When the Sun Rises
It’s a creative journey through the musical paths lived and traveled by its two creators: Hames Bitar and Kaveh Sarvarian, musicians from Syria and Iran respectively. Both have brought together and united, in this creative project, their experiences and extensive musical journeys, embracing both the roots of their origins and the seeds planted in their musical careers developed in Spain.
The germ of this project arises from the common experience in some previous projects, friendship, and the longing to create a musical proposal that reflects both their musical roots and their need and passion to explore new paths.
In this project, there are many layers, skins, folds… reflecting the transit of two artistic lives looking towards the future, without losing the memory of the roots beneath their feet.
The symbolic landscapes that shape the sounds of Arabic and Persian music are nourished by common roots, through shared transitions and stories, and at the same time, each with its own sources, languages, and forms of expression.
With all this diversity as potential, Hames and Kaveh have the collaboration of Luís on percussion, an old companion from previous projects, with extensive experience in Middle Eastern rhythms. Together, they embark on a quest to encounter other ways of making and feeling music as an echo and resonance of the times in which they have lived.
Behind this project, there is a human and artistic relationship among the members of the formation, consolidated by years of friendship sharing different stages, travels, and endless conversations about their artistic and human concerns, imbued with the aroma of Persian tea, Arabian coffee, or enlivened with wine.
PROGRAM
1. The Old man of the mountain
The old man of the mountain is Sinan Rashid Al-din (1130-1193), who was also one of the leaders of the Ismaeli branch of the Nizari in Syria and an important figure in the history of the Crusades. His mausoleum is at the top of the mountain surrounding the city of Masyaf, where Hames was born and raised. Every morning when he woke up and looked out the window, he saw that impressive landscape that is present in every corner of the city.
The theme begins with the strumming of the setar, a Persian instrument, based on the atypical Zarafat rhythm (13/8 time signature) used in Muaxaha from Aleppo and in the repertoire of classical Arabic music. In the second part, it changes to a cheerful and dynamic rhythm (7/8 time signature) in which the oud and ebony flute solos develop over a traditional Persian music stanza. Finally, after an introductory dialogue between the two soloists, the composition culminates with a return to the main theme in Zarafat.
The theme is inspired by the recent protests of the Iranian people against the regime, following the murder of young Mahsa Amini during her detention for refusing to wear the veil. In these peaceful protests, many people died due to the brutal repression by the regime forces. During the funeral, after the burial, the crowd danced as a sign of defiance against the regime. All of this is reflected in the different dynamics of the composition.
The theme begins with an oud riff that leads to a haunting phrase played on the chalumeau, a wind instrument with a sound similar to the Armenian Duduk, followed by a cheerful dance sequence, ending again with the chalumeau and some oud chords that evoke unfinished questions.
3. Holum
An Arabic word meaning “dream.” The theme was created and recorded in a single session, exploring a dialogue between the two soloists, creating an intimate conversation between the oud and the flute, also highlighting the ability to turn improvisation into a solid theme.
Based on the most representative rhythm of Gypsy culture in the Balkans and Turkey; Karsilama (9/8 time signature). It is a rhythm that is usually played fast and very energetically, but in this composition, we experimented, taking the rhythm out of its natural habitat and composing a slow melody over it, evoking the image of a group of exhausted people (refugees, immigrants).
In our quest to find common links between Arabic and Persian music, while at the same time working on the special characteristics of each language, we start from the Samaí (10/8 time signature), a very important rhythm in classical Arab-Ottoman music, to build a Persian atmosphere with the setar, using the Persian Mahoor mode, very similar to the Arab maqam Ajam, all seasoned with our own language.
Dedicated to the city of Damascus, poetically known as the city of jasmine. In this theme, we return to the traditional aroma without neglecting the search for our own essence. We return once again to the Zarafat rhythm. The introduction carries a slow cadence, over which the oud accompanies the piano harmony. The tombak adds tension with a progressive and unsettling roll, leading to the second movement, which has a faster rhythm accompanying a melody in the Bayati maqam, the most traditional in the Middle East.
In August 2021, Allied troops withdrew from Afghanistan, leaving the Afghan population to fend for themselves. The images of this sudden withdrawal left the world in shock. In 2022, Hames was invited to accompany poet José Manuel Lucía Megías in the presentation of his book (KABUL, chronicle of a silence), which gave him the idea of composing a theme for the occasion.
The theme begins with a rhythmic oud solo, followed by the flute entering over the Karachi rhythm (known throughout the East and India), playing a traditional Afghan melody, evoking a sense of uncertainty and restlessness, later giving way to a flute solo and a melancholic oud melody, inspired by a traditional dance from Damascus. It ends with the main phrase, but this time with joy and hope.
Within the different styles of Arabic music, Iraqi music has a specific character, being the tandem between Persian and Arabic music with their modes and language, especially in singing, using the Lami maqam, a mode played only in Iraq, and the Chobi rhythm also specific to Iraq, especially in Kurdish culture.
