MY URBAN PIANO Diary 17
Children of Aleppo
After episode 8 of MY URBAN PIANO, Butterflies (see Diary 16), I published a very special “intermezzo” episode dedicated to the people of Syria.
Why a video for Syria?
In late 2016 I had been the guest soloist in a concert with musicians from Syria, conducted by Shafi Badreddin. The concert — called “Voice of Syria” — had been organized by Syrian refugees with the wish to share the beauty and richness of their culture with the people from Luxembourg — because we all have seen terrible images of destroyed cities and crying people but tend to forget that there was a life of peace and blooming cultural diversity before the war. It did exist and will continue to exist through proud and beautiful people of Syria.
Meeting so many different Syrian musicians (who came together from different European countries where they had found refuge) was a moving experience for me. I enjoyed our discussions very much and got to know some of their wonderful music.
A few days later, I saw some very distressing footage from Aleppo by a young video journalist named Waad Alkateab. These images hurt me even more after just having met some of the people who had to flee from their country because of the war. Waad Alkateab had risked her life in order to inform the world about the horrors happening in Syria, and her video was going viral.
Composing “Children of Aleppo”
Under the impressions of my recent encounter with my Syrian musician colleagues and these heartbreaking images from Aleppo, I wrote the music for “Children of Aleppo” with tears running down my cheeks. It is without doubt one of my saddest compositions. In the middle part I combine the main theme of my piece with a traditional Syrian song that I had learned at the “Voice of Syria” concert.
Recording & video shooting
In summer 2018 we came together once more for another similar concert in Luxembourg. I asked a group of my Syrian friends who sang in the choir to join me for a recording of “Children of Aleppo”. Shafi Badreddin prepared the choir and recorded the ney and oud part.
Together we performed my piece as a prayer for peace for our brothers and sisters who suffer so endlessly because of the war. Waad Alkateab sent me her footage and generously gave me the permission to include it in my music video.
My friend Francis Verquin filmed us at a park in Luxembourg and produced a very touching music video. The piano was provided by the city of Luxembourg’s “My Urban Piano” project.
My heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed to make this music video.
Our hearts are with you — peace for Syria!
Pianist and composer David Ianni from Luxembourg has become well-known for his project MY URBAN PIANO: a series music videos is produced in different European Capitals of Culture. An original composition is dedicated to each city, performed on an artistically designed piano. Each piano is donated. Join the journey and follow David on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and sign up for his newsletter. Each video plus making of material will be posted to David’s YouTube channel. For more information, please visit www.davidianni.com.
