The renowned Iraqi oud player and composer Naseer Shamma was the guest of honour this week at the Egyptian Press Syndicate. Rania Khallaf attended His appearance at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Concert Hall last week was a huge success. Now Naseer Shamma, 46, has made a welcome return to the Press Syndicate as guest of honour at the Ihsan Abdel-Qoddous Cultural Salon, a monthly cultural event. The programme began with a discussion led by art and cinema critic Tarek El-Shinnawi. "When compared with other musical instruments, the oud is like a bird among eagles," El-Shinnawi said. "At a time when Oriental music groups are, day after day, replacing the oud with other instruments, other musicians of genius such as Shamma opted for making a huge effort to preserve and develop our musical heritage," added El-Shinnawi, referring to Beit Al-Oud, (the Arab House for the Oud), which was established by Shamma some 10 years ago. Shamma said his relationship with Egypt began in his childhood, and ultimately it saved his life. "We used to devour all types of art produced by Egyptian musicians, poets and intellectuals through the Egyptian radio network Voice of Arabs," Shamma told the audience. "I owe a lot to Egyptian artists. It was in 1986 that some prominent actors such as Nour El-Sherif attended a concert I held in Basra, and because the praise I got from El-Sherif I was released on the same day that I was supposed to be hanged by Baath Party officials. That was in 1989. An official named Aziz Al-Dorri was examining my file before issuing the final decree to have me killed. And it was just because he recalled how El-Sherif had praised me that he decided to let me go." Shamma admitted that this was the first time he had talked so openly about the incident "It is mentioned in an autobiography I am writing, and will be published one day," he said, adding, "I really owe so much to Egyptian artists, and to my dear audience too." Shamma made his first professional trip to Egypt in 1989 to record a play tackling the Palestinian issue called The Country has Called on its Citizens. Eight years later, Shamma held his first concert at the Press Syndicate's old premises in Al-Qolali, an event that attracted media, intellectuals and artists as well as Oriental music lovers. "As a result of this successful event, a delegation of Egyptian artists, intellectuals and doctors was dispatched to help lift the economic embargo imposed on Iraq, and we did manage to open the borders between Syria and Iraq," he said. On top of the delegation, Shamma recalled, were the late director Youssef Chahine, journalist Hamdeen El-Sabbahi, actress Raghda, and actor Hamdi Ahmed. "When the Egyptian delegation arrived at the Al-Rashid Theatre, where an artistic Egyptian-Iraqi night was due to be held, we all burst into tears because we realised how strong the relationship was between Egyptian artists and the Iraqi people." Shamma was born in 1963 in Kut. He saw an oud for the first time when he was 11 years old, in the hands of a music teacher, and at the age of 12 he began to study it in Baghdad, following in the footsteps of Mounir Bashir. Although Shamma's father, a shop owner, was religiously conservative, he did not object to his son's artistic ambitions. In 1985 Shamma played his own compositions at his first concert, attended by several renowned Iraqi artists. He received his diploma from the Baghdad Academy of Music in 1987, and began to teach the oud after three years at the academy as well as continuing his own studies. Shamma has also composed music for films, plays and television. He returned to Egypt in 1997 and started a project with the Opera House. The idea of establishing the Arab House for Oud as the first specialised oud school came in 1998. "I turned down a proposal to establish the same school in London in collaboration with the Royal Academy in Britain. As an Iraqi, I thought that establishing this school in Cairo, with the cooperation of the Ministry of Culture and the Opera House, would be a real achievement of my own dreams as a musician. "I believe that a talented musician has a role to play in his society. And this has been perfectly translated in the achievements we attained in the project, now 10 years old. With the new generation now graduated from Beit Al-Oud, I believe we are heading towards establishing a modern Arab music tradition. Culture, art, and music are the only means to produce a cultured and free national who knows how to choose his own path in life." Shamma chose Beit Al-Harrawi, an ancient historical building in Al-Darb Al-Ahmar, as the premises for Beit Al-Oud. "Although it sounded weird, and my colleagues thought I was crazy to leave the elegant buildings of the Opera House and opt instead for an ancient building in a polluted and crowded area," he said. "But for me it was only the right place, for I am the son of wood and stone. I came from a similar place and atmosphere. And now, after 10 years, Beit Al-Harrawi has become a popular place and an art centre that attracts young talents from various countries. "The historical place itself has a magical influence on me. I am used to compose a musical piece each time I rehearse with my students. I can say that, since 2003, 90 per cent of my compositions were inspired in this beautiful place, which has become an integral and vital part of my own being." Graduates of the Beit Al-Oud now include young musicians from Egypt, Syria and Iraq. The youngest is Youssef, 15, who comes from Iraq and is being trained by Shamma as a professional oud player. Youssef will go back to Iraq to train other oud players. Asked how difficult it is to work both as an academic professor and tutor and to develop his career as a professional composer and oud player, Shamma said it was simply a question of arranging and investing time. "I have been invited to concerts all over the world, and yet I know nothing about these countries because, I spend all the time before the concert practising," he said. "And then after the concert I allocate my time to attending other concerts or visiting modern art galleries. I consider plastic art as a part of my musical career, and when I go and see a new film I know that my eyes will be nurtured with beauty. Beauty will be reflected in my performance afterwards," he smiled. Shamma spends no less than six hours a day practising alone. "Practice is the key word for any exceptionally creative player. This intimate and absolute time I spend with my oud helps translate my ideas into music that reflects in its turn in the audience's mind as images. This is why my music sounds different." El-Shinnawi asked whether, with the speed of development in the world of electronic music, traditional music was at risk. Shamma replied that, "The skilful player has maintained his value because of his own culture and influence on the audience. We surly need this technology; we can make use of it as a background to an authentic musical composition. But, no way, the electronic music cannot replace our traditional music." Asked by a journalist from the independent newspaper Al-Badeel if he would now like to go back to his home country, Shamma said: "Living in Cairo does not mean that I am not participating in the current development of Iraqi society. My efforts include medical treatment and welfare for Iraqi children. It is just that I was against Saddam [Hussein]'s dictatorship, and now I am against the existence of American troops in Iraq. However, I am thinking of going back to Baghdad to visit my mother's grave, especially now that the security situation has improved. "I will keep my home here, and I will have one in Baghdad, and a third one in Abu Dhabi where I am setting up another school for the oud," he said. "My dream goes beyond my own nationality as an Arab; it is more than that, actually much more than that." Following the Press Syndicate, prominent journalist Mohamed Abdel-Qoddous, son of the late novelist Ihsan Abdel-Qoddous, praised in a short speech efforts exerted by Shamma in developing traditional Arab music, and granted him a Certificate of Honour. A few minutes later, Shamma was sitting on the stage surrounded by six of his distinguished students, now graduates of Beit Al-Oud, and the concert began.
