Marcel Khalifé is famous not only for his fabulous playing on the Arabic lute, but also for his involvement in the Palestinian cause. Although he himself was born in Lebanon, he has always felt a bond with the Palestinian people. He himself says he wants to give the voiceless a voice. He is inspired by the poems of one of the most famous poets from the Arab world, the Palestinian Mahmoud Darwish.
This commitment earned him the title of Artist for Peace in 2005, awarded by the cultural branch of the United Nations (UNESCO). On the album Taqasim (Improvisations), Khalifé pays an instrumental homage to the Palestinian poet. The lute player does this together with his son Bachar, who takes care of the percussion, and bass player Peter Herbert. For the occasion, Khalifé himself only plays the lowest registers of his lute: the strings that continue to sing the longest. (MH)more
