Michael de Laine

By Michael de Laine, The Copenhagen Voice, 24 September 2009

The Mogens Dahl Concert Hall in Copenhagen was the venue of a rare treat yesterday, when Missing Voices - a gathering of three women performers with Middle Eastern backgrounds - met the Middle East Peace Orchestra.

Based on the Muslim Eid and the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, the performance, with its variety of sounds from horns to pipes to drums to voices, was a musical feast in name of peace.

Arranged by the US Embassy, the evening was billed as “a first of its kind concert bringing together established artists in their own right and blending their sound and heritage into one large celebration of cultures”.

The Iranian musician and dancer Shoreh Shahrzad performed an intriguing and passionate dance in a costume of her own design, and followed this with by playing a def (large Iranian drum resembling a tambourine) to accompanying music.

Another drum, an Arab darbuka, was played by Simona Abdallah, a Palestinian percussionist, also to accompanying music. One of the few women to play what has been considered a man’s instrument, Simona captured the audience with her skill, verve and thrumming.

Three traditional Afghan songs were performed by Zohreh Jooya, an Iranian-Afghan singer who journeyed from Vienna for this concert. One song, including one about the fate of a beautiful woman, was a rendition marked by passionate and emotional facial expressions and gestures.

The Middle East Peace Orchestra comprises Jewish and Arab musicians - Henrik Goldschmidt (oboe), Anders Vesterdahl (accordion), Naser Abel al Harbi (vocals), Tobias Allvin (bouzouki) and Bilal Irshed (oud) - who play the music of each other’s cultural background, both traditional and recently composed.

The orchestra’s music combines elements of Jewish ‘Klezmer’, Middle Eastern ‘Makam’ and classical Arab music. The fascinating rhythmic mix was well-received by the audience and served as an apt group rendering to match and contrast the first half’s solos.