JAVS Spring 2024

Featured Article

Multi-Directional Form and Hypnotic Spirals in Shubho Lhaw Qolo: Turning an Ancient Aramaic hymn into a Modern Viola Concerto by Sami Seif

In 2019, I wrote a viola concerto titled Shubho Lhaw Qolo which in Aramaic translates to “Glory to the Voice” or “Blessed be the Voice.” This piece draws its inspiration from the ancient hymn of St. Ephrem the Syriac from the 4 th century. This text has resonated across the Levant in the voices of many musicians, most notably by Fairouz, a singer of great fame and esteem among living musicians in the Middle East. Modern settings of the text are sung by Christian communities in both Aramaic and Arabic during the Christmas season throughout the Middle East. Many settings are bilingual, starting in Aramaic and ending in Arabic. My endeavor was to modernize this centuries-old hymn, eschewing its original melody, a tune handed down orally over centuries. I used this ancient music as a vehicle for my inspiration to create a work that is wholly new. My setting offers a novel approach, replacing the sung voice with the viola, making it a concerto for viola, percussion, harp, and strings. I envisioned the text being recited to the viola melody, although I elected to keep this an instrumental work. 1 This article will be structured in four parts: 1) an introductory section, 2) Musical Time, which explains how my perspective on time influenced my composition, 3) Maqams, modes, pitch fields, and pitch classes, which covers my use of pitch, and finally, 4) a section on form. The first two sections will be about my music in general, and the last two will focus more specifically on this piece. More about the text and its translation can be found at the end of this article. Introduction Shubho Lhaw Qolo holds a special place in my heart; it brought me steps forward creatively and career-wise. It was Shubho Lhaw Qolo that was the first piece I ever conducted back in my undergraduate junior recital. I was

then fortunate to have it performed by Stanley Konopka, Assistant Principal viola of The Cleveland Orchestra. It was also my first piece that was played by an orchestra outside an academic setting. The composition process was steeped in my cherished memories of visiting various Maronite churches, especially the tomb of St. Rafqa in Deir Mar Youssef (Saint Joseph Monastery), Lebanon. Shubho Lhaw Qolo draws from a plethora of disparate musical traditions, inclusive of liturgical music from the Antiochene Syriac Maronite Church that I grew up with. Additionally, diverse genres of Arabic, European, and American music have shaped my musical upbringing and profoundly informed the piece. Preliminary Thoughts In Shubho Lhaw Qolo , I explore my interests in some extended techniques, scales from the Middle East, and the phenomenology of time, just to name a few. Initially, the soloist and the orchestra operate in independent sonic universes. However, as the piece progresses, they join, culminating in the final cadence where they commune in a re-harmonization of the classic plagal “Amen.” With the human voice’s introduction at the end of Shubho Lhaw Qolo , I envisioned the trajectory of the piece as “approaching the listener” from a distance—yet another way Shubho Lhaw Qolo manifests a communion. Musical Time My fascination with musical time and perception is deeply ingrained in my work. One of the great mysteries and powers of music is that it can feel transcended in time through its phenomenological, experiential, musical time. This is particularly evident in Shubho

Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 40, No. 1, Spring 2024

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