Jaro Medien 
Sarband & Fadia El-Hage :
The Arabian Passion according to J.S.Bach (D,IQ/LB,2009)***°
-with Modern String Quartet-
I have great respect for musicologist Vladimir Ivanoff with his project Sarband going back to the days of cross-fertilization of different cultures in court-yard opportunities. In our times we have access to more information more quickly, but also the assembling goes sometimes a bit too quick. For interpreting Bach in a different way there is needed a philosophical investigation, and then experience before interpretation. It is known that Baroque opened up musical structures. Some contrapuntal compositions from those days if played with jazz instruments sounded like jazz. Most known were for instance the Brandenburg concertos but there were other composers of its time which were even more jazz than this. Also, Bach is rather mathematical, but is still open to interpretation and even himself he wrote down ideas that could be improvised upon further if possible. Also here a couple of pieces are interpreted in a jazz way or with jazz elements (MP52 is less recognisable having derived from Bach, also JP21f is interpreted, or some jazz solos on JP12c).
There are only three Iraqi musicians in the German band who should give different directions of interpretation, but mostly they add only a bit more fantasy in the notes, in the rhythm, with some rearrangements (like JP30 it works best). A few tracks are interpreted in Arab by Lebanese singer Fadia el-Hage. This is also a dangerous territory, because Bach used German language in a poetic and mathematical, almost mystic manner, using words in numeric balance, comparable to how in Hebrew the Bible was written, a foundation which any translation cannot deal with or it has to do a deep study and perhaps change the notes and music with it, using the same method for it. Also, you cannot simply translate some of the German-Christian words into some Arab equivalents, especially not with “Allah” or so (which I think the opener seemed to do, but luckily also only here). In the original piece, thanks to Bach’s method (he was a Rosicrucian using certain methods of writing), there was built a higher religious energy built up in the original piece, which when translated definitely is doomed to fall back on the melodic and eventual chromatic qualities only. Fadia has a nice coloured voice, for some songs therefore it works fine, even not exactly with the same effect of the original score. For Arab language, there exists a Christian-Arab Byzantine tradition, with that special religious extra effect, something which luckily also is adapted in the concept with one additional piece (“Aljaum”).
The last concluding interpretation (track 14) strangely enough sounds more like a nostalgic Holy Night mood instrumental, with some sax solo on top. For being presented as The Arabian Passion according to Bach the concept has been worked out much too quickly and therefore is only partially successful, as a rough sketch to work upon further. There were not enough Arab musicians and ideas to make this concept work. For the occasional listener it might already mean a bridge, even when it does not reach the other end, it already pointed out some views from the other side that are within reach, if taken the time to interact and dig deep enough in the essences of its expressions. A few possibilities are roughly touched.
Because the concept was used to express the hopes and suffering of the modern-day Iraqi people, with projections of ‘unembedded’ (independent war..) photographers (on occasion), the way in which the music was worked out could eventually serve this purpose very well.
