Strings and Wings

By Ishrat Hyatt, *Tunisian violinist’s performance enthrals audience* - The News International - Karachi, Pakistan
Sunday, November 22, 2009

Islamabad: On the occasion of the 22nd anniversary of the ‘Change of November 07, 1987’ the ambassador of the Republic of Tunisia and Mrs Mourad Bourehla organised a performance by well known Tunisian violinist, Anis Kelibi titled ‘Strings and Wings.’

The event was held at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) and well attended by music lovers of the capital.

Addressing the gathering the ambassador said it was an honour and pleasure to address them on the exceptional occasion of the celebration of the 22nd anniversary of change of November 7th that was an act of salvation and had ushered in a new era of development and modernisation led by President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

He gave a brief account of Tunisia’s achievements during this period; spoke of the traditional and deep rooted and multi-faceted relationship between Pakistan and his country and saying they wanted to show a new side of Pakistan to the world, he thanked the sponsors and the PNCA for their support.

PNCA Director General Tauquir Nasir also spoke of the ties between the two countries with special reference to cultural ones and thanked the hosts for bringing a well-known artiste to Pakistan.

On behalf of embassy of Tunisia, Dr Seema Khan welcomed the guests and gave a brief history of Tunisian music before introducing the artiste.

The music of Tunisia is well known for its particular form, known as ‘malouf.’ This genre of Tunisian music bears similarities to the types of music prevalent in other North African countries. It has evolved through generations and its contemporary form has its own distinctive traits. However, it can be traced back to Spain and it was the Spanish conquest in the 15th century that brought this ‘Andalucian’ music to Tunisia.

There has been rise and fall of many genres of music in Tunisia including the Sufi form called ‘al-Hadra’, an interesting fact since Sufi music holds a lot of significance in Pakistan as well.

A number of music festivals are held in Tunisia and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the famous ‘qawal’ from Pakistan has performed on more than one occasion in the Cartage festival.

Anis Kelibi is a well-known violinist, composer and researcher in music, qualified from the music high school of Tunis. He has performed both nationally and internationally for Tunisia and in places like the Arabic music forum and the festival opera house of Cairo in Egypt, at the international violin meeting of Jarash festival in Jordan and at an international song and music event in Kuwait. He describes himself as ‘a bird with wings, which starts floating with music and knows no boundaries.’

In the first half Anis Kelibi performed his own compositions while in the second half he performed some popular, classical Tunisian pieces of other famous composers and singers. The first half performance was in a fusion format with .Ashiq Hussain on the tabla; Salman Adil on the flute; Mr Hazravi on the keyboard and Imran Khan on the violin.

The surprise of the evening was Menel, (violin) and Melek, (pianist) daughters of the ambassador who have been Anis Kelibi pupils, accompanying him in paying tribute to the greatest Tunisian violinist and singer, composer Mohammad Jamoussi amongst others.

The applause after each piece was played indicated that the performance was enjoyed very much by the audience, with the one featuring the flute and the violin imitating birds, winning the hearts and minds of everyone present.

“It was beautiful,” said the Godins, who are a family with a background in music. “Very well played and music to the ears in the true sense of the word.”

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