Report by: Nimrod Qasha
On the occasion of World Music Day, and in commemoration of the international Syriac musician Nuri Iskandar, the General Directorate of Syriac Culture and Arts in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, in cooperation with Erbil’s General Directorate of Culture and Arts, hosted the Kinnara Syriac Orchestra at the Ministry of Culture’s Peshawa Hall on the evening of Wednesday 26 June 2024.
The evening began with a welcoming speech by the Mistress of Ceremonies, after which the Director General of the General Directorate of Syriac Culture and Arts, Kaldo Ramzi Oghanna, delivered the Directorate’s speech, part of which stated: “Here, we celebrate World Music Day, which is also celebrated by the nations of Europe, especially France, with its universal ideology. Through it, we affirm that authentic Syriac Oriental music was a pioneer in the East and enriched many countries with its sweet melodies. It has thus influenced Kurdish, Iraqi and Arab songs, to confirm today the importance of fraternal coexistence in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq. It is thus unsurprising that the Syriac melodies of Mar Narsai are described as the harp of the soul due to their sweetness and ease of flowing into one’s soul.”
Regarding the international Syriac musician, he said: “We must also remember iconic Syriac musician Nuri Iskandar, with whose passing the Oriental artistic scene lost a bright star. We have thus refused to let his songs be absent from our evening, and he has a special share in it.”
Oghanna concluded his speech by saying: “We are also proud and honoured that our concert is being performed by the Syriac Kinnara Orchestra, coming from the heart of the Nineveh Plain, the wounded city of Bakhdida, which was ravaged by the fire of ISIS and displacement, and not least by the tragedy of the al-Haytham Hall fire. This is evidence that our people remain in their land, loving it despite the various types of tragedies that it has been exposed to. We have taken the harp, which our ancestors invented thousands of years ago, as the logo for this celebration, to be a symbol of life and survival. We intentionally placed three Syriac letters on its strings, forming a word from the philosophy of our existence. This is the word “Katha,” which means the yield of a crop that grows on its own from the previous year’s harvest. We liken this to our people’s return to life after every setback that it has faced throughout its history.”
After that, the Kinnara Orchestra began its performance with 26 musicians playing various instruments, presenting hymns from the Syriac rite, selected pieces by Iraqi composers, songs by musician Nuri Iskandar and other Syriac artists, and the evening concluded with a Kurdish song by artist Hassan Jaziri. It was truly an evening that presented original art and selections that represented all types of the beautiful Iraqi spectrum, in a wonderful, professional manner. The evening also included the presentation of dance and folkloric shows by the Alice Troupe and the Syriac Arts Ensemble.
At the program’s conclusion, Culture and Youth Ministry Undersecretary Aryan Salah al-Din presented a model of the harp to the orchestra’s conductor, Maestro Fr. Duraid Barbar. The evening was attended by Regional Component Affairs Minister Aydin Marouf, Erbil Governor Omid Khoshnaw, Deputy Culture and Youth Minister Aryan Salah al-Din, some members of the diplomatic corps, and a large audience that came from Erbil, Ankawa, the Nineveh Plain, and Kirkuk.
It is worth noting that the Kinnara Syriac Orchestra was started in September 2019 by experienced musicians who play various instruments. Its approach reflects a bright image of its country, Iraq, and authentic Syriac art, exclaiming that “We are here” as a harp that promotes peace in a land that has become in need of peace. It consists of a total of sixty musicians. Additionally, the celebration’s emblem was the Sumerian harp, with Syriac letters attached to its strings forming the word “Katha,” and was designed by young artist Yousif Aziz Anki.
Throughout his rich artistic career, which exceeded 60 years, international musician Nuri Iskandar (1938–2023) worked to transfer the oral Syrian musical heritage into an auditory language and preserve it from extinction. He also sought to create an intellectual musical dialogue that he derived from the Syrian and Arab heritage, and wrote many important works, such as those in which he emphasised the relationship between Eastern and Western music.
