{"id":156175,"date":"2026-04-20T09:38:59","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T13:38:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/interviews-panm360\/lamia-yared-minho-euphrate-entrevue-interview-album-lancement-launch-concert-montreal\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T08:58:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T12:58:34","slug":"lamia-yared-minho-euphrate-entrevue-interview-album-lancement-launch-concert-montreal","status":"publish","type":"interviews","link":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/en\/interviews-panm360\/lamia-yared-minho-euphrate-entrevue-interview-album-lancement-launch-concert-montreal\/","title":{"rendered":"Lamia Yared: Between the Minho, Euphrates, eras and traditions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From the Minho to the Euphrates, two rivers separated by thousands of kilometres, one in Portugal and the other in present-day Iraq, more than a millennium of intercultural, religious, and artistic weaving contemplates us. This is somewhat the premise of the album From Minho to Euphrates<\/em> by the Lebanese-Canadian singer and oud player Lamia Yared, her third after the two previous, very successful ones: Chants des Trois Cours<\/em> (2019), and Ottoman Lights<\/em>, praised right here. With her Spanish colleague Efr\u00e9n L\u00f3pez and several excellent artists from around the world, she explores a very rich repertoire made up of 4th-century Syriac chants, 12th-century Cantigas de Santa Maria from the court of Alfonso X, the Muwashah\u0101t of Aleppo, as well as a rare 13th-century composition by Safi al-Din al-Urmawi, one of the great theorists of Middle Eastern music. Christianity coexists with Islam with serenity, Muslim maqams dialogue with hymns to the Virgin Mary. I met Lamia Yared to talk about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ THE ALBUM REVIEW<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DETAILS AND TICKETS<\/strong><\/a> for the album launch <\/strong>From Minho to Euphrates<\/em><\/strong>, on April 24, 2026, at the Chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Secours in Old Montreal <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PANM360: Hello Lamia. Tell us about the repertoire of this album. What is it about?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lamia Yared: <\/strong>It is a repertoire that covers approximately 1500 years of the region’s history, ranging from the Iberian Peninsula to Mesopotamia (Iraq). I wanted to create a dialogue between 4th-century Syriac chants, those sung by the first Christians of the East, with mediaeval Christian chants such as the Cantigas de Santa Maria <\/em>and from the Muslim repertoire such as the Muwashahat <\/em>of Aleppo. These traditions have never met, so we were keen to offer choices and bring them all together on the same album. We even go as far as Persian influence because it was strong in Syriac music (the Syrians were invaded by the Persians in the 4th century). We can hear the influence of the maqams. We have gathered a great team, me and the Spanish multi-instrumentalist Efr\u00e9n L\u00f3pez, namely Omran Adrah (qanun), Miriam Encinas Laffitte (viola da gamba), Behnam Masoumi (tombak), and Tammam Ramadan (nay).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PANM360: What are maqams and <\/strong>Muwashah\u0101t<\/em><\/strong>?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lamia Yared:<\/strong> Yes, it’s true that I use a lot of words that are not well-known. The Muwashah\u0101t <\/em>is a complex vocal form that was developed in Syria in the 18th century, both in the rituals of Sufi brotherhoods and in secular singing. The whole region was influenced by the Hellenistic and Syriac heritage. Both in churches and in Sufi brotherhoods, one could hear the same musical spirit. So it’s part of the sound of the region. And this sound from the region, it’s the maqam school. And what is the maqam school? So it’s this music that has a certain microtonality. It’s not something you play on a piano, obviously. We sing these modes so we can perform something for the deceased or something to celebrate life. These are quarter tones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PANM360: Was it difficult to bring these traditions together, to ensure the overall coherence?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lamia Yared:<\/strong> We used microtonality in the Cantigas <\/em>songs to get closer to the rest and to show their proximity on several levels, including the religious level of course. All these traditions, from the 4th century to the 12th century, then up to the Muwashah\u0101t <\/em>later, passing through the music of Safi al-Din al-Urmawi, they were all united in these texts, in these approaches, by microtonality. That’s the link.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PANM360: <\/strong>The Cantigas de Santa Maria <\/em><\/strong>have been played by Jordi Savall, among others. It is an absolute reference from which you had to stand out…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lamia Yared:<\/strong> Yes, and it is through the use of microtonality, at least brought to the forefront more evidently, that we did it. Moreover, I use the voice I use when I sing Arabic music and Syriac chants, not the classical mediaeval technique. So it’s a bit more my personal version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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