Fairuz on The Voice Israel

Lina Makhoul is a candidate on the Israeli version of The Voice who sang Fairuz’s song “Les Feuilles Mortes” and got the judges’ approval in return. You can check out her performance here:

Judging by her last name, odds are Lina Makhoul is an Arab Israeli. She could also be of Lebanese origins. Her pronunciation is odd at times but otherwise I think this isn’t bad at all. At least she knows the song exists and went on a limb and sang it to an audience which most probably doesn’t understand a word being sung.

I won’t go into the cliche rhetoric how music transcends war boundaries. I really hope that some BDS activists don’t panic because of this and simply take it as it is: a nice performance of a song we all like on a TV show we can’t even watch on YouTube as its videos are not made available in our country.

I wonder though if Fairuz and the Rahbani family would approve of this. Honestly, I highly doubt.

 

My Favorite Lebanese Easter Chants/Hymns

It’s that time of the year again – Easter.

To me, Good Friday proceedings are always riveting, as well as depressing. Even though year after year the whole premise has become more or less repetitive, the whole feel of Good Friday is just too haunting to shake off – no matter how old you get.

And chants are always an essential part adding to the overall feel of Easter. These are my favorite Lebanese Easter chants.

Wa Habibi (Chanted by Fairuz).

Al Yawm 3oulika 3ala Khachaba (Chanted by Fairuz).

Ana Al Oumo Al 7azina (Chanted by Fairuz).

Ya Sha3bi W Sa7bi