Marcel Khalifé

Marcel Khalifé was born in 1950 in Amchit, Lebanon, and studied the oud (the Arabic lute) at the Beirut National conservatory. In 1976, Marcel Khalifé formed Al Mayadeen Ensemble, and the band's notoriety went well beyond Lebanon as it began a lifelong far-reaching musical journey, performing in the Middle East, Europe, North America, South America, Australia, and Japan.

Khalifé’s compositions have been performed by several orchestras, most notably the Kiev Symphony Orchestra, the Academy of Boulogne Billancourt Orchestra, and the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra.

Marcel Khalifé is a composer who is deeply attached to the text on which he relies. In his association with great contemporary Arab poets, particularly Palestinian poet par excellence, Mahmoud Darwish, he seeks to renew the character of the Arabic song, to break its stereotypes, and to advance the culture of the society that surrounds it.

Khalifé is sometimes called "the Bob Dylan of the Middle East." His numerous fans sing along to every song. His intense and emotional songs seem to have a power beyond mere words and music.

On his journey, Marcel Khalifé invents and creates avant garde music, a novel world of sounds, freed of all pre-established rules. This language elevates him to the level of an ambassador of his own culture and to the vanguard of Near Eastern music in search of innovators.

“Freedom, democracy and bread are the things we lack in our region.”
- Marcel Khalifé

"I consider the music of Marcel Khalifé one of the few cultural phenomena contributing to [Arab] spiritual revival."
- Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish

Related Links:
Marcel Khalifé’s official website
Interview with Marcel Khalifé
Mahmoud Darwish praises Marcel Khalifé

Marcel Khalifé was named UNESCO Artist for Peace in June 2005, by UNESCO Director-General, Koïchiro Matsuura, at a ceremony at UNESCO Headquarters.

The Bridge

Any bridge, in Arabic communication, most often signifies "the bridge back to the Palestinian homeland."

Released in 1983.

"I bought this after hearing a track, The Returnee, played on a local radio station. It's sung a cappella by angelic voiced Oumayma Al-Khalil who performs on other tracks as well. This song alone is worth the price. I've never bought Middle Eastern music before but after listening to this, I'll be listening to more."
- Quasimojo, on Amazon reviews

Ode to a Homeland

Songs of nationalism - the original Arabic title "Tasbahouna Ala Watan" twists the traditional "good night" (literally, in Arabic, "may you wake up feeling well"), to come up with "may you wake up with a homeland."

CD released in 1990.

Ahmad Al Arabi

This CD combines the lyrics of renowned Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish with the music of Marcel Khalife. It is about a young man, Ahmad the Arab, and his struggle to return to his Palestinian homeland.

"Mahmoud Darwich and Marcel Khalife were bound to meet one day, not only because of the eternal marriage between music and poetry, but also because of their common political ideology. They simply match."
- Fawwaz, on Amazon reviews

Promises of the Storm
This is Marcel Khalife's debut lyrical album. This work endeared him to millions in the Arab world. It contains some of Marcel's most popular songs, such as Rita and Oummi (Mother), among others.

Promises of the Storm was first released in 1976, and then on CD in 1999, completely re-recorded and rearranged, while maintaining the soul and the spirit of the original work.

Listen to Oummi (9 mins)