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Fanfare

Naji Hakim (b. 1955) is a Lebanese-born, French-trained organist and composer. This disc contains four works for solo cello, and one for cello and piano. One can hear French influences (particularly Messiaen) in Hakim’s music, living comfortably alongside his mid-Eastern heritage. Overall, I found the music on this disc engaging and beautiful. I started out wondering if a full hour of music for cello, much of it unaccompanied, would require more patience than I had. Although Bach could manage that, I wasn’t sure someone else could. In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed the disc, though I still think it is probably better listened to in part rather than in one sitting.

Part of that success is due to the considerable variety here. After the expressive Missa Cum jubilo, based on the Gregorian mass, the energetic Prélude et Habanera combines a polyphonic tribute to Bach with a movement that refers to the Spanish-influenced music of two French composers, Debussy and Ravel. After that comes Montmartre, which turns out to be a deeply spiritual, even mournful, work commemorating the life of Saint Denis, the first bishop of Paris who was beheaded in Montmartre in the third century. At almost 20 minutes, the major work here is the Levantine Variations, the one work that includes the piano. It is a set of five variations on “Bint El Shalabiya” (Pretty Girl), a Syrian popular song. Hakim lets his considerable imagination run free, with surprisingly strong contrasts in the styles of the different variations.

There is a hypnotic beauty to much of Hakim’s music on this collection. His blending of religious inspiration, rhythmic vitality, melodic inspiration, and imagination all add up to a deeply engaging experience.

All of the music on the program is fairly recent, being composed between 2020 and 2023. With the exception of Prélude et Habanera, every work here was premiered by the French cellist Gwendeline Lumaret, giving her performances an authoritative feel throughout. She is completely comfortable with Hakim’s style and plays with impeccable intonation, a varied and colorful sound, and a consistent sense of drama. The composer is the pianist in the Levantine Variations, and he is excellent in that role. The program notes by the composer are brief, and would have benefitted from expansion. Still, I recommend this disc for the curious listener.