An Oud Concert: The Spirit of Naseer Shamma

Oud player Naseer Shamma

Featuring:

Naseer Shamma, oud

A rare and unique musical treat is how I would describe Iraqi oud player Naseer Shamma’s one night concert. Presented by the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq, Spouses of Heads of Mission and the Cultural Center of the Philippines, this concert held at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo (CCP Main Theater) became my introduction to the oud, an ancient string instrument which is an ancestor of the guitar.

Naseer Shamma is considered as one of the most renowned oud players in the world. He not only composes new music for the oud, but also has contributed to the evolution of the instrument by constructing an eight-string oud which has two more than the typical instrument that has six strings. And during the concert, Naseer Shamma’s eight-string oud and his original compositions were enjoyed by the audience comprised mostly of Philippine government officials like former First Lady, Rep. Imelda Marcos, members of the diplomatic community and several music and guitar enthusiasts who, like me, were so curious to see and hear a live oud performance for the first time.

The prepared programme for that night consisted of The Spirit Has a Speech, I’ve Touched the Moon, An Eastern Love Story, From Assyria to Sevilla, Baghdad as I Love, Fresh Breeze and Oudh Peace which I guess are all compositions of Naseer Shamma. But he deviated a bit from the programme. I got very worried when someone from the audience shouted something during the applause in between pieces. At first, I thought that it was a heckler but it turned out that he wanted Shamma to perform a piece which wasn’t part of the programme. And this piece was Al Amereya which Shamma wrote two decades ago during the height of the Gulf war. He then dedicated this piece to all the children in the world. Al Amereya is such an intense  composition with a part where the oud imitated the sound of blaring of sirens. I never imagined that this instrument could produce that kind of sound. It was also an emotional moment for Shamma who had to wipe away tears at one point during the actual performance.

It was also very interesting to see various techniques in playing the oud. Most of the time Naseer Shamma used a pick called the risha which he said is the modern way of playing the instrument. But he played one piece without the pick and used all five fingers of his right hand instead. This, he said, is the old way of playing which he actually likes more. He also played long, fast and complicated passages with just his left hand, similar to the left hand pizzicato technique with the violin but this one looked a lot more difficult. Since I’ve heard all of the pieces he played here for the first time, I could only guess how much improvisation he snuck in there. But I am pretty sure that the few bars of jingle bells was not originally part of the piece that he played towards the end of the concert. Overall, it was such a pleasure being acquainted with the oud and having a master like Naseer Shamma providing my first experience with the instrument.

Amar, Mme. Nadia Al-Batti, Naseer Shamma, Amb. Wadee Al-Batti and Zeid

After the concert, cocktails were served at the Silangan Hall for the guests of the Embassy of Iraq and the Spouses of Head of Mission. During the cocktails, I was able to talk to Naseer Shamma and learn more about the oud. I was also able to meet the Ambassador of Iraq Wadee Al-Batti, his wife Nadia and his two sons Amar and Zeid. The concert also served as a fund raiser for the Spouses of Head of Mission with the Philippine Cerebral Palsy (Rehabilitation Center), Inc. as the beneficiary.