{"id":1032,"date":"2016-02-07T22:52:29","date_gmt":"2016-02-07T22:52:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alnahdhagroup.com\/c\/?p=1032"},"modified":"2018-04-22T22:57:40","modified_gmt":"2018-04-22T22:57:40","slug":"the-sounds-of-italy-and-oman-harmonies-across-the-seas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alnahdhagroup.com\/c\/2016\/02\/07\/the-sounds-of-italy-and-oman-harmonies-across-the-seas\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sounds of Italy and Oman, Harmonies Across the Seas"},"content":{"rendered":"
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If any instrument is synonymous with serenading, it is the Italian mandolin. A single note from this utterly romantic instrument can send you into a reverie. Imagine the sound of three beautifully played mandolins, along with the seductive strains of two acoustic guitars accompanied by a sonorous double bass \u2013 and you have Palermo\u2019s fabulous Quintetto a Pizzico \u2018Nomos\u2019. (Quintet plucking in the \u2018nomos\u2019 style of Greek epics)<\/p>\n

Now add the distinctive sounds of the Arabian qanoon (zither), the oud, and the Eastern violin along with drumming and percussion \u2013 and you have the astonishingly harmonious Italian-Omani orchestra that thrilled the audience at Bait Al Zubair in a runaway-hit performance last week.<\/p>\n

Called The Sounds of Italy and Oman \u2013 Harmonies across the Seas, the concert was the last of many excellent cultural events organised over the past three and a half years by the Italian Ambassador, HE Paola Amadei, as she finishes her remarkable tour of duty this month. Her aim was to unite the two countries symbolically through music – and she succeeded admirably.<\/p>\n

The first part of the programme featured the Quintetto a Pizzio with entrancing renditions of the prelude to Verdi\u2019s La Traviata and Rossini\u2019s Barber of Seville. These familiar and greatly loved orchestral pieces took on a sparkling new life as the mandolins fluttered magically, the guitars seemed to transcend the usual strings and the double bass added gravitas.<\/p>\n

\nAs Omani players from Oman\u2019s Oud Hobbyists Association joined the Quintet, the oud, the violins and percussion instruments seemed a natural fit, but it was the qanoonthat was a wonderful surprise. Played by virtuosic musician, Wahab Al Danki, the lively and eloquent qanoon proved to be a brilliant complement, especially to the mandolins. And I loved the way the song of the oud danced with the guitars and mandolins. The Omani and Italian players developed a wonderful and genuine personal rapport with just three days of rehearsal. The resulting harmonies seemed neither Western nor Eastern, but something quite new and exciting.<\/p>\n

Among the special stars of the evening not so far mentioned were the famous Italian mandolinist EmanueleBuzi from the Conservatorio do Polermo; special guest Iraqi-Hungarian, Omar Bashir on the oud; and, Eastern-style violinist, Tahra Al Balushi. But all the musicians were outstanding and it is a pleasure to acknowledge them here: Nibras Almullah, oud; Nasser Al Kindi, violin; Ahmed Al Siabi, percussion; Raffaela Pullara, mandolin; Mauro Scembri, mandolin\/mandola; Flaviod\u2019 Ambra, guitar; Giovanni Gonfaloni, guitar; and Andrea Scim\u00e9, double bass. The Chief Guest was Salim bin Mohammed Al Mahrouqi, Undersecretary of Heritage & Culture and the concert was graced by the presence of HE Mohammad Al Zubair, Advisor to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, for Economic Affairs.<\/p>\n

Two standing ovations, a rousing encor, and jubilant cheering brought the evening to a triumphant close.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

<\/div>\n
Article: Times of Oman<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If any instrument is synonymous with serenading, it is the Italian mandolin. A single note from this utterly romantic instrument can send you into a reverie. Imagine the sound of three beautifully played mandolins, along with the seductive strains of two acoustic guitars accompanied by a sonorous double bass \u2013 and you have Palermo\u2019s fabulous […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1034,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alnahdhagroup.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alnahdhagroup.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alnahdhagroup.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alnahdhagroup.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alnahdhagroup.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1032"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.alnahdhagroup.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1037,"href":"https:\/\/www.alnahdhagroup.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1032\/revisions\/1037"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alnahdhagroup.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alnahdhagroup.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alnahdhagroup.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alnahdhagroup.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}