The “miracle” of Michael Barenboim and the Ensemble Nasmé | Canary Islands International Music Festival

Fadwa Qamhia plays the double bass, she makes a living that way, she lives between Montpellier and Berlin… and she is Palestinian. The latter, her origin, is what makes the tour that is going to take her and four other Palestinian musicians to stages throughout the Canary Islands, led by violinist Michael Barenboim (Paris), “a miracle”—these are her words. , 1985): “Without him, this would not have been possible or would have taken years to come to fruition,” he states, and continues reasoning: “With the trauma, with the difficulties we face, to see a Palestinian musician who achieves excellence And what other name does success deserve? Miracle”.

This chamber group, the Ensemble Nasmé, will open the 41st edition of the Canary Islands International Music Festival (FIMC) on January 11 in La Palma and will then travel to Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, with a repertoire that combines names from Western classical composers such as Rossini, Mozart or Dvořák with others such as the contemporary Kareem Roustom (Damascus, 1971), an American of Syrian origin whose work connects with the cultural tradition of the Middle East and who has composed the Palestinian songs and dances which will be performed by the Ensemble Nasmé.

a breeze of air

Nasmé It means breeze in Arabic. It was Qamhia who came up with the idea of ​​naming the musical group that way, according to Barenboim, who confesses that he would like to have called the group simply Ensemble Palestine, as is customary when they tour musically representing a territory, “but that first step to establish ourselves It caused some problems,” he says. Why breeze? Qamhia explains it vehemently: “Nasmé It is not intended to claim airs of hope, we Palestinians are tired of the word hope, it is a euphemism that only makes sense among Westerners. Nasmé We use it in the sense of our own breath, the proof that shows that we breathe, that we exist and that we make an effort.”

That was one of the purposes of Michael, son of the legendary pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim, to give them the opportunity to express themselves with their own voice, from the sound of their instruments. “We barely allow them to speak for themselves, we constrain them to stereotypes, either terrorists or victims. Well, here we are going to see another photo, of five very talented musicians who show pride in their identity from what they know how to do best,” he explains.

Qamhia is from Nablus and studied near Ramallah, but soon had to go to Europe to train in his discipline: “In all of Palestine there must be a maximum of 20 people who play the double bass,” he says, as if he were really doing the calculation while doing it. relates. The five instrumentalists of the Ensemble Nasmé come from the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin, a musical school renowned for its artistic excellence. The Barenboim-Said Foundation, which was half created by the great intellectual Edward Said and Barenboim Sr., years ago opened a music school in Ramallah that two of the members of the Ensemble Nasmé were able to attend as children.

However, the path to professionalism involved leaving, given the difficulties faced by those who stay. Fadwa Qamhia summarizes them with an illustrative example: “Members of an orchestra or a band rehearsing together in Palestine is almost impossible: some cannot set foot in Jerusalem, others cannot go to the West Bank… To meet each other, all musicians have to cross to Jordan. But that means crossing three borders, a trip that, depending on the day, can involve a full day of travel and payments of entry and exit taxes that can amount to more than 250 euros per head… With this panorama, not only a musician, but any Palestinian who achieves excellence in his field deserves all the credit. I insist: it is a miracle.”

Music, a platform

For Qamhia, classical music has never had that patina of presumption that some see in it today; he cannot understand it as a manifestation of the elites, when he finds belonging in it: “It is beauty, it is an expression of humanity, pure feelings,” he says, and he believes that this is exactly what those who come to see them in concert will be able to perceive. The fervent wish shared by members of the Ensemble and Barenboim is that this is the beginning of something greater; that what is going to premiere at the FIMC, in the Canary Islands, acquires a transcendent journey: that the programmers want to count on them and can play on many more stages, traveling throughout Europe. Inspire reflection and action through music.

They send a message: “We are here and we need you, we are not abstract newspaper headlines,” says Qamhia, who believes that his music shares energy with those who compose poems or demonstrate in the street. “It is our responsibility to do what we can,” says Barenboim, “and what we can do is music.”