Chante Adonis

Both the singer Abed Azrié and the poet Adonis (the pen-name of Ali Ahmad Said Esber) are typical of a certain breed of very cultured Syrian whose work draws equally on Arab tradition and a rather self-conscious French intellectual style. This live CD and DVD, taken from a concert at L’Institut du Monde Arabe in 2011, presents Azrié’s settings of Adonis’ poetry and it is by turns beautiful, intriguing, bewildering and slightly eccentric. Azrié bathes the rich imagery of Adonis’ verse in the perfectly chosen, lush textures of string quartet, accordion, oud (lute) and percussion. His style defies categorisation, with a host of different influences – from Anouar Brahim to Jacques Brel – coming in and out of focus. The simpler pieces work best, with the strings and percussion flowing beneath Azrié’s deep intonation of the poetry, while the more obviously avant– garde ‘Le Temps’ is rather less successful.

The DVD is shot in atmospheric black and white and the music is considerably more absorbing when watching the musicians. Azrié comes across as an appealing performer, singing and conducting from centre stage. It’s difficult to know exactly who this recording will appeal to, as it’s quite particular; however, that’s a large part of its charm.