral repertoire for oud internationally,” he added.

He also explained that they had detailed discussions about the character and meaning of the piece in order to produce an orchestral work that remains faithfully based on Shamma’s original composition and loyal to his spirit. 

According to Neaimi, Ashraq; the famous and successful composition by Shamma, is next in the program. “I worked on the orchestral parts with the preoccupation of preserving the identity of the original work, while developing the oud-orchestra dialogue,”

Shamma was set then to present his oud and orchestral adaptation of "The Barber of Seville" by Rossini, an appreciated piece of his repertoire as there will also be works for soprano and orchestra, with the participation of the excellent Belgian soprano Julie Gebhart.

“Al Nakheel is one of my recent original compositions. This melody for soprano and orchestra will be presented in two languages (Arabic and French). The Arabic poetic text is by the hand of the great poet Henri Zgheib, while the French poetic text is by the French/Portuguese poet and composer Judith Adler de Oliveira. The work talks about the longing and hope for peace in Iraq, Lebanon and beyond,” Neaimi included.
 
This is our first joint participation with the Lebanese National Philharmonic Orchestra, and our presence in Lebanon is a source of untold happiness. This concert will benefit both from the musicianship and stature of Naseer Shamma and from the level of musical excellency of Lebanon.
 
I hope that as the the pandemic recedes, new and exciting cultural collaborations will continue to flourish throughout the world. In this light, I am currently developing other projects and presenting new works next year in Belgium, France and Germany.