Arab Dreamer's
About distorted media stories..
Unfortunately the whole world, including many Arabs, especially the younger people, might not
know that Fairouz never left Lebanon, and might not know very much about Fairouz’s position
during that time. That fact is not mentioned in the media too often, like so many other things
about Fairouz and the Rahbani Brothers. Therefore we should care about what newspapers say
about Fairouz, especially newspapers that possess some kind of legitimacy.
Many people read
newspapers or watch TV and believe all that is published or presented.
Also, if these media
outlets get no reaction from anyone they will not hesitate to continue with such fabrications and
distortions. Over time, the results of such campaigns would be very damaging.
Arab Dreamer's
The difference between a flower and a weed...
Ziad is a talented and accomplished composer, and he should never be compared to a dubious
and frivolous distributor who is one of the biggest producers of ear pollution.
Although I view the original Rahbani brother distribution as being more aesthetic and
captivating, Ziad’s rearrangements wouldn’t be described as anything less than classy and
respectable. Comparing between Ziad’s rearrangements on “Ila Assi” and between the shabby,
uncultured and tasteless re-distribution of Hameed is like comparing between a flower and a
weed.
Arab Dreamer's
Music to the ears
The week of March 20th witnessed magnificent performances of the notable musical play, “The
Last Days of Socrates”, in the beautiful city of Abu-Dhabi. The play was met by great success,
as it did when it was previously performed in Egypt and Lebanon. The remarkable Mansour
Rahbani, author and composer of “The Last Days of Socrates”, was highly acclaimed by
audiences and critics alike, and he was honored by the UAE Ministry of education and culture.
I also heard about some new projects. It has been recently published in some newspapers that
Mansour and his son, Osama Rahbani, are preparing for a new large-scale play about Jesus
Christ, as well as a huge project about an Islamic figure.
Furthermore, and to the content of many, in an interview with Alkhaleej newspaper, Mansour
announced that he and the celestial Fairouz are in the process of developing ideas and themes for
a potential project. If this materializes, it would be the long-awaited re-cooperation between the
two contemporary summits of Arabic music.
This great news is music to the ears..