A memorable collaboration
Two of the world’s renowned masters of ancient stringed instruments -the Iraqi oud and the Indian sarod - come together to present Ancient Sounds...
Music | Mumbai | India
Updated On: 10/27/2009
[Total Votes: 10, Hits: 87] Print

Two of the world’s renowned masters of ancient stringed instruments -the Iraqi oud and the Indian sarod - come together to present Ancient Sounds. Multi-Grammy nominee Iraqi virtuoso, oud musician and composer, Rahim AlHaj and Indian sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan collaborate to bring together the musical heritage of their respective ancient cultures in a contemporary way with duets accompanied by percussion.

In a career spanning 50 years, Amjad Ali Khan has singlehandedly elevated the sarod to one of the most popular instruments in the Northern Indian tradition. Amjad Ali Khan gave his first public sarod recital at the age of six. He was taught by his father, the legendary Haafiz Ali Khan, to become the sixth in an uninterrupted lineage of music masters known as the Senia Bangash school. At the age of 18, he made his international debut on tour in the United States. Since then Amjad has toured extensively throughout the world and has established a reputation as one of the living legends of Indian classical instrumental music and its most prominent exponent on the international concert circuit. The Ustad has created many new raags that earned him unanimous praise for striking a balance between innovation and tradition.

Rahim AlHaj was born in Baghdad, Iraq and began playing the oud (called the “grandfather” of all stringed instruments) from the age of nine years. Rahim studied under the renowned Munir Bashir (considered to be one of the greatest oud players of all time) and Salim Abdul Kareem, at the Institute of Music in Baghdad, Iraq. He won various awards at the Conservatory and graduated with honors in 1990 with a diploma in composition. He also holds a degree in Arabic Literature. Rahim’s music delicately combines traditional Iraqi maqa-mat with contemporary styling and influence. His compositions evoke the experience of exile from his homeland and of new beginnings in his adopted country. His pieces establish new concepts without altering the foundation of the traditional “Iraqi School of Oud”.

In 1991, after the first Gulf War, Rahim was forced to leave Iraq due to his activism against the Saddam Hussein regime and began his life in Jordan and Syria. He moved to the U.S. in 2000 as a political refugee and has resided in Albuquerque ever since. Rahim became a U.S. citizen on August 15, 2008.

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