SHADES OF NIGHT
featuring
Balourdet Quartet
EmmaLee Holmes-Hicks & Piero Guimaraes
A exquisite collection of new works by acclaimed Syrian-American composer Kareem Roustom, Shades of Night is a thrilling exploration of Near Eastern themes with “Western” instrumentation, including rare opportunities to experience Palestinian and Iraqi folk songs in the language of string quartet, as well as Western opera reimagined alongside contemporary Near Eastern themes.
Playing with boundaries of time, space, and culture and transcending them, this musical poetry unites past and present, East and West ~ allowing us to easily recognize our common humanity.
SINGLE: Four Dances From Clorinda Agonistes: IV. Unity
Four Dances from Clorinda Agonistes comprise a suite from a larger work, titled Clorinda Agonistes (”Clorinda the Warrior”). Co-commissioned by the London-based Shobana Jeyasingh Dance company, the Sadler’s Wells Theatre, and the Royal Philharmonic Society, Clorinda Agonistes is a hybrid opera and dance scored for mezzo-soprano, tenor, string quartet, and electronics. Cast in two acts, the first half begins with Claudio Monteverdi’s 1624 opera, Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, which is then followed by my “response” to that work. In the latter, Clorinda, the fierce Saracen warrior, is re-imagined as a contemporary woman from the Near East, now seeking refuge in a Western city.
Movement IV, "Unity (We Dance Together)" is based on an Iraqi line dance called Chobi. Though refugees often carry very little with them when fleeing violence, they can carry knowledge and memories of song, dance, poetry, and art. This movement is an homage to both the things that are left behind and those that are carried in the heart.
Hopes and visions of a better world
“While reflecting on a tumultuous time for our planet, these works seek not only to express the anguish so palpable in this moment, but to find a grounding solace. For me, this was achieved through exploring ways to balance the musical traditions of my native Syria with the musical languages and experiences of my many years as an American composer. This hyphenated existence, which was at first a burden, has now become a creative spring from which I drink often. Musical and personal memories provided a point of departure from which many of these chamber works were crafted. Ultimately, this creative act provided the light that cut through the darkness of our moment…
The inspirations for these compositions include nature, contemporary and folk dance, church hymns, folk songs, and poetry, as well as Western opera, of or about the Near East… This music is a natural expression of my multifaceted identity and varied interests, but is also my hope that this music may help people from the Arab world and the ‘Western’ world to better understand each other. Though both are comprised of a beautifully dazzling variety of cultures, religions, and complex histories, there is a shared humanity. Just as I found inspiration in both Monteverdi’s music and Iraqi folk dance for my Four Dances from Clorinda Agonistes, I hope that music lovers from both regions might also make that connection. It is also my hope that the creation of these compositions can build a repertoire for young musicians of Western classical music of the Levant or its diaspora, that allows them to feel the transcendent experience of playing their instrument in music that reflects part of themselves, their families, and their history.
This creative act has now also become an act of resistance against the second iteration of a callous and willfully ignorant American regime that is bent on silencing any artistic or cultural voice that does not fit into its narrow and racist definition of ‘American culture.’ Authoritarian regimes throughout history have sought to suppress artists, because artists are at the forefront of free expression—the linchpin of democracy—giving form to the sentiments of people, as well as voicing hopes and visions of a better world. Ethnic, racial, religious, and cultural minorities have always been specially targeted; to strip them of their cultural inheritance is a way to make them invisible and silent, and to eventually eradicate them.
Despite this, artists are still creating and making their voices heard, in the United States and abroad… It is the spirit of community, and collaboration, that envelops all these works, and that ultimately gives meaning to the creative act. It gives me great hope for the world that I have found so many supporters of this endeavor.”
~ Kareem Roustom
Read more in Artist Notes and other Album Information below
VIDEO: Interview with Kareem Roustom
VIDEO: String Quartet No. 1 Shades of Night: V. Like Coal
Album Information
TITLE: Shades of Night
ARTISTS: Kareem Roustom featuring Balourdet Quartet, EmmaLee Holmes-Hicks & Piero Guimaraes
Balourdet Quartet: Angela Bae, Violin (Violin 1 on Tracks 5-13); Justin DeFilippis, Violin (Violin 1 on Tracks 1-4 and 17-20); Benjamin Zannoni, Viola; Russell Houston, Cello
EmmaLee Holmes-Hicks, Violin & Piero Guimaraes, Percussion on Gnizo
COMPOSER: Kareem Roustom
SUMMARY: A exquisite collection of new works by acclaimed Syrian-American composer Kareem Roustom, a thrilling explorations of Near Eastern themes with “Western” instrumentation, inspired nature, contemporary and folk dance, church hymns, folk songs, and poetry, as well as Western opera, of or about the Near East.
CREDITS: Produced & Edited by Kareem Roustom & John Weston | Production Coordinator: Stephen Prutsman | Recorded November 1–3, 2023 at Futura Productions, Roslindale, MA | Recording Engineer: John Weston | Assistant Engineer: Chris Wilson | Gnizo recorded November 10, 2023 at Distler Hall, Tufts University’s Department of Music | Recording Engineer: Peter Atkinson | Mixing & Mastering: John Weston at Futura Productions, Roslindale, MA| Album Art & Design: Kevork Mourad | Graphic Design: Chris Kornmann
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1. Syrian Folk Songs Book 1: I. This Tawny Beauty
2. Syrian Folk Songs Book 1: II. As She Leaves Her Father’s Home
3. Syrian Folk Songs Book 1: III. Blessed Are Your Wedding Garments
4. Syrian Folk Songs Book 1: IV. Under My Parents’ Watchful Eyes
5. String Quartet No. 1 Shades of Night: I. Sunset
6. String Quartet No. 1 Shades of Night: II. Twilight
7. String Quartet No. 1 Shades of Night: III. Fully Dark
8. String Quartet No. 1 Shades of Night: IV. Commingling of Light & Darkness
9. String Quartet No. 1 Shades of Night: V. Like Coal
10. String Quartet No. 1 Shades of Night: VI. Midnight
11. String Quartet No. 1 Shades of Night: VII. The Last Part of the Night
12. String Quartet No. 1 Shades of Night: VIII. False Dawn
13. String Quartet No. 1 Shades of Night: IX. True Dawn
14. Gnizo: I. Liberamente - espressivo ma semplice view
15. Gnizo: II. Con moto view
16. Gnizo: III. Tranquillamente
17. Four Dances from Clorinda Agonistes: I. Transitions
18. Four Dances from Clorinda Agonistes: II. Pursuit
19. Four Dances from Clorinda Agonistes: III. Yearning
20. Four Dances from Clorinda Agonistes: IV. Unity
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Phenotypic Recordings is honored to present Shades of Night, an exquisite collection of new works by acclaimed composer Kareem Roustom. The collection contains some of the most exciting explorations we have ever encountered of Near Eastern themes with “Western” instrumentation, in this case string quartet and a violin and percussion duet. Included is Syrian Folk Songs—Book 1, Roustom’s “reimagining” of folk songs from the historical “Greater Syria,” also known as the Levant. This region has seen many rulers come and go, including the Sumerians, Assyrians, Egyptians, Hittites, Canaanites, Phoenicians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans, which has endlessly reshaped borders. Its ancient cities, including Damascus and Aleppo, are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Roustom’s pieces honor ancient traditions from this region at the same time as being thoroughly modern and Western, engaging us in conversations that traverse time and cultural boundaries.
These conversations reveal a humanness that is immediately relatable. For instance, Blessed Are Your Wedding Garments is an old Palestinian village wedding song, in which the lyrics sing of each family member anointing the eager groom lovingly, helping him dress and blessing each article of his garment as they hand it to him. Roustom renders this beautiful story in lush string quartet scoring: just as the groom’s wedding regalia is added layer by layer, the quartet adds one voice at a time until the attire is complete. The harmonies express tenderness, but also the bittersweet recognition of the passage of time marked by such milestones.
The title work, Shades of Night, showcases the deep connection to nature and poetic mastery of the Arab tradition. Gnizo transports you to a Syrian Orthodox church and envelops you in transcendent hymns that lift you toward the heavens. In Four Dances from Clorinda Agonistes, Roustom crafts a bold new retelling of Monteverdi’s 1638 opera, Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda.
Roustom’s music plays with boundaries of time, space, and culture and transcends them, uniting past and present, East and West. We believe the depth and contributions of this extraordinary album will continue to be revealed over time. This collection expands the Western classical repertoire in thrilling ways, creating rare opportunities
to experience Palestinian and Iraqi folk songs in the language of string quartet.
Musical poetry in its highest form, these compositions—without words—form windows that allow us a peek into these cultures, mirroring to us our own reflections so that we might easily recognize our common humanity. This is an otherworldly feat, especially in our current times in which some governments seek to separate and divide us. But just as many empires have passed over Greater Syria, let us remember that the geopolitics that currently divide us will also one day pass. And with contributions by visionary artists like Roustom, the culture, music, and love that make us human and allow us to recognize and connect with one another will continue to endure.
Phenotypic Recordings
“Music can allow for an understanding that human beings are all bonded. If we recognize and affirm the humanity in others, we then affirm our own humanity.”
— Kareem Roustom
Photo: Anneli Ivaste
KAREEM ROUSTOM
Syrian-American Kareem Roustom is an Emmy-nominated composer whose genre-crossing collaborations include music commissioned by conductor Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, the Kronos Quartet, arrangements for pop icons Shakira and Tina Turner, and a recent collaboration with acclaimed British choreographer Shobana Jeyasingh.
Roustom has been composer-in-residence at the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago, the Grand Teton Music Festival in Wyoming, and with the Württembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen and the Mannheim Philharmonic in Germany. A musically bilingual composer, Roustom is rooted in the music of the Arab Near East, but his music often expresses beyond the confines of tradition. The themes of a number of his works touch issues of those affected by war and instability.
Roustom’s music has been performed by ensembles including the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Boston Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Boulez Ensemble, Oregon Symphony, Orchestre Symphonique de Mulhouse, The Crossing choir, Lorelei Ensemble, A Far Cry, and at renowned festivals and halls such as the BBC Proms, the Salzburg Festival, the Lucerne Festival, Carnegie Hall, the Verbier Festival, the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin, the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, and others.
www.kr-music.com
FEATURED ARTISTS
Balourdet Quartet
PHOTO: Kevin W. Condon
EmmaLee Holmes-Hicks
PHOTO: Peggy Holmes
PHOTO: Jonathan Pitts-Wiley
Piero Guimaraes
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The Balourdet Quartet is acclaimed for its vibrant energy and masterful blend of technical precision and emotional depth that brings a fresh perspective to both beloved classics and modern compositions. As curators of classical music, the Balourdet brings deeply human ideas to life in the world we all share—making the profound feel personal and the unfamiliar feel welcoming. Its unique closeness and willingness to take creative risks earned the Quartet the 2024 Avery Fisher Career Grant, as well as Chamber Music America’s 2024 Cleveland Quartet Award. Recent highlights include the Balourdet’s debuts at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Wigmore Hall, and new commissions by composers Karim Al-Zand, Paul Novak, and Nicky Sohn through grants from Chamber Music America (2021) and the Barlow Foundation (2023). The Quartet currently holds residencies with the Seattle Chamber Music Society and Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle. Founded at Rice University in 2018, the Balourdet were recent graduates of the New England Conservatory’s Professional String Quartet Program and previously served as the Graduate Quartet-in-Residence at the prestigious Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Since its founding, the Balourdet has collected numerous accolades including the Grand Prize at the Concert Artists Guild Competition, Gold Medal at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, and laureates of the Banff International String Quartet Competition. The Quartet takes its name from Antoine Balourdet, chef extraordinaire and beloved member of the Taos of School of Music, where the members first met.
www.balourdetquartet.com
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EmmaLee Holmes-Hicks, Violin (Gnizo) A versatile violinist, comfortable on the concert stage and in the recording studio, the classroom, and dance hall, EmmaLee Holmes-Hicks brings a unique voice to the music world. A doctorate in performance informs her playing as a violinist, traditional fiddler, and artist premiering new works. EmmaLee has solidified her reputation with such groups as Larksgrove, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, New Bedford Symphony, Verdant Vibes Duo, and many chamber ensembles. As a teacher, EmmaLee helps young musicians find their own voice and confidence in the music world in her violin studio and her position at UMass Dartmouth.
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Piero Guimaraes is a leading international percussionist specializing in orchestral and contemporary music. He has performed at prestigious festivals, including The World Orchestra and the International Ensemble Modern Academy. Guimaraes collaborates with renowned composers like John Luther Adams and Kaija Saariaho, and plays with ensembles such as the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and Chameleon Arts Ensemble. He teaches at Rhode Island Philharmonic Music School, Rhode Island College, Stonehill College, and Roger Williams University. Holding degrees from São Paulo State University and Stony Brook University, he is also a member of Iktus Percussion Quartet and Verdant Vibes.
