Requiem for Orchestra

The Suite symphonique, Op. 29, 'La nuit et le fou' (Night and the Fool) was written in Paris in 1982. Like the Image symphonique, 'La nuit et le fou' was inspired by a poem of Khalil Gibran. The two movements are strongly unified by the use of related thematic material. Remarkable in it's concision, the opening Lento soon exploits the impressionistic touches of the woodwind, a lyrical clarinet theme, a frenzied rhythmic idea, evoking, in a way, Messiaen, and later a solemn brass chorale. The Misterioso starts atonally. Here the clarinet theme from the first movement permeates the whole piece in various guises. The tense atmosphere is barely illuminated towards the end by a long phrase from the upper strings, which marks, through it's diatonic character, a serener contrast. The end of the work is starker in character. The Poème symphonique No. 1, Op. 14, composed in Beirut in July 1980, with the subtitle Le Liban en flammes (Lebanon in Flames), is inspired by a poem by El-Khoury, written in the middle of the war, in 1976. It is the first panel of the triptych devoted to the dramatic events of the war in Lebanon. * The work reflects the composer's feelings of suffering as an individual facing the human folly that war and destruction brings. Centred on the tonality of C minor, the traditional key of dramatic expression, it unfolds in free form, in paragraphs broadly developed, and exhibits contrasted feelings stamped with sadness, revolt, melancholy and tenderness. The work makes use of themes decorated with melismas in oriental style and dance rhythms that are as it were evocations in the present of a past that has gone for ever. The Poème for Orchestra, Op. 2, with the subtitle Le Regard du Christ, composed in Paris in 1979, at the age of 22 and dedicated to his parents, is the earliest orchestral work kept by the composer as part of his official catalogue of compositions. In this work El- Khoury wants to translate something of the mystical inspiration suggested by the look of Christ over life here below. Written in the dark tonality of B minor, this score already shows the characteristics of later works, glittering orchestration, and free form based on expressively contrasting episodes.

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