Farida reviews

CD - Ishraqaat

CD review froot - jan 2008

...the first remale exponent of Iraqi maqam, it's all about her voice; clear but earthy, shemanages to bring to what is a very formal style, a freshness, clarity and above all, al quality of heart... read more

 

(Froots - january 2008)
Farida , the leading exponent of Iraqi makam, is one of the worlds's great singers. These days she lives in exile in a small village in the Netherlands. Garth Cartwrights makes a pilgrimage.read more

 

(Songlines, Simon Broughton, May 2007)
This CD opens with the wiry sound of the djose – the Iraqi spike fiddle – which gives an inevitably melancholy feel to this disc. There’s not a lot to be cheerful about in Iraq right now: according to the group Angam Al-Rafidain, to whom I spoke last summer, this classical maqam music is simply not heard there at the moment. That must give an emotional impetus to the performances of Farida, who is now based in Holland. Her first CD was a Top of the World in Songlines #8 when Bill Badley described her as ‘the most exciting artist to come out of Iraq since the legendary oud player Munir Bachir’. I couldn’t put it better myself. Farida was born into a musical family in the holy city of Kerbala. In 1979 she was introduced to Munir Bachir, who was looking for a female voice to join his Iraqi Heritage Ensemble at the Baghdad Conservatoire and sing maqam music – usually the preserve of men. On this recording she’s accompanied by a small ensemble of djose, played by her husband Mohammad Gomar, oud, qanun (zither), nay (flute) and percussion.
As the occupying forces in Iraq are finding to their cost, the influence of Iran is strong, and it also extends to the music of this traditional ensemble. The nine songs Farida performs here are predominantly of love and longing, such as the declamatory opening ‘Maqam Nahaawand’, the forlorn ‘Al-Rikbaaniya’ – in which her voice is circled by a haunting nay – and the tormented lament of ‘Maqam Dasht’. One of the most beautiful songs is ‘Ya Hamaam’, in which Farida sings ‘Oh doves! God and all folks witness/Parting with Iraq is so painful’. A sad reminder of the beautiful musical culture of old Baghdad that is currently silent at home.