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Production Unit

The Production Unit at the ESNCM takes upon itself the production of high quality recordings for ESNCM and other Palestinian musicians. The productions have big educational values for the ESNCM students and the general public. These productions, mostly pressed in the form of CDs, come to fill a huge gap in the local market. There is a major lack of music production in Palestine, which is basically a pirated market of commercial music. So far, the ESNCM has produced eight records.

The productions are:

Al-Fawanees CD & DVD (2009)
On June 23 of 2009, a video showing of the musical was seen by family and friends of the participants and production team at the Ramallah Cultural Palace. The crowd gathering celebrated the documentation of such a remarkable accomplishment which will inevitably leave its impact on the Palestinian musical theater scene for years to come. Al-Fawanees CD is a collection of 28 songs from the musical of the same title, composed by Suhail Khoury to the lyrics of Waseem Kurdi, based on the original children's story by Ghassan Kanafani entitled "The Small Lanterns". Hania Soudah trained and conducted SHAMS student Choir. The music was orchestrated by Bishara el Khil and performed by The European Youth Orchestra under the baton of Chrisof Alstaedt, a DVD of the musical comes with the CD.
 
Jerusalem After Midnight (2009)
This most recent production of the ESNCM, is a collection of compositions by Suhail Khoury arranged by Ahmad El Khatib. Eight pieces are inspired by intense live experiences of the composer over a period of ten years. Charged with emotions of love and beauty, they are marked by feelings of pain and anguish caused by an ongoing occupation that leaves its scars on the core of the soul of the individual. Featured in the recording are four Palestinian musicians and four international musicians Ahmad Al Khattib, on oud and buzuq, Ibrahim Attari on qanoun, Heather Burshe on flute, Yousef Hbeish on percussion, and Suhail Khoury on Nay and clarinet, with Austrian double-bass player Peter Herbert, Juergen Kersten on Drums and German cellist Nicolas Alstaedt. Recorded in Germany, the CD was launched in the USA in March 2010 through the concerts of the Oriental Music Ensemble. It is available at the ESNCM Branches
 
Until When (2006)
Songs from Palestine Music, Lyrics & Piano Accompaniment Rima Nasir Tarazi, Soprano – Tania Tamari Nasir. It is a collection of songs expressing the pains and hopes of the Palestinian people and a live testimony to their sufferings as experienced by the composer. It was recorded by Suhail Khoury, mixed and edited by Dieter Denzer and produced and launched by the ESNCM in 2006. The CD is available at the ESNCM branches.
 
Sada (2002)
Ahmad Al-Khatib’s Solo Oud CD, was released in May 2005. The first solo Oud recording for Ahmad Khatib, the CD is a compilation of nine pieces composed while Ahmad was living in Palestine, and in Ramallah during the invasion of that city in 2002. Khatib has been unable to return to Palestine, and currently lives in Sweden working on obtaining his graduate degree in music. "I wrote the music here ... there in Palestine – the land of blood and wounds, on the sounds of gunshots, the rumbles of bombs and the shrieks of bulldozers. While writing, I was also reflecting: “How can I write a note between two tears, and what tune will equate that of a funeral hymn that would console a mourning heart, or an orphan who lost his father or a child that died on her mother’s breast?” But this is Palestine and these are its stories and its music amalgamated with the olive oil and vineyards of Palestine … its music that expands from joys to anguish." Ahmad Al-Khatib, Ramallah, April 2002
 
Bass Shwai (2003)
 Bass Shwai is the first children's CD produced by the ESNCM in 2003, featuring four children, ages 9 to 11 (1 boy and three girls) singing 12 songs composed by Suhail Khoury for lyrics written by various Palestinian poets and writers. Each song deals with a theme relating to children The singers are accompanied by members of the Oriental Music Ensemble. Suhail Khoury on Nay and Clarinet, Ahmad Al-Khatib on Oud and Buzuq, Ibrahim Atari on Qanoun and Youssef Hbeish on Percussion and with guest artist Peter Herbert on the Contrabass.

Palestinian Sounds (2001)
“Palestinian Sounds” is the first of its kind to provide a profile of contemporary Palestinian music. It features a spectrum of musical production by Palestinian musicians and groups in Palestine and the Diaspora since 1980. “Palestinian Sounds” includes 16 tracks from 13 different Palestinian artists, and was produced jointly with Yabous Productions in Jerusalem.
 
Karloma (2001)
 Karloma, the second production of the ESNCM, is another group from the Conservatory, which brings together teachers from both the Oriental and Western Music departments to produce a mixture of sounds of Arabic and Oriental Music. Each piece in this CD is a well-furnished musical experience based on a simple melody. Around this basic line is a plethora of images, intertwining sounds and playful ornamentations, which can be interpreted by the listener in many ways. For more information, visit Karloma's website at www.karloma.com
 
Emm el Khilkhal (2000)
 The Oriental Music Ensemble is comprised of the Oriental Music Department teachers at the ESNCM, and this was the first of a series of CD's to be produced by the ESNCM. The CD contains Arabic and oriental classical music performed by Suhail Khoury (Nay & Clarinet), Khaled Joubran (Oud & Buzuq), Ramzi Bisharat (Percussion), Habib Shehadeh (Oud) and Ibrahim Atari (Qanoun).

 
The Edward Said National Conservatory of Music