Letters from Iraq: Oud and String Quintet
Letters from Iraq expresses the love and pain of lives lived by the people of war-torn Iraq. Actual mailed letters and their stories are transposed into eight gripping programmatic compositions by Iraqi-American composer and oud player, Rahim AlHaj with string quintet (2 violins, viola, cello, contrabass) and percussion. He says, “Music can make us laugh, make us cry, make us march into war. I want to make music to make us realize peace.” These recordings are of deep emotion and great beauty, melding mastery of Iraqi and Western classical genres alike to form something entirely new. 70 minutes, 40-page booklet with bilingual notes in English and Arabic.
Track Listing
101
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Letter 1. Eastern Love – Sinan | Rahim Alhaj | 6:54 | |
102
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Letter 2. Forbidden Attraction – Tiama | Rahim Alhaj | 12:17 | |
103
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Letter 3. Running Boy – Fuad | Rahim Alhaj | 13:07 | |
104
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Letter 4. The Last Time We Will Fly Birds – Riyadh | Rahim Alhaj | 9:25 | |
105
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Letter 5. Going Home – Rahim | Rahim Alhaj | 7:42 | |
106
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Letter 6. Unspoken Word – Laila | Rahim Alhaj | 6:17 | |
107
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Letter 7. Fly Home – Fatima | Rahim Alhaj | 8:36 | |
108
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Letter 8. Voices to Remember – Zainab | Rahim Alhaj | 5:22 |