By Michelle Carrera
Tucked away from the packed lunch crowd at the George Sherman Union and the buzz of the Career Fair at Metcalf Hall, the GSU Conference Auditorium provided an intimate setting to enjoy a taste of world music with a performance by Eliyahu and the Qadim Ensemble, as part of the new Global Music Lunchtime Series.
Curated by Marié Abe, professor in the College of Fine Arts Department of Musicology and Ethnomusicology, the new series hopes to promote programs that stray from the typical classic Western performances.
“It’s not about importing something exotic but rather about exposing students to something that is already part of the multicultural fabric of American everyday life,” said Abe. “It gives an opportunity to be curious about places and people that they may not have been interested before.”
In an attempt to provide an interactive experience, Abe hopes to include workshops and lectures for future acts. For this performance, the artists shared the cultural stories behind the songs they played, most of which are adaptations of ancient hymns and melodies.
Eliyahu described one Jewish hymn as inspired by “a longing for a place of wholeness and divine unity,” while another Armenian song was written in a backdrop of a war and revolution.
“Our music is from many different cultures and religions in the Middle East,” said ensemble leader Eliyahu Sills as he introduced a Turkish inspired song. “We’re representing an alternative to violence by including different music from people who are often in conflict with each other.”
The ensemble relied on a diverse array of traditional instruments, form the flute-like ney to the setar. Drawing from Hebrew, Arabic, and Turkish influence, to include a few, they continued ancient traditions and played entrancingsongs that seamlessly meshed these different cultures and languages.
Their performance also varied by including both slow and trembling melodies, perfectly complemented by the haunting vocals from main singer Rachel Sills to more up-tempo and rhythmic songs. At one point, percussionist Faisal Zedan left the crowd mesmerized with a quick-paced and deafening solo on the darbukka, the main percussion instrument in Middle Eastern music.
Through their hour-long performance, the four-piece delivered a captivating performance that proved language was no barrier to a receptive audience. The second installment of Global Music Lunchtime Series is on March 30 with “Taiko Project –Evolving Tradition of Japanese Percussion Ensemble.”
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