Melodies without end

I hear the beginning of a melody, follow it, leave my own perspective behind and arrive at a new and unexpected place.

Music is a form of transportation.

What is the Orient?

Exhaust fumes and dust on a four-lane road along the Mediterranean coast, where decrepit houses and concrete barriers collude to block any view of the sea?  Like in Beirut, Abados’ native country.

The Orient is not a place, it’s a state of being. It is found in food and drink – both of which Abado has been known to enjoy in no small measure - like the cardamon in his coffee or the tomatoes and parsley in his salad.

Relax and enjoy.

Chaos is not his style – even the most spirited pieces have a sophisticated feel. I personally like the “slower” pieces best; bittersweet, bright and dark, unfolding at their own gentle pace.

Though in fact, slow can be fast...  Marwan Abados’ voice is always temperate, even through the most driving rhythms.  This thanks in no small part to Peter Rosmanith, whose sure hand navigates through a myriad of different rhythms, building each one into a stable glowing fire that burns for the length of a melody, a song.

What stories are being told in these songs? They are about parting, traveling, expulsion and escape. It is not until the last song that the theme changes and finally there is a coming, an arrival …

May I be a little ostentatious, just for a brief moment? Here Otto Lechner on cut 3: twinkling dewdrops, like farewell tears, and Joanna Lewis’ violin nestles now and then against the melodies of Abados’ oud, lengthening the breath of his instrument, leaving behind the wish for more.

Albert Hosp; Austrian Radio Broadcasting, Vienna