The Crossing to Release WORDS ADORNED, Featuring The Al-Bustan Takht Ensemble & Dalal Abu Amneh

On Friday, July 9, 2021, GRAMMY-winning choir The Crossing, led by Donald Nally, will release its 25th commercial album, WORDS ADORNED, on Navona Records. WORDS ADORNED features The Crossing with the Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture's Takht Ensemble - led by Hanna Khoury, who served as musical coach for the project - and Palestinian vocal soloist Dalal Abu Amneh in commissioned works by Kareem Roustom and Kinan Abou-afach inspired by Andalusian poetry, and the traditional muwashshah When He Appeared by Muhammad 'abd al-Rahim al Maslub.

The release celebrates one of The Crossing's favorite collaborations, an exchange of musical cultures and ideas that greatly stretched the ensemble and expanded its horizons. The recording was made and originally released as part of an Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture multimedia project inspired by Andalusian poetry, with a series of events and newly commissioned works bridging the traditions of east and west. This re-release on Navona Records is produced by The Crossing's Executive Director Jonathan Bradley, conductor Donald Nally, and assistant conductor Kevin Vondrak. Major support for WORDS ADORNED was provided to Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage with additional support from the Arab Fund for Arts & Culture and the William Penn Foundation.

Kareem Roustom's Embroidered Verses consists of four Anadalusian poems translated by Ahmad Almallāh, each is based on a poem on a theme common to the muwashshah. The first text extols the natural beauty of al-Andalus, and the second is a lively re-setting of a well-known drinking song. This re-setting of text to new music is also part of the tradition and is a nod to Aleppo's rich musical heritage. The third text is a love poem composed by poetess Umm al-Kiram, and the final text is a war-themed poem. Each setting showcases the virtuosic capabilities of the takht - an Arabic chamber group composed of oud, qanun, violin, cello, and percussion - and requires The Crossing to sing intricate harmonies and long embellished lines mixing quarter tones, speaking, whispering, and full-throated singing.

Of Nights And Solace by Kinan Abou-afach is a fantasia on Andalusian muwashshah poetry, also translated by Almallāh. Abou-afach was inspired by the pre-Islamic era (al-Jahiliyya) in the Arabian Peninsula, where poets were treated as rockstars and tribes celebrated having a poet in residence. The Andalusian era wasn't an exception, and the muwashshah developed and flourished. Of Nights and Solace is a virtual trip to Andalusia, a story with multiple characters that begins at sunset and ends at the break of day, progressing from classical style to a broken form that still hints at the muwashshah. The piece begins with a poem by Ibn Zuhr on the love and lament for parting with a beloved one; followed by a tearful longing for the creator by Sufi poet and philosopher Ibn Arabi; undeclared love and the difficulty of keeping this love in Ibn Isa al-Khabbaz's poem; a beautiful rhythmic poem by al-Qazzaz; and finishes with Sahl Bin Malik's poem about sunrise. The piece uses a wide range of harmonic styles, from simple to complex, also incorporates quarter tones, and has canon-like sections that begin and end the piece.

Donald Nally says of the release, "This is one of those great collaborations in which everyone is equally vital, no one is fully in charge and no one is in the background; everyone is driving the energy of the project and the music forward with physical, intellectual, and emotional energy. The result is something The Crossing really loves; amazing music, written for us by two uniquely gifted composers, and shaped by Hanna Khoury and the Takht players. And, of course, Dalal is a miracle. We are so fortunate that Al-Bustan asked us to join them for WORDS ADORNED and to have the album, years later, finally reach a larger audience!"

WORDS ADORNED Track List

Kareem Roustom - Embroidered Verses Songs on Andalusian Poetry
1. I. Ya'ahla'andalusen lilāhi darrukumu / Oh people of Andalusia, what beauty you have [5:24]
2. II. Qum yā nadīm / Arise oh drinking companion [3:55}
3. III. Yā ma'shara al-nāsi alā fa'jabū / Oh people, stop and wonder [3:51]
4. IV. Qul Iil'idā / Tell the enemy [5:54]

Kinan Abou-afach - Of Nights and Solace Fantasia on Andalusian Muwashshah Poetry
5. I. Prelude: Moonrise [2:37]
6. II. Ḥayyī-l wujȗh (Greet These Faces) [5:48]
7. III. Forsaken [7:53]
8. IV. Interlude: "á La Dūlāp" [2:37]
9. V. Yā man 'adā (You Who Left and Passed) [5:16]
10. VI. Sunrise [1:44]

11. Muhammad 'abd al-Rahim al Maslub - When He Appeared [3:52]
Traditional Muwashshah (bonus track from the live concert)

The Crossing
Donald Nally, conductor
Dalal Abu Amneh, vocalist
Al-Bustan Takht Ensemble
Hanna Khoury, violin and music director
Wassim Odeh, oud
Hicham Chami, qanun
Kinan Abou-afach, cello
Hafez Kotain, percussion

Recorded December 4, 2015 at Goodhart Hall, Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, PA

Recorded, Mixed, Edited, and Mastered by Joe Hannigan at Weston Sound

Executive Producer Bob Lord
Executive A&R Sam Renshaw
A&R Director Brandon MacNeil
VP, Audio Production Jeff LeRoy
Audio Director Lucas Paquette
VP, Design & Marketing Brett Picknell
Art Director Ryan Harrison
Design Edward A. Fleming
Publicity Patrick Niland, Sara Warner
Album Artwork Ashley Choukeir

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