Noemie Chemali - Opus 961 Album Launch
Up Close and Personal
The start of anything has a special energy to it. I think of the first snow or the first day at work. But so often overlooked is that the “first” of something is the middle or the last of something else. The launch event for Opus 961 was the last stop on a three year project of commissioning, learning, writing, and performing Noémie’s first album. Its launch is a personal first for Noémie, and it comes at a time of deep unrest in the Middle East. And out of it, in part, came something else: the founding of Ensemble Phoenicia, a group dedicated to the innovation of contemporary Middle Eastern music in New York.
I was deeply privileged to have a behind the scenes and close to the heart view of the project’s inception and execution in the form of a board member, acting publicist, usher, greeter, bartender(?), and most of all, close friend.
As I was greeting the guests I overheard many members of the Lebanese community express their eagerness to hear the music, and their gratitude for the concert. The event was sold out, and the people showed up.
An earnest hush fell over the room the moments leading up to Noémies opening remarks. With tears in her eyes, she shared about the resilience of the Lebanese people after the 2020 Beirut seaport explosion, an event that impacted her family. This was the impetus of her desire to commission works from Lebanese composers around the world which turned into her album Opus 961 (961 is the country’s telephone code). To launch Opus 961 Noémie organized an event showcasing the artists and composers featured on the album. She promised an immersive experience and she delivered.
She passed the floor to Elen Costigan, a violinist and board member of Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), who echoed Noémie’s sentiments of the power of music and culture, especially in her line of work. Costigan’s tone perfectly mirrored Noémie’s, priming the audience for a truly sincere and thought-provoking night.
Wadji Abou Diab: Mouraba’ Dance
Noémie Chemali, viola
Noémie opened with a moment of audience participation by introducing us to the 13/4 meter featured in this selection. We clapped a bar of 13/4 together and learned the quarter notes are grouped three times– a group of 3, then 8, then 2. Then we were taught to emphasize the first beat of each group.
This selection was a great opener to the program as it showcased many things you won’t find in Western-European classical music, and many techniques to be heard for the duration of the program.
This work featured rhythms based on ancient rhythms that Arabic riders used to make their camel’s dance. It is meant for the viola to imitate the rababa, and it requires the viola to be tuned CGCG (as opposed to CGDA). It also requires humming.
Sami Seif: La’ib An-nard (The Dice Player)
Noémie Chemali, voila
Raffi Boden, cello
Kebra Seyoun-Charles, double-bass
Something you won’t find in many classical concerts is a work by a living composer, or a composer in attendance at that. Seif’s work is loosely inspired by a poem “La’ib an-nard” (The dice player) written by Mahmoud Darwish. Darwish was a poet who fled Palestine at age 7 and sought refuge in Lebanon. This poem talks about the destruction of his village. From the program notes, “the text is essentially a reflection on the role of chance and luck in life.” Noémie tenderly shared the inspiration of the work wishing that we may see peace in our lifetime, a privilege Darwish was denied.
This work reminded me of one of the chief joys of this music– the collaboration and score study skills required of the musicians. When performing music of alternate meters, rhythms, and scales, the cues are not as “obvious” making each note and behavior critical to the next. This trio was exciting to watch because of their possession of these skills and genuine interest in this music. The piece opened with recitation by Seif himself as the trio accompanied. I particularly enjoyed the unpredictability of the emotional cadences in this work– somber, curious, erratic, then serene.
Layale Chaker: Cadenza for Solo Viola from the “Brown Texts”
I.
II.
Noémie Chemali, viola
In 2021, I remember being in Noémie’s room in the upper west side as she was learning this piece. She had me follow the score while she played it and asked me what I thought. I remember this moment well– on one hand I was mesmerized at her talent, on the other hand I was flattered she thought I could follow along with the score, (I had exited my study of classical music by this time, and this score isn’t exactly Mozartian). On the whole I sensed her deep connection to this piece, and she proceeded to tell me about the composer, who wrote this work in memory of poet Nadia Tueni. Tueni wrote about the physical and political landscapes of war-torn Lebanon through her own personal lens.
I have since heard Noémie perform this on multiple occasions. From her apartment, to the first row three years later, it’s thrilling to see how she approaches the viola with veneration before this piece every time.
Noémie Chamali: Kaddishat
Shaleah Feinstein, viola
Noémie Chemali, viola
Yann Chemali, cello
Noémie endearingly almost forgot her own composition as she started to introduce the last work on the program instead. A few knowing looks from the audience prompted her to realize this mistake and she pivoted to telling us about her childhood memories from the Maronite church. Kaddishat is based on a piece of liturgy that translates as “Holy God, Holy and Strong, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.” This liturgy is also common to the Jewish Kaddish. A melodic shift from the more dissonant pieces, many members of the audience were familiar with the tune and couldn’t stop from singing along with the melody. This piece featured her brother and cellist, Yann Chemali, who had the solo opening line of the hymn. I carry an obvious bias, but this was a favorite of mine, and I loved how this corner of the concert was filled with treasured moments unique to live music.
Saad Haddad: Dohree
Flute’s Turn
Viola’s Turn
Harp’s Turn
Lauren Scanio, flute
Noémie Chemali, viola
Deanna Cirielli, harp
Dohree means ‘my turn’ in Arabic and the three instruments take turns being the soloist in each movement. The instrumentation on its own is a trio I hadn’t experienced before, and one that so aptly lends itself to painting different textures and sounds. Each instrument emulated Arabic instruments, with the flute imitating the nay, the viola the kamanjeh, and the harp the qanun. To generalize, one can think of a nay as a recorder, a kamanjeh as a fiddle, and a qanun as dulcimer or zither.
This piece requires much of the performers by way of tuning, pitch bending, and looking alive at all times to coordinate only-very-slightly scattered entrances. Each instrumentalist was vibrant in their approach to this kind of coordination, and excelled at creating different colors alternating between light and dark often multiple times before playing the next notes
Encores
Amer Hassan, clarinet
Jemina Brechoire, piano
Julie Roset, soprano
I unfortunately missed 3 unlisted encores featuring other performers, but for good reason– I was happily setting up the reception area! Not a single audience member left before the end, and loud applause was heard through the door after each work.
Noémie Chemali promised an immersive experience and delivered. She catered to all members of her audience as she primed each work beforehand, sharing how to listen for things unique to modern and Middle-Eastern music. The connectedness of the instrumentalists was palpable and rarifying, all attentive to the music and to each other. The venue’s 85 seats were completely filled by an audience so moved for the duration of the event. That kind of experience was a first of its kind.
In a lot of ways it seems Noémie and I have been talking about an event of this kind since we were teenagers, and to have a front row seat was an honor. Following her career has not only exposed me to new music, and to Middle-Eastern music. It has also educated me on the interconnectedness of Middle Eastern culture. To think that all of this music was either commissioned, recorded, composed, and/or(!) performed by her, at such a time as this?! A fellow friend of Noémie’s put it this way: "It was a fantastic event supporting Doctors without Borders and a powerful message for peace, which the world definitely could use some of right now.”
