The Soul of the Lute

The young, highly talented Syrian singer and oud player Waed Bouhassoun has been endowed with a rare voice, on a par with the great Arab singers of the 1930s. This solo album entitled The Soul of the Lute features poems by Adonis, Mansur al-Hallaj, al-Mulawwah, Ibn Zeydoun, Sorhawardi and Ibn Arabi, which she has put to music and performs on her own, singing and accompanying herself on the oud (it also features 2 instrumental pieces). Waed Bouhassoun was born into a family of music lovers. At the age of seven, she was given a small oud by her father. The family then went to Yemen for two years and she discovered local music form at women gatherings, thus opening up to other styles than her native country's or the songs ofsuch Egyptian stars as Oum Kalthoum, Farid al-Atrache and Asmahane (the brother and sister were of Syrian origin). She then joined the HIgh Insitute of Music in Damascus, at the time very marked by Western music. She has made the most of all these influences to create her own personal style while remaining faithful to the musical spirit of her native land. Since her first performance in France in 2006, "the astoundinb Waed" has given numerous concerts the world over. Lately she has chosen to perform solo – when she does not join Jordi Savall's ensemble or the like. She is now based in Paris.