One of the contrasting characteristics between Western classical music and Arabic music is the element of harmony. Although it is an integral part of Western sounds in various disciplines, including jazz, it simply does not exist in the Arab sphere.

This contradiction does not bother Saleem Abboud Ashkar at all. The 45-year-old Nazarene-born, Berlin-based conductor-pianist happily lives and creates in both worlds, and also does his part to introduce others to the beauty, joys and emotional splendor that East and West music have to offer.

Much of this is facilitated by the Nazareth-based Polyphony Project, which brings together young Israeli and Palestinian instrumentalists from both sides of this cultural divide. It also provides the conceptual backdrop for Ashkar’s upcoming appearance on the last day of the Abu Ghosh Festival, which is currently taking place at the Yitzhak Rabin Center in Tel Aviv through September 26. The usual venue for the festival in Abu Ghosh, Kiryat Ye’arim Church, is undergoing renovations.

Typically, the day’s program covers various areas of musical activity and begins at 2:30 p.m. as the Galileo Eldrawish Music Ensemble takes the audience on a sort of mysterious and magical tour of Sufi music. The concert features an instrumental quartet, alongside singer Sheikh Mwafak Shahen, while dancer Khaled Abu Ali will undoubtedly engage in all kinds of twirls.

Ashkar’s writing skills will be on display at 5:30 p.m., in the Nostalgia and Memories – Music with a French Scent concert. The slot machine is described as a “concert with a European twentieth century atmosphere: French songs and Arabic poetry composed by pianist Saleem Abboud Ashkar, in tune with the times”, with songs in French, Arabic and Hebrew. Soprano Nour Darwish will be in the foreground, supported by a string quartet of Arab and Jewish members of the Galileo Chamber Orchestra, as they weave their way through a diverse repertoire of works by Debussy, Fauré, the late Romantic composer Henri Duparc, Ravel and Scriabin, as well as the fourth movement of Schubert’s Trout Quintet.

The concert ends with Kurt Weill’s 1934 number Youkali and the world premiere of Songs by Ashkar for soprano and string quartet in five parts, with Nabeel Haik on piano.

The festival will come off with a bang, when Ashkar leads the Galilee Chamber Orchestra and its 36 Jewish and Arab members, which operates under the aegis of Polyphony. Before leaving for the United States, where they are to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York, the ensemble will perform a powerful program with the richly moving “Stabat Mater” by Pergolesi, followed by the sumptuous serenade for strings by Edward Elgar. .

To say that Ashkar is happy to conduct the work of Italian Baroque composer, violinist and organist Giovanni Battista Pergolesi would be a grave sin. “His ‘Stabat Mater’ is one of the most beautiful musical pieces humanity has ever brought into existence,” he says. “It’s so exciting to be able to play her at the festival.”

For Ashkar, the thrill factor is not only a derivative of what he will present to festival-goers, but also of the company he will keep on stage. “It’s going to be amazing to play ‘Stabat Mater’ with this group of people. The Galilee Chamber Orchestra is amazing, and I chose two fantastic singers for the performance – [soprano] Tali Ketzef and [mezzo-soprano] Rachel Frenkel. It is a great joy to work with them.

However, there is a slight downside to the procedures. “It would have been moving to do it in Jerusalem, but it will be wonderful to do it in Tel Aviv. The first was a bit of a geographic misstep. Actually, Ashkar was referring to Abu Ghosh, the home of the festival for 64 years but, I think we can forgive him, after all it is on the way to Jerusalem from the west.

Ashkar is also pleased with the range of styles, genres and cultural baggage contained in the festival’s outcome. He says it works across the board. “That’s what polyphony, in essence, is also about – no dividing lines. Anything that is beautiful and lifts us to a higher level is fine with me, ”he observes. “There are enough things these days that are pulling us down.”

It is a welcome aspiration, from which we could all benefit. But, in the end, Ashkar believes that if he and his cohorts don’t do their jobs to the best of their ability, the lofty ideals that could be sewn into the seams of the project won’t be worth too much.

“I always say the message [of unity] is important until the first note of a concert is played, and becomes important again as soon as the performance ends. But, during the concert, there is only one thing: the music. And we must strive to convey the music to the highest possible level. “

Even so, there are logistics and machinations inherent in the Polyphony business that pose challenges that, perhaps, other musical bodies do not have to face.

“It’s not easy,” Ashkar says. “You choose the people you work with based on two goals. First, you want to work with the best musicians you can find. On the other hand, you still want to create, within this system which is at the highest level, the fusion of forces and the projection of vision.

This, of course, refers to achieving interpersonal harmony between people of different ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds. “You also want to educate a generation of musicians from Nazareth and Israel, in terms of accepting that it’s really possible,” Ashkar observes. “It’s not just a gadget [of Arabs and Jews making music together]. It’s a challenge.

This may be a difficult question but, as members of the Rabin Center audience will see, the fruits of Polyphony’s labor are here to be picked. This, according to Ashkar, is an even more important and valuable goal, given the circumstances humanity finds itself in today.

“What we have always taken for granted has been taken away from us,” he says, noting the social and personal fallout from COVID-19. “There is an important lesson to be learned here. It is a very painful situation. “

Ashkar says official virus guidelines have left their mark on his co-professionals. “A lot of musicians have played the same works over and over again on all kinds of digital platforms. It has become more of a business than an art. But I think we need to think about what it means to go back on stage and play live. We need to think about what it means to be there [on the stage] and communicate with people in an immersive way.

The chief pianist hopes his fellow artists will take a step back and consider the deeper importance of capturing the beauty of music.

“We musicians used to fly somewhere, check in at a hotel, do a rehearsal or two, and a scale, then a gig, then move on to the next stop. We need to re-evaluate what it means to play music for a live audience, and not through the computer. I hope this will lead us all to a better place.

Time, of course, will be the judge of this noble goal. For now, Abu Ghosh devotees can settle into their cushioned seats at the Rabin Center to enjoy a concert of lavish sounds, no doubt, infused with new post-pandemic intent.

For tickets and more information: https://agfestival.co.il/