Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Rim Banna
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rim Banna is a Palestinian singer, composer and arranger, well-known for her modern interpretations of traditional folk songs. Banna was born in Nazareth on December 8, 1966, where she currently lives with her husband, the artist Leonid Alexeienko, and their three children. [1]
Contents |
Banna first achieved popularity among Palestinians in Israel in the early 1990s, after recording a number of Palestinian children's songs on the verge of being forgotten. [2] Many such songs and rhymes that are sung by Palestinian families again today, are said to be thanks to Rim Banna's work in preserving them via her recordings. [3]
For Banna - whose music is composed and arranged collaboratively with her husband - music is an important tool for cultural self-assertion: "A part of our work consists of collecting traditional Palestinian texts without melodies. So that the texts do not get lost, we try to compose melodies for them that are modern, yet inspired by traditional Palestinian music." [4]
As such, Banna does not merely mimic the traditional techniques for representation of the pieces she interprets. In her view, "Oriental singing techniques are mostly ornamental … But my voice is more two-dimensional, thicker. I try to write songs that fit my voice. I want to create something new in every respect. And that includes bringing people elsewhere closer to the music and soul of the Palestinians." [5]
Banna's popularity in Europe began after Norwegian singer Kari Bremnes, invited her to Oslo after meeting her during a visit to Israel. Banna accepted the invitation, and the two artists were subsequently enlisted with others by Norwegian music producer Erik Hillestad to record the 2003 CD Lullabies from the Axis of Evil. [6][7]
Dubbed "a musical antiwar message to U.S. President Bush from female singers in Palestine, Iraq, Iran, and Norway," [8], the album brings these women together with others from North Korea, Syria, Cuba, and Afghanistan - to sing traditional lullabies from their lands in duet form with English-language performers whose translation allows the songs to reach a Western audience. [9]
Banna's latest album, The Mirrors of My Soul, is a stylistic departure from her previous body of work. Produced in cooperation with a European quintet, it features "Western pop stylings" fused with Middle Eastern modal and vocal structures, and Arabic lyrics. [10] Though the style of this album differs from previous recordings, the subject matter has basically remained constant. The album includes "songs of despair and hope" about the lives of "a struggling people, and even a song about late president Arafat in a way that is both thoughtful and subtle" [11].
- Mukagha (1996)
- The Dream (1993)
- Qamar Abu Leileh (1995)
- Lullabies from the Axis of Evil (2003 - Various female artists)
- Mirrors of My Soul (2006)
In July 2004, Rim Banna and Achinoam Nini co-wrote and recorded the theme song for the animated film "Pace of Peace", a joint project of Israeli and Palestinian high-school students that was awarded special notice in the 2005 Venice Film Festival. [12] [13]
 |
This article is uncategorized.
Please help improve this article by adding it to one or more categories, so it may be associated with related articles (how?). Please remove this tag after categorizing, but not before. |