Marcel Khalifé ( ar, مرسيل خليفة; born 10 June 1950 in Amchit) is a

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

- Lebanese musical composer, singer, and

oud , image=File:oud2.jpg , image_capt=Syrian oud made by Abdo Nahat in 1921 , background= , classification= * String instruments *Necked bowl lutes , hornbostel_sachs=321.321-6 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum , ...

player.

Biography

In 1983,

Paredon Records Paredon Records was a record label founded in 1969 by Barbara Dane and Irwin Silber to publish recordings of cultural expressions, especially protests, in order to preserve them. Paredon wanted to spread awareness of multiple movements and topics. D ...

(later acquired by

Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was fou ...

) released ''Promises of the Storm'', a collection of protest songs and political ballads.

Tunisia

In July 2009, Khalife returned to Tunisia to perform on the stage of the

Roman amphitheatre Roman amphitheatres are theatres – large, circular or oval open-air venues with raised seating – built by the ancient Romans. They were used for events such as gladiator combats, '' venationes'' (animal slayings) and executions. About 230 Ro ...

to a full house, as part of the 45th

International Festival of Carthage The International Festival of Carthage ( ar, مهرجان قرطاج الدولي) is an annual music festival taking place in July and August since 1964 in the coastal city of Carthage (Tunisia). History It was established as a two-day Jazz fes ...

. Speaking to the audience, Khalife opened the concert by stating:Committed Marcel Khalifa Re-visits Fans in Tunisia
by Iman Zayat, ''Alarab Online'', 29 July 2009 Khalife later dedicated a song to the "revolutionary leader

Che Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...

''Ana Yousef, ya Abi'' case

Three times (1996, 1999 and 2003), he faced criminal prosecution for his song ''I am

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

, O Father'', written by the Palestinian poet

Mahmoud Darwish Mahmoud Darwish ( ar, محمود درويش, Maḥmūd Darwīsh, 13 March 1941 – 9 August 2008) was a Palestinian poet and author who was regarded as the Palestinian national poet. He won numerous awards for his works. Darwish used Palestine ...

Education

Khalifé studied the

at the Beirut National Conservatory of Music and graduated in 1971.

Professional life

After graduating from the Beirut National Conservatory of Music in 1971, Khalife taught the art of oud playing there until 1975. Between 1972 and 1975, he taught music at public universities and several private music institutions in Lebanon while at the same touring the

MENA MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or a ...

region, Europe, and the United States to perform. He formed in 1972 a musical group in Amchit to revive his village's musical heritage, and it performed for the first time in Lebanon. He formed in 1976 Al Mayadine Ensemble, which toured

Arabic-speaking countries Arabic and its different dialects are spoken by around 422 million speakers (native and non-native) in the Arab world as well as in the Arab diaspora making it one of the five most spoken languages in the world. Currently, 22 countries are membe ...

, Europe, the United States, Canada, South America, Australia, and Japan.

Personal life

His eldest son,

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

graduate Rami Khalife, is a pianist and composer. In October 2011, the

Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra The Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra (QPO), a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, was founded in 2007 by Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, the then Emir of Qatar's consort. The orchestra performs both Wester ...

, under the conductorship of James Gaffigan, premiered Khalife's 'Chaos', for orchestra and piano, with Khalife at the helm as a soloist. In February 2013, Rami Khalife's Arab Spring-inspired 'Requiem' was premiered, within the same program as Marcel Khalife's suite "Oriental".

Works

Books

In 1982, he wrote a six-part ''Anthology of Studying the Oud''.

Performances

*2005.11.14:

Lincoln Theatre (Washington, D.C.) Lincoln Theatre is a theater in Washington, D.C., located at 1215 U Street, next to Ben's Chili Bowl. The theater, located on "Washington's Black Broadway", served the city's African American community when segregation kept them out of other ...

USA *2004.01.12:

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

Washington DC USA *2008.10.10: De Roma Borgerhout, Antwerp, Belgium *2011.03.13: Al-Bustan Concert Series, Philadelphia, PA, USA *2014.11.15: Al-Bustan Concert Series, Philadelphia, PA, USA *2016.12.18: Day for Night Festival, Houston, TX, USA *2018.05.25 Institut des cultures arabes et méditerranéennes,Geneva, Switzerland

Films

Marcel Khalife has composed soundtracks for films, documentaries and fictions, produced by Maroun Baghdadi,

Oussama Mohammed Ossama Mohammed ( ar, أسامة محمد; born 21 March 1954) is a Syrian film director and screenwriter. His film, ''The Box of Life'', was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. He is currently living in ...

, Sophi Sayhf Eddin and Samir Zikra. His music is also featured in the documentary

Occupied Minds ''Occupied Minds: A Palestinian-Israeli journey beyond hope and despair'' is a 2006 documentary film that was written, produced, and directed by journalists Jamal Dajani and David Michaelis. The film first released in the United States in March 20 ...

produced by

Jamal Dajani Jamal Dajani ( ar, جمال الدجاني) is a Palestinian-American journalist and an award-winning producer. He is the co-founder oArab Talk Radio He formerly served as Director of Strategic Communications & Media for former Palestinian Prime M ...

and David Michaelis. His music featured in the documentary film

Sons of Eilaboun ''The Sons of Eilaboun'' ( ar, أبناء عيلبون) is a 2007 documentary film by Palestinian artist and film maker Hisham Zreiq (Zrake), that tells the story of the Eilabun massacre, which was committed by the Israeli army during Operation Hi ...

Hisham Zreiq Hisham Zreiq ( ar, هشام زريق, he, הישאם זרייק; born 9 February 1968 in Nazareth), also spelled Zrake, is an award-winning Palestinian Christian- Israeli Independent filmmaker, poet, animator and visual artist. He began working ...

Talks

Marcel Khalife gave a talk on 12 March 2013, at the

American University of Sharjah American University of Sharjah (abbreviated AUS; ar, الجامعة الأمريكية في الشارقة) is a private university in the United Arab Emirates. It was founded in 1997 by Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and ...

about his latest CD, ''The Fall of the Moon,'' and his longing towards the late

. He also spoke about prospects of publishing his autobiography in two volumes.

Discography

Below the discography of Marcel Khalife.

Studio albums

* ''Promises of the Storm'' (1976) * ''At the Border'' (1980) * ''Ahmad Al Arabi'' (1984) * ''Dreamy Sunrise'' (1985) * ''Ode to a Homeland'' (1990) * ''Arabic Coffeepot'' (1995) * ''Voyageur'' (1998) * ''Jadal'' (2002) * ''The Bridge'' (2002) * ''Summer Night's Dream'' (2003) * ''Promises of the Storm'' (2003) * ''Caress'' (2004) * ''Peace Be with You'' (2006) * ''Taqasim'' (2006) * ''Sharq'' (2007) * ''Andulusia of Love'' (2016)

Singles

* ''Mounadiloun (Strugglers)'' * ''Oummi (Mother)''

Live albums

* ''Dance'' (1995) * ''Marcel Khalife: Magic Carpet'' (1998) * ''Concerto Al Andalus'' (2002)

References

English

''Marcel Khalife Discusses the New and the Old in Arabic Music in a Leading Literary Supplement: The Rationalization of Arabic Music''
Translated and edited by Elie Chalala, Al Jadid magazine, Vol. 1, no. 1 (November 1995)
''Trial of famous Lebanese singer to begin: Marcel Khalifa Faces Three Years in Prison''

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20060213024926/http://www.freemuse.org/sw11829.asp ''Lebanese singer banned in Tunisia''
''Biography''

''Interview with Marcel Khalife''

French

''Marcel Khalifé: Voyageur...'', Pierre Dupouey, mardi 10 février 2004

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20071011142402/http://hebdo.ahram.org.eg/arab/ahram/2006/5/3/visa0.htm ''Visages'', Dalia Chams
''Biographie''

External links

*

artist for peace

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khalife, Marcel 1950 births Living people 20th-century Lebanese male singers Lebanese oud players Lebanese songwriters 21st-century Lebanese male singers People from Amsheet Lebanese Maronites