Reem Kelani singing 'Yafa'

Palestinian singer Reem Kelani performs 'Yafa' at Whitby Musicport 2006. Pianist: Zoe Rahman. Filmed by whitby.tv.

Jaffa-born poet, mythologist and translator Mahmoud Salim al-Hout (1917-1998) represents the generation that lived through the nakbah (the 'catastrophe') of the expulsion of the Palestinians from their homeland in 1948.

Al-Hout wrote this after losing all his manuscripts when fleeing Jaffa. As the lyrics suggest, it left him with painful memories.

Yafa!
Jaffa!

Poetry: Mahmoud Salim al-Hout (1917-1998)
Music: Reem Kelani

Yafa! My tears have dried up;
I weep for you with stricken eyes

Will I ever see you?
Will I live long enough?

How are your sister towns?
How are they?

I long for them

As if each were a paradise.

And those we left behind?

Those we left for dead.

I'm weary! I'm weary!

But in my weariness

I only complain to God

And to no one else.

Yafa.

Yafa!

Translation: Reem Kelani & Christopher Somes-Charlton
Poetry consultant: Alan Brownjohn
Literary consultant: Dr. Salma Khadra Jayyusi
© 2005 Reem Kelani

The above notes and translations are taken from the booklet accompanying the CD 'Sprinting Gazelle: Palestinian Songs from the Motherland and the Diaspora'.

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[summud]

Exquisite, tear-ful.

I am an American who has seen what is left of old Jaffa. How the Israelis have used the homes and shops of the dispossessed Palestinians as an "exotic" setting for up-scale shops and restaurants.

How it must hurt a Palestinian to recall the time and place that is no more.

Brava, Ms. Reem!

[Saffouri]

Very moving indeed. We will neve forget our beloved Yafa. And well done for such a fine performance.

[Jugglesama]

@Walleh1977

Rofl. Okay. I don't quite understand how one is to tell a musician how he/she must express his/her interpretation of music and poetry. Plenty of opera singers even monks also sing and chant with the same emotion shown by Ms. Kelani. There is absolutely nothing wrong or deranged about it. Her music is also specific to her and obviously does not represent the entirety of Arab culture. Nonetheless, she does an amazing job.

[Walleh1977]

@Jugglesama

Yes actually, I am a human being. And this is not singing with emotions. This is singing with fake contrived overdone emotions which mis-represents Arabic music to a bunch of Orientalists who know nothing about Arabic culture.

[Jugglesama]

@Walleh1977

Singing with emotion makes you deranged? Are you a human being?

[Josie5100]

-In harmony...all love

[PATRIOTISA]

OH MY GOD...

AMAZING PIANIST...!!!

[Saffouri]

Distinguished Syrian music critic Rashed Issa on Reem Kelani live:

"I was one of many stunned members of the audience who recently attended a concert, by Palestinian singer Reem Kelani at the Syrian Opera House in Damascus. This was not only because we witnessed a style of singing which is so against the current trend, but also because of the richness and multifarious talents in view in one personality."

[Saffouri]

Rashad Abou Shawar on Reem Kelani singing 'Yafa':

Another of Kelanis choices is Yafa! a poem in classical Arabic by Jaffa-born poet and mythologist Mahmoud Salim al-Hout. Kelani sings this poem as a recitation, utilising her broad vocal range in combination with the power of the piano. And she does so in a fashion that is positively heart-wrenching as she wails her way through al-Houts simple yet sublime poetry, protesting against the injustice of expelling Palestinians from their homeland.

[Saffouri]

You might not like the style of Reem Kelani or the quality of her voice, and that is your right. But to call her 'deranged' and 'confusing her self with Saleh Abd el-Hayy' is neither objective nor professional.

Kind regards,

M. Saffouri

[Walleh1977]

She is confusing herself with Saleh Abd el-Hayy. Unfortunately most foreign listeners will fail to detect that this is not normal singing.

[SuzanneHarb]

what makes you say that?