La Voix de la Passion

Three elements compete in La Voix de la Passion, an intriguing CD by Damascus conservatory graduates Waed Bouhassoun and Moslem Rahal. The first is Bouhassoun's voice, which is fluid and expressive; it's superb on the solo tracks. The second is the ney (flute) of her accompanist, Moslem Rahal, which substitutes for the traditional rababa (fiddle) in the folk music numbers. Rahal's mastery of the ney is subtle, and the overall effect is mesmeric. The third is the poetry. It comprises, in part, medieval Andalusian lyrics –which Bouhassoun sings, accompanying herself on oud (lute) – and, in part, Druze and Nabatean folk music, accompanied by Rahal. The former are lyrics about love, usually with a philosophical twist. The latter are tribal jeremiads, full of startling imagery (‘We soaked our enemies in cucurbita and verdigris/And we took their camels’). I’m not sure these fragments of Syria quite combine to form a whole, but the brooding intensity of this album lingers long in the mind.