Skip to main content

Letters from Iraq: Oud and String Quintet

Rahim Alhaj
Letters from Iraq: Oud and String Quintet

Letters from Iraq expresses the love and pain of lives lived by the people of war-torn Iraq. Actual mailed letters and their stories are transposed into eight gripping programmatic compositions by Iraqi-American composer and oud player, Rahim AlHaj with string quintet (2 violins, viola, cello, contrabass) and percussion. He says, “Music can make us laugh, make us cry, make us march into war. I want to make music to make us realize peace.” These recordings are of deep emotion and great beauty, melding mastery of Iraqi and Western classical genres alike to form something entirely new. 70 minutes, 40-page booklet with bilingual notes in English and Arabic.

RELATED VIDEOS
Rahim AlHaj on the Making of "Running Boy"
"Eastern Love" by Rahim AlHaj
“Voices to Remember” by Rahim AlHaj

Track Listing

icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
101
Letter 1. Eastern Love – Sinan Rahim Alhaj 06:54
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
102
Letter 2. Forbidden Attraction – Tiama Rahim Alhaj 12:17
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
103
Letter 3. Running Boy – Fuad Rahim Alhaj 13:07
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
104
Letter 4. The Last Time We Will Fly Birds – Riyadh Rahim Alhaj 09:25
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
105
Letter 5. Going Home – Rahim Rahim Alhaj 07:42
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
106
Letter 6. Unspoken Word – Laila Rahim Alhaj 06:17
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
107
Letter 7. Fly Home – Fatima Rahim Alhaj 08:36
icon-circle-play svg-new-pause-button
108
Letter 8. Voices to Remember – Zainab Rahim Alhaj 05:22