Ghassan Rahbani: We were brought up on love of Syria when we were young

In honor of the great career of musician Elias Rahbani, filled with thousands of musical works that enriched the Arab library, the General Authority of Dar Al-Assad for Culture and Arts and the Ministry of Tourism are holding an evening entitled “Once Upon a Time, It Just Happened” with the participation of musician Ghassan Rahbani and the Orpheus Orchestra on the stage of the Dar Al-Assad Opera Theater.

The works of Elias Rahbani accompanied the most beautiful songs that Fayrouz uttered. As for the story of Elias with Syria, it came from his tongue on one of the Damascene evenings, when he said: “I have never heard or read the story of a people who love a family and a family that loves a people,” in reference to the exceptional relationship that brought the Rahbanis together with the Syrian people. Ghassan Rahbani stated: “Our relationship with Syria and its people bagan when we were young.
Ghassan pointed out that his brother Elias Rahbani enriched Arabic music with the most important works, and it became a great legacy that was built step by step.

Ghassan stressed the importance of correcting the information about Elias Rahbani, as he was not only a musician, but also a poet and writer of a word in addition to music, and in his credit there are approximately 6,500 performers between melodies, songs, and musical compositions, including 3,000 advertisements and 3,500 songs, indicating that 95 percent of Elias Rahbani’s musical achievement is from his words.

Ghassan pointed out that this legacy, which was built with steady steps, was experienced by the children when they were young, and they implemented the saying of the three Rahban brothers “Assi, Mansour and Elias”, which confirms that their achievements did not rely on talent only, but rather by polishing it with knowledge. He emphasized that Elias Rahbani, during his artistic career, charted a new path in the Arab East, as he was the first to introduce silent music that was not imported from Europe.

NR