Promises of the Storm

Marcel Khalife

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 15, 1999)
• Original Release Date: January 15, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nagam
• ASIN: B00003GO1G
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #202,240 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist
Marcel Khalife was born in 1950 in Amchit, Lebanon. He studied the Near Eastern lute, known in Arabic as the oud at the National Academy of Music in Beirut. Although at that time playing the oud was governed by very strict technical rules, Marcel Khalife and other musicians have since expanded the rules and developed the oud's potential. Khalife taught at the National Conservatory of Music and other institutions from 1970 to 1975. During that time, he also performed solo concerts throughout the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and North America. In 1972, Khalife formed a group of musicians in Amchit, the town where he was born. The group, which then performed throughout Lebanon, wanted to revive Arabic music and its choral heritage. The Amchit group was an experience Khalife built upon to launch Al-Mayadine Ensemble in 1976, which soon won high renown. He and Al-Mayadine Ensemble continue to perform in concerts in the Arab world, Africa, Europe, the United !States, Canada, Latin America, Australia, and Japan. Starting in 1974, he has collaborated to write music for the dance shows of the Caracalla Dance Troupe. The powerful combination of Khalife's music and the troupe's dance has given birth to a new style of Near Eastern ballet with a popular appeal. He has also written soundtracks for documentaries and films directed by the late Maroun Baghdadi, Sophi Sayhf Eddin, and Sami Zikra. The Arabic musical library has been enriched by scores of Marcel Khalife's works, surpassing 20 productions. Khalife's musical scholarship, particularly his mastery of the oud, express themselves in a seminal work the composer started writing in 1982, a six-part Anthology of Studying the Oud. In this work, he dwells on the theory and application of studying the instrument. A set of chapters are devoted to oud duo, trios, and quartets.

Marcel Khalife has received many honors and awards throughout his long and highly acclaimed career, including:

1. Medal of Cultural Merit, Tunisia
2. Star of the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism
3. Golden Dagger of the United Arab Emirates
4. Citation of Merit of the Cultural Lebano-Australian Club, Sydney
5. Ivory Medal - Abidjan
6. An honor from the Venezuelan Cultural League - Maracaibo
7. Citations of Merit from Berlin, Cuba, Bulgaria, and Yemen
8. Certificates and Letters of Appreciation from the Cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Boston, and Houston.

Product Description
This is the long-awaited CD by Marcel containing the Marcel's most famous songs including the song Mother.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great team, January 16, 2000

By A Customer

What makes this CD amazing is the combination of Khalife's haunting vocals and mesmerizing instrumentals with really stirring lyrics from poet Mahmud Darwish. No where in the write-up does it seem to mention Darwish, but the lyrics from at least three of the songs are based on his renowned poetry.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps.., December 28, 1999

By	Fawwaz (Amman, Jordan) - See all my reviews

Perhaps nobody can understand the suffering behind songs like "Mother" and "Rita" except for the people Marcel is refering to. The strength behind Marcel's strings can only be understood by those who were actually victims of political violence. Perhaps the rest can only afford to love the "Lebanese" music and say that its a "lovely musical journey." This is the fine line between 'music we feel' and 'music we understand.'

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A bad re-arrangement for a great album, June 21, 2008

By	M. Hamze "Lunar07" (Austin, Texas United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The case maybe that few have heard the original songs in this album. This was the first Khalife album. The cassette tape artwork shows Khalife on a stage overexposed in a red color that resembles a storm. The year was 1976. I consider myself lucky to own the original tape. The original arrangement is this: Oud and Marcel's vocals. That was it! And it quite fit the spirit of those days. Nostalgic, sad, rebellious,and defiant - it came to symbolize the dark nights and the will to survive and shed 'the old leaves on the branches' of the trees. It was not a joyous music. And certainly not the dancing music. It was a brooding masterpiece of the spirit in a stage of emergence. So, for Khalife to allow himself to re-arrange this album while claiming to 'keep to the spirit of the original,' and add instruments that should NEVER EVER have been considered is not only a betrayal to the spirit of the collection, it is an attempt to rewrite history. Those who listen to this so-called re-arrangement should better locate the original. And one request to Nagam, and Khalife: Release this album again as it was created in its original form. Some works were not meant to be re-arranged in such a comical way. Some works were meant to stand witness to a time, and to play with this testimony is akin to betrayal. I gave one star. It deserves a big ZILCH the size of my disappointment in what Marcel had done.