KOMRADIN presents Hilalen (“Two Crescents”), a new album that continues the project’s exploration of classical Arabic music - this time through an intimate duo of oud and saxophone. The minimal instrumentation allows the music to shine fully: the melodic, rhythmic, and modal subtleties of the muwashshah tradition (pronounced muwashah, plural muwashahat) emerge with greater clarity and sensitivity, deepening the musical experience.
The entire album was recorded and performed on a 120-year-old oud built by the famed “Nahat Brothers” of Damascus - a rare instrument that brings an authentic historical color and an echo of ancient tradition to the recording. In addition, the album features recitations of muwashahat poetry accompanied by authentic percussion, highlighting the original rhythmic structures of the pieces.
Inspired by the imagery found in the poetry itself, the album’s arrangements were crafted to reveal the deeper layers embedded in the muwashah texts. Komradin brings this musical genre to the forefront of the 21st century. The project also draws from the roots of the muwashah, which originated in medieval Muslim Spain (Al-Andalus), weaving subtle hints of Andalusian flamenco into the music.
In this duo format, space opens for delicate musical interaction, highly sensitive improvisation, and an emphasis on the poetic and emotional depth of the muwashahat. The combination of oud and saxophone creates a sonic environment in which every tone, rhythm, and melodic gesture gains significance, enabling a profound and intimate connection with the emotional world of classical Arabic tradition.
