Edward Torikian

You can hear the sound of silence in Ya Habibi

The body talking in Ous­ghi

The words that eyes speak in Rihlaton Fi Al Ouyon

The sound of Love in An Touhibb

The eternal fire burning in Aatbat el talj

The sound of joyous en­counters and dreadful separa­tions in each second of a min­ute in Saa-a

The sound of one eagerly waiting in Aa Mahlak

The doubt towards one’s vagueness in Shu Sar

The longing for love’s re­turn in Oudi Ya Souleima

And the sound of nos­talgia for eloquent Arabic in Mouachah

Here are a few impres­sionist pictures presenting inno­vative Arabic music by using human voices as a tool to paint feelings and suggest ideas.

This collective achieve­ment started with ingenious po­etic images of selected lyricists, and then was transformed into enchanting melodic pictures, all inspired by the Arabic modes. This was the part of the famous artist-composer Marcel Khalife.

Then, came my turn. I turned these pictures into illus­trations of polyphonic music: designing and adding appro­priate color, using various types of composition techniques that emphasize on those simple and complex Arabic modes.

Finally, all these written ideas were converted into an aural reality by the technical architect, the conductor of the choir, Maestro Barkev Tasla­kian. As his own impressions, Barkev set the soft but steel voice of Oumeima El Khalil on center stage. Whereas, the voices of the famous Fayha Choir completed the incarna­tion of audible paintings: the tranquility sound when they went silent, the ticking clock as their rhythmic accompaniment, the expression of love with their musical consonances and dissonances, the eloquent Ara­bic glorious reminiscence when they fulfilled the wondrous Ar­abic modes. You can even hear every one’s blinking eye maintaining constant focus on the conductor—that silent lover with a powerful voice singing in the heart of each member of the choir.

Now comes your turn, dear listener. Enjoy the journey and live your own impressions!