YOUSEF SHAMOUN

Tarab Music

TARAB NEWS:  

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Listen to Yousef's New Tarab Medley 
اه ياحلو - يكون بعلمك - عمي يا بياع الورد 

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Yousef released a Cover song in Syriac Language. Click here to listen to it

Listen to Yousef new song.  
Hatitek Bel Roh -  حطيتك بالروح

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- February 14th Performing in Los Angeles 

- February 15th Performing in San Francisco 

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-Our concert was just picked by ABC 7 NY, as one of 4 live music events you can't miss in NYC. Read more.

- We had the privilege to perform at the Rubin Museum of Art in NY.

My Dream Speaks was organized by the GLP, Global Language project. watch video

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- A Night of music from Aleppo by Yousef Shamoun & the Tarab Ensemble - Columbia Spectator, By Madeleine Leddy 

-We were honored to perform at Harvard University on Friday night! The concert was a benefit concert for Syrian refugees organized by The Harvard Society of Arab Students. it was an amazing night! A special thanks to Harvard Society of Arab Students.  Check out concert's photos 

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view latest videos & photos

ABOUT US

Yousef Shamoun was born in Aleppo, Syria. Aleppo is home to a strong tradition of composing and singing the Muwashshahat and the Qudud Halabiya. It is also known for its Tarab, a musical style which means “enchantment.” Yousef belongs to the school of great Aleppian singers such as Sabah Fakhri,Mohamad Khairy, Bakry Kurdi, and Omar Al-Batsh. 

He was also inspired by the Syriac tradition of religious chanting.

Yousef is known for both his mastery of the mawwal (non-metric vocal improvisation) and for his powerful rendition of the Arabic Maqam. Youssef is passionate about both preserving the classical tradition of Muwashshahat while also experimenting and innovating with their style and structures. As an active member of the Syrian-American community, Youssef has performed in several events and countries throughout the US, as well as Canada, Europe and the Middle East.

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​Tarab Ensemble is a project that Yousef & Saphe started to celebrate Tarab and to celebrate Muwashshahat and Kudud Halabia. The Tarab Ensemble mainly performs Arabic Maqam and specializes in the Aleppian repertoire (Muwashshahat and Qudud Halabiya). Tarab is a genre of Arabic music that our project seeks to shed light on. Tarab, often translated as musical enchantment, rapture or ecstasy— is a genre of Arabic music that refers to a state of musical and emotional enchantment experienced by its listeners. Often considered to be the epitome of songs in the Arab world—especially in the Levant—the Muwashshahat are strophic poems set to music. Of Andalusian inspiration, they treat the themes of love, longing and spirituality. They continue to be cherished and even composed by Syrians at home and abroad. The Qudud Halabiya are lighter songs in both standard and colloquial Arabic that are well-known around the Arab world today.  The Ensemble has been performing a series of nights of Tarab at several venues including Columbia University, Princeton University, Harvard University, Rubin Museum of Art which was organized by My Dream Speaks, (le) Poisson Rouge in New York, as well as at the Turaath Night organized by the Arab-Anti-Discrimination Committee Gala in Washington D.C., among other venues and events. Those concerts carried an important musical, cultural and social message.  

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CONTACT

Want to learn more about Tarab Music  Ensemble, their music, and their tour dates? Don’t hesitate to get in touch.