DESCRIPTION:
Riyad Nicolas (piano) plays Kareem Roustom: 'Enough, I intended to leave you' from Aleppo Songs at St Mary's Perivale on June 27th 2017. This is no. 5 from Aleppo Songs. Like many of the qudud (traditional melody) the themes of the text are about love. Often heart break is involved. However, its title might also address the desperate situation of Syrian refugees; despite loving their home there is only so much that anyone can take before taking the decision to leave. My goals in writing Aleppo Songs is to share the musical riches of Aleppo and Syria as well as to bring awareness to the needs of both internally and externally displaced refugees.
Used with permission from Layali Music Publishing, BMI.
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"Anything that is said or written about Aleppo, or Syria in general, after the year 2011 is stated in the past tense. Because after the war nothing remains the same. Aleppo was a city known for many things such as its wonderful cuisine, its seven miles of covered markets, and the warmth of its people, but Aleppo was always a musical city. By writing this set of piano pieces I hope to share some of Aleppo’s musical treasures in a new setting; one that hopefully compliments the richness of this tradition but also avoids ‘orientalist’ clichés. I will also donate all profits from sheet music sales as well as any royalties from ticketed concert performances for at least the 2017 - 2018 concert season to Doctors Without Borders and one smaller organization working with refugees. The latter will be changed from time to time so as to help several organizations in need. By performing this work, I hope that performers will also be making a humanitarian statement at a time when making such a statement is desperately needed"