Lebanese composer and oud virtuoso Marcel Khalife evokes a swirling brew of rich and complex flavors with his aptly-titled Arabic Coffeepot, a composition for orchestra, oud and solo voice. Khalife, a paradoxical and unique figure in world music, strives to create a reunification of Arabic classical and Western classical music, while admitting influences from folk and popular Arabic traditions.
Above all, he is a skillfully creative orchestrator, conjuring up effects from the rattling chorus of percussion that begins "After All That Happened," to the disorienting swirl of strings and songs that accompanies a change in mode in Khalife creates for his Al Mayadine ensemble, he never overwhelms the simple charm of his folk-inspired melodies.
Khalife sings these melodies himself with both a constant yearning quality and dramatic restraint. Although Khalife intends to create a serious classical music with Arabic Coffeepot, his combination of Western orchestral sounds with Middle Eastern percussion and Arabic melodies forges a world fusion that might even entertain Esquivel fans, not to mention devotees of soundtracks from the film studios of Hollywood and Bombay.
