Lament for Syria

A former teacher and journalist in his native Syria, Jan Ibro Khelil fled to Norway in 2010 and was granted political asylum. He brought with him Kurdish folk songs both traditional and contemporary and a love of Sufi poetry and – with funding from the Arts Council of Norway – recorded this powerful and moving album, backed by local musicians on Jew's harp, flute and frame drums. Khelil plays a tanbur (lute) but it's his voice – resonant, haunting and melismatic – that takes centre stage over the sparse acoustic accompaniment.

The repertoire is engaging and varied. ‘Wela Govend Ranabe’ is an ancient circular dance tune from Mesopotamia, ‘Lorke-Lorke’ (Swing-Swing) is a traditional Kurdish love song while ‘Daye Wadhe’ (Mother Wadhe) is based on Syria's strong tradition of Jewish songs composed in Oriental style. Yet the contemporary songs such as ‘Cane Cane’ (Feelings Feelings), written by the murdered Kurdish singer and poet Dilil, are in many ways even more striking. Most powerful of all is the closer, ‘War and Lament’. It's a dramatised composition depicting the horror of the war with music and sound effects, over which Khelil sings a touching lament for the suffering of his people.