The qanun is an important instrument in Middle Eastern traditional music. It possesses a unique timbre and a vast flexibility of microtonal tuning, testifying to the richness of that region’s music. In this work, the cellos are treated unconventionally to synchronise with the archaic qanun and tape.
The Ode to Maulana Rumi is a return to the thirteenth century, when Rumi, poet, mystic, and inventor of the Dervish dance, finally met Ibn Arabi, representative of speculative Sufism in Islam, author of The Meccan Revelations and The Book of the Night Journey. The work was cofinanced by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage with the “Collections” programme – the priority “Compositional Commissions” implemented by the Institute of Music and Dance.

Zaid Jabri