Embrace Beirut Brings Together Samba, Jahida Wehbe, and Harout Vasilian

Features

September 29th, 12:06pm

Beirut- Vivian Haddad

From the Embrace Beirut Concert

At the initiative of the Consulate General of Lebanon in Rio de Janeiro, a virtual concert entitled Embrace Beirut was held on Sunday evening, the 27th of September. The first event of its kind, the concert held in Lebanon and Brazil simultaneously, aimed to provide relief to Beirut after the disaster had damaged it severely. The Lebanese community in Brazil is known to one of the largest in the world, with an estimated six million Lebanese residing in the South American country. Marcelo Amiqui was tasked with managing the concert, while the conductor of the orchestra, Tim Rascala, was in charge of technical management, in collaboration with the composer Ricardo Feghali (who is a nephew of the Lebanese diva Sabah). Famous Brazilian artists also participated in the concert, including Wagner, Claudia Leite, Lenin, Faragat, Daniel, and Milim. From Lebanon, Jahida Wehbe’s singing was complemented by the Philharmonic Orchestra led by Maestro Harout Vasilian. The composer Gilberto Gil, a former Brazilian culture minister, alongside many other artists, sent a message of hope to the Lebanese people. The concert also saw prominent figures read excerpts from Khalil Gibran’s books... In an interview about the event, Vasilian tells Asharq Al-Awsat: “They called me from the consulate in Brazil, asking my opinion about holding a concert by artists from Brazil. I explained to them that this event would not be complete without the presence of Lebanese artists. From there, the idea of the Lebanese Philharmonic Orchestra and I joining the concert came about.” He adds: “It is the first cross-border artistic collaboration between Lebanon and Brazil, and I was proud that Brazilian artists of Lebanese origin, such as Ricardo Feghali, the nephew of the late artist Sabah, participated. “I was also pleased with Tim Rescala’s participation, as I discovered that he is Lebanese, and his grandfather is a son of the Rizkallah family.” Vasilian stressed that all the concerts he has conducted, such as the Baalbek festivals and Embrace Beirut, translate his belief in hope. “Without hope, we cannot live, and music holds this message without a doubt,” he continued. My work is a manifestation of hope sought of a nation, people, and even humanity in general. We cannot surrender, no matter how severe our crises.” On the participation of Abeer Nehme, Fadia Tunb, and Ghada Shabir, who sang pieces that were recorded in their homes, he says: “I was surprised by their presence and had not been aware of it, and it turned out later that it was part of the program prepared by the consulate there. I would have preferred for it to have been planned better, as I would have supplemented their contributions with orchestral music directly from Beirut, as was the case with Jahida Wehbe.” For her part, Jahida Wehbe stressed that the concert amounted to an honorary gesture Brazil had granted to Lebanon. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, she says: “When Maestro Harout Vasilian called with this proposal, I did not hesitate to participate in concert for a second although I was outside Beirut. After the disaster that struck our city, I was in a bad psychological state. I was deeply frustrated so that I did not have the ability to sing. With (Embrace Beirut) I regained my strength and sang for my city, which I love. At the ceremony, Wehbe performed a classic Brazilian song entitled “Samba em preludio” adding a twist, a novel version (Arabic-Portuguese) of Vasilian’s distribution. She also sang “Wadia Al-Safi” by Wadih Al-Safi. The “Al-Sawt Al-Ateeq” choir also took part in the concert, singing “Ya Asheqat Al-Ward” by Zaki Nassif. “The Brazilian song is among the country’s most famous, and it is chanted by adults and children alike,” Wehbe adds. “I wrote part of it in Arabic, enriching it with both languages, in honor of two harmonious peoples, brought together by relationship strongly rooted in that ground that goes back decades. Wehbe had gifted Beirut with a song entitled “My nation hurts,” in which she expressed her sorrow for what happened in Beirut.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2535981/embrace-beirut-brings-together-samba-jahida-wehbe-and-harout-vasilian