23 September, 2016: The International Dialogue Centre based in Vienna (KAICIID) hosted a photography exhibition by Linda Zahra, a Syrian photographer currently residing in Vienna, and a musical performance by Gilbert Yammine of the National Higher Conservatory of Music in Beirut. The event was the second in the cultural series titled ‘Bridges’ at KAICIID to build awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Syria and the challenges facing refugees from the country.
Linda Zahra presented her photography project ‘Faraway Home’, portraying people and locations that have left an impression on the artist. The photographer said about this project: “The photographs are not random portraits, but taken from a specific point of view to reflect movement through time, as well as what was before and what comes after.”
Gilbert Yammine then introduced the audience to the ‘qanun’, a zither-like string instrument popular across the Middle East, Maghreb, West Africa, Central Asia, and Southeastern regions of Europe. The musician, who was the first in Lebanon to introduce the Turkish qanun into Arabic-Oriental music, took the audience on a fascinating musical journey through a mixture of classical Oriental and contemporary European music played on the qanun.
During the event, guests also had the opportunity to visit the ongoing art exhibition at KAICIID, displaying paintings by Syrian-born, Europe-based artists Adel Daooud, Bahram Hajou, Jeko Haj, Louloua Maleh and Marwa Sarah, as well as Austrian artists Bernd Hanser and Fritz Kindl.
For more information on “Bridges” and featured artists, visit www.kaiciid.org/bridges
About the Qanun
The qanun is an Arabic string instrument played solo or as part of an ensemble.
The name derives from the Arabic and Greek word for law or rule. Its origins trace back to the ancient Egyptian harp. It is known to have been part of Arabic music since at least the 10th Century. By the 12th Century, it was introduced to Europe, later becoming known as a psaltery or zither.
Today, the qanun is a type of large zither with a narrow trapezoidal soundboard famous for its unique melodramatic sound. Strings are stretched over a single bridge placed over fish-skins on one end and attached to tuning pegs on the other.
There are two types of modern qanuns, the Arabic and the Turkish. Arabic qanuns vary in measurements but are generally heavier than the Turkish and tuned to a lower range of pitches.