NEWS

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NEW RELEASE

Reem released her latest EP in 2022. It is her tribute to the great Iranian singing master, Mohammad-Reza Shajarian (1940-2020). Typical with all her recording work, Reem has produced a detailed and comprehensive trilingual booklet (Arabic, English & Farsi) with musicological notes, literary translations and a detailed glossary.

This is part of Reem's ongoing project This Land is Your Land, about the music of the various communities with whom she lived in Kuwait, and with whom she now lives in the UK. Reem and her international band have recorded their parts separately (both in the UK and the US) during lockdown in 2021.

The Singer Said (Qala al-Mughanni)

Sample
Poetry: Mahmoud Darwish (1941-2008)
Music: Reem Kelani (MCPS)

Bird of Dawn (Morgh-e Sahar)

Sample
Poetry: Mohammad-Taqi Bahar (1886-1951)
Music: Morteza Neidavoud (1900-1990)
Arr.: Reem Kelani (MCPS)

"One of (Reem's) other talents….. is that she is a short storywriter. The way that she puts (the EP) together and wraps it up in her own life story is just brilliant."
Max Reinhardt, Soho Radio, 17 June 2022

Kelani's talent lies in being able to infuse her work with a high level of emotion without falling into the trap of becoming melodramatic."
Richard Marcus, Qantara, Deutsche Welle, Germany, 06 May 2022

"True to style, Kelani has produced a highly informative tri-lingual accompanying booklet (in English, Arabic and Farsi), 30 pages in length and exquisitely illustrated… It is a real gem." [transl.]
Maja Vasiljevic, Rumbo al Este, RTVE, Spain, 20 April 2022

Tune here to listen to Max Reinhardt's interview of Reem on Soho Radio on 17 June 2022 which features her EP tribute to Mohammad-Reza Shajarian


LATEST NEWS

Reem's classic debut album, Sprinting Gazelle: Palestinian Songs from the Motherland and the Diaspora, has been included in the English national curriculum: Model Music Curriculum for schools in England

The English curriculum guideline reads (page 79): Sprinting Gazelle is the debut album of performer, composer and researcher Reem Kelani. Kelani collected and arranged songs from Palestine and the Palestinian diaspora including from her maternal family in Nazareth and women in the refugee camps in Lebanon. As well as traditional music, the album includes her own settings of contemporary poetry. The title track is highlighted on the list for core listening, but the whole album will provide pupils with opportunities for further listening.

GO TO BIOGRAPHY TO LEARN MORE ABOUT REEM