A hero's diary op. 16 - VI - Iyad KANAAN

Live recording. January 24th, 2020. St Joseph Cathedral, Beirut.

Sary Khalife - Cello
LPO (Lebanese Philharmonic orchestra)
Walid Moussallem - conductor

Sound engineer: Roger HALABY.

Symphonic poem for Cello and orchestra dedicated to the martyrs of the Lebanese army, and inspired by the tragic events in North Lebanon of 2007 known as "Nahr l Bared battle".

In May 2007, a terrorist attack was committed on the Lebanese army in the region of “Nahr el Bared” (the cold river) at the north of Lebanon. 30 soldiers were taken by surprise and brutally slaughtered. The nation was stunned. A hard war against the terrorists followed, in difficult circumstances. Despite a lack of arms and ammunition, final victory was achieved in September 2nd 2007, after 3 months of non-stop fighting, at the heavy cost of 169 soldiers dead and many injured. It was reported that many wounded soldiers, as soon as they recovered, insisted on returning to the battlefield!!! It is in homage to the Lebanese army heroes that this work was composed, inspired from their bravery and profound generosity.
Despite the presence of a solo instrument (the Cello representing the “hero”), the work is more likely a Symphonic Poem rather than a Concerto. It is built on four themes: A (descending seconds), B (minor second followed by augmented second), C (diminished third exposed by the soloist), and D (Rhythmic motive) all exposed at the first movement, which alone contains the leitmotivs that will be exploited and developed throughout the remaining movements, thus conferring to the work its unity and dramatic dimension.

This performance was made possible thanks to the support of CNSM (Lebanese Conservatory) and CPML (Centre du Patrimoine Musical Libanais).