Marcel Khalife
مارسيل خليفة
Musician
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Lebanon
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Beirut,
Lebanon
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An oud virtuoso and composer often called the “Bob Dylan of the Middle East” for music built directly from political conviction.
Marcel Khalife built his reputation as both a virtuoso oud player and a composer willing to set the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish and other politically charged Arabic poets to music, at times drawing censorship for lyrics authorities considered inflammatory.
His work treats the oud not as a folkloric instrument but as a vehicle for serious contemporary composition, blending classical Arabic music with orchestral arrangement. He remains one of the most respected composers in the modern Arab musical canon.
Languages
Arabic
Representation
Independent