By Ayman Adly
Staff Reporter

Dr Hassan Rashid speaking to the press yesterday
The Eastern Music Festival will be launched tomorrow night at Souq Waqif “to revive the  classical Arabic songs with their distinguished music”, it was announced yesterday .
The four-day event is organised by the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage at Al-Rayyan Theatre, Souq Waqif, at 7. 30pm daily. It aims at reviving the elite Arabic music heritage through the performance of  top classical Arab singer’s songs by modern voices. Both the event and the accompanying activities are open to the public.
“Through this festival, we want to bring back the beautiful art to the Arab ear. At this age, fast rhythms and silly words have dominated the scene in Arabic music,” said Dr Hassan Rashid, chairman of the organising committee of the festival, yesterday at a press briefing .
He pointed out that HE the Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage, Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kuwari, had given the festival unlimited support.
“This is the first function of its type to be held in Qatar, and we hope to present works full of beauty and creativity. Further, it has become an urgent need to preserve such heritage and give it life through the voices of promising modern singers,” Dr Rashid added.
On the sidelines of the musical nights, there will be four lectures on the issue on Saturday and Sunday from 10am-1pm at Doha Sheraton. The speakers will tackle the effects of Eastern Music on Western Music and vice-versa. There will also be lectures on singing in the Arab world and the different types of musical composition.
Dr Rashid explained that the organising committee had opted for Souq Waqif theatre instead of Qatar National Theatre because of the wider space and more accessibility. Al-Rayyan Theatre accommodates more than 1,500 people, which gives opportunity for a wider audience.
The opening night will feature songs of Umm Kalthum, a famous Egyptian  singer who was highly popular during the 1950s and 1960s and still appreciated as an elite and original voice. A selection of her songs will be performed by singer Amal Maher.
Songs and music of Mohamed Abdulwahab, an acclaimed Egyptian singer and musician who introduced various innovation into the Arabic music through 1950s-1990s, will be performed on the second night. The scheduled singers are the famous Kuwaiti singer Adullah Ruweished and the Egyptian Ghada Ragab.
The third night will feature songs from the Levant of Fairouz and other Syrian and Lebanese singers. The final night will be allocated for Gulf heritage and other regions of the Arab world.
“It is only a beginning, and we hope that we continue the practice in the coming years with more activities and events,” said Rashid.