Celebrating the Buzuq family, and under the patronage of the Syrian Ministry of Culture, the Directorate of Theaters and Music today held the Buzuq Instrument Forum in Damascus, which will continue for three days, featuring five diverse segments each day.

The musical evening hosted by Al-Kabbani Theater, supervised by journalist and writer Idris Murad, revived the cultural heritage of this instrument that has long been used by a fundamental segment of the Syrian fabric. It wove melodies into the most beautiful musical tableau from the fragrance of the island, the countryside of Aleppo, and the cities of Afrin, Manbij, and Ain al-Arab, in addition to a segment of melodies by the Buzuq master Muhammad Abdul Karim.

The forum opened with a solo performance on the daf by Siyah Abdel Aal and on the tanbur by Akram Nazi, then they merged with traditional melodies that the audience warmly interacted with. This was followed by a segment blending guitar with tanbur by Raman Ahmed and Rusto Ramadan, while the third segment was titled with the performance of the buzuq by Munther Abdul Rahman accompanied by Rami Ibrahim on percussion.

The fourth segment was distinguished by a delicate, flowing, and beautiful female performance on tanbur, percussion, and buzuq by a small group consisting of Mahmoud Khalil, Daria Muhammad, Liva Said Ali, Hills Kendi, and Jilan Suleiman.

The first day concluded with the singing of Suleiman Harfoush (Shu Qoulik) to the melodies of buzuq, cello, keyboard, and percussion by the band: Alan Murad, Karpis Toubalian, Haitham Al-Aflaq, and Ruwad Jaloul.

In a statement to SANA’s correspondent, Murad said: “The Buzuq family consists of very old instruments, the oldest being the tanbur, whose echo still resonates in several areas of Syrian geography for thousands of years. It was played by Kurds, Armenians, and Syrian Syriacs, thus the forum forms a space for these historical instruments to express themselves freely before the audience.”

In a related context, Murad spoke about his efforts over 25 years to preserve the instruments (buzuq, tanbur, and baglama), integrating them into orchestras and film music. They are now taught at the Higher Institute of Music and have occupied a wide space in the cultural musical scene. They also appeared prominently in the experience of the Rahbani brothers and Azar Habib, and modestly among some Egyptian artists.