Hand Made (Shughl Bayt)

Charbel Rouhana & The Beirut Oriental Ensemble, “Shughl Bayt/Hand Made” (Forward Music, 2008) Reviewed by Abu Ramses – ALL TRACKS FCC CLEAN

Charbel Rouhana, one of the premier oudists of the Arab world, is usually open to all sorts of fusions, but this album features more traditional renditions, especially 4 and 9, which are folk songs. The Beirut Oriental Ensemble combines virtuoso musicianship & academic study, giving excellent, innovative instrumental performances, but true to the Arabic musical tradition (asil in Arabic). Rouhana: oud, composition & arrangements. ‘Abboud Saad: bass. Antoine Khalifeh: violin. 'Ali Khatib: percussion (rik & katem). Elie Khoury: bouzuk.

Try 1, 3, 8, 9, 10

Tracks
1. Umm al-Maradim(Mother of Landfills) – Slow oud & violin solos - 4:28
2. Clin D'oeil (Wink) – mid-tempo ensemble, & solos, big tar (drum) in back - 4:04
3. Wedding – allegro dance tune - 5:36
4. Al-Bint al-Shalabiya (Beautiful girl) – Complex, mid-tempo rendition of a Lebanese folk song popularized by Fairuz ; nice percussion/oud riff - 4:50
5. First Meeting – Slow, violin solo; theme from “Greensleeves” - 2:15
6. Second Meeting – Upbeat with prominent bouzuk & violin - 2:42
7. Sham El Nassim (Smell the breeze) – mid-tempo katem intro; oud & katem solo midway - 6:33
8. Diyarna (Our house) – mid-tempo, plaintive violin, energetic oud - 3:26
9. Ya Asmar (Oh brown one) – slow oud improv, then violin, percussion & bouzuk @ 2:15 - 3:47
10. Bavardage (Chit-chat) – upbeat ensemble call and response - 2:05
11. Lady Fingers - allegro oud & violin with horse clip-clop percussion - 1:44