My review of Syrian Prayers: Sacred Music from Bilad Al Sham was just published by RootsWorld.
You can read it here. Here's a sample from the review:
Erik Hillestad of the Norwegian record label KKV, in an attempt to
highlight the diversity of religious faiths in the Arab world, traveled
to Lebanon and made a series of recordings of Christian and Muslim
vocalists, including Syrian and Iraqi refugees now living in Lebanon, as
well as Lebanese nationals. The singers represent a broad range of
religious traditions, all with deep roots in this region, known in
Arabic as Bilad al-Sham (in English, the Levant, encompassing Palestine,
Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan). On this recording, we hear a sampling
of just a few of the many Christian churches in the region: Armenian
Apostolic (Orthodox), Maronite, Syriac Orthodox, Greek Orthodox,
Chaldean Catholic, and the Assyrian Church of the East. We also hear
from Muslim vocalists representing the two main branches of Islam, Sunni
and Shi'ite. A hear a range of languages as well: Arabic, Armenian,
varieties of Eastern Aramaic (Syriac, Assyrian, Chaldean), and Greek.
And please watch Hillestad's documentary about the project.
