SYDNEY 481 5738 SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA WITH JOSEPH TAWADROS SLAVA GRIGORYAN LIOR ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK BY NIGEL WESTLAKE 1 The Date Seed Parable 5’59 6 As Fire Burns Through Wood 5’21 Joseph Tawadros oud Joseph Tawadros oud, Nigel Westlake keyboards Nigel Westlake keyboards 7 The Tea Ceremony 2’57 2 Minaret In Moonlight 3’04 Joseph Tawadros oud 8 Train Station Wedding 4’58 Joseph Tawadros oud 3 Let The Journey Begin 3’19 9 You Deserve To Be Loved 2’04 4 A Lie Begins In The Soul 1’48 Joseph Tawadros oud 0 This I Know 3’16 5 In Loving Memory 4’09 ! I Want To Be The Son You Deserve 5’34 Slava Grigoryan guitars Joseph Tawadros oud @ The Rocket Will Launch 2’45 £ The Streets Of Basra 1’27 Joseph Tawadros oud, Nigel Westlake keyboards $ Ma Wadani Ahadun – Until The End Of Time 3’37 From Compassion – Symphony of Songs Lior Attar vocals Total Playing Time 50’21 Sydney Symphony Orchestra Nigel Westlake conductor All tracks composed by Nigel Westlake (APRA) except: 5 composed by Nigel Westlake (APRA) and Slava Grigoryan (APRA) $ composed by Nigel Westlake (APRA) and Lior Attar (Mushroom Music) 3 Ali’s Wedding is a film that blends two worlds; that of Iraq, Ali’s father’s homeland which he The tale of Ali’s Wedding traverses a rich and complex emotional territory, shifting effortlessly from fled during Saddam’s dictatorship, and that of modern Australia, where Ali searches for his own moments of tenderness, passion and sorrow to intrigue, humour and deceit. identity within his community and new home, Melbourne. I felt that the score for Ali’s Wedding Even though the film is set in a small mosque in suburban Melbourne, director Jeff Walker suggested should reflect these two worlds. By blending a Middle Eastern sound with a traditional, the story would respond well to the detail, colour and depth of an orchestral score, something that romantic feature film score, I hoped to immerse and invest the audience in Ali’s funny, might reflect the universality of the story and place the narrative into a wider context. sometimes heartbreaking and completely absurd journey. Nigel Westlake took this brief, Although the score is firmly planted in the symphonic language of the ‘romantic comedy’ genre, it also and wrote a beautiful, emotive score. His use of the oud, combined with the full force of the seeks to provide musical context to the deeper and contemplative aspects of the story, particularly Sydney Symphony Orchestra, served to take our film into a cinematic realm to which we all Ali’s insecurities concerning his past, culture and religion, with the use of the oud, a short-neck, aspired. And watching him conduct during the recording sessions was an incredible treat. lute-type stringed instrument with 11 or 13 strings, commonly used in Middle Eastern music, and Nigel is a national treasure, a world-class composer and a truly wonderful person. performed here by Joseph Tawadros. Jeffrey Walker Track 5, ‘In Loving Memory’, is based on a short guitar sequence from the score. Slava Grigoryan Director subsequently collaborated with me to expand the track for this album. The final track, ‘Ma Wadani Ahadun (Until The End Of Time)’, has been adapted from Compassion – Symphony of Songs (2012), a collaboration with singer / songwriter Lior. Lior and I were delighted to see the work integrated into the final sequence of this film and to have the chance to re-record it with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at Trackdown Studios in Sydney. I am indebted to all the musicians for the warmth, detail and finesse they bring to this score. There are so many special people who have played a major role in providing the support and resources to create this soundtrack, and I would like to express my sincere thanks to Jeff Walker (director), Sheila Jayadev & Helen Panckhurst (Matchbox Pictures), Jessica Wells and Clifford Bradley (Jigsaw Music), Lachlan Carrick (Moose Mastering), Nick Taylor (Air Edel), Craig Beckett, Elaine Beckett and Evan McHugh (Trackdown), Slava Grigoryan, Joseph Tawadros, Lior, Tom Heuzenroeder, Joel Westlake, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Toby Chadd (ABC Classics), Maggie Rodford (Air Edel) and Janice Westlake. I would also like to thank Osamah Sami for sharing his extraordinary story, and reminding us of the vicissitudes of life. Nigel Westlake Composer and Conductor 4 5 SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA David Robertson Chief Conductor & Artistic Director Founded in 1932 by the ABC, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra has evolved into one of the world’s finest orchestras as Sydney has become one of the world’s great cities, and is well on its way to becoming the premier orchestra in the Asia Pacific region. Resident at the Sydney Opera House as well as performing throughout Sydney and NSW, the orchestra gives more than a hundred performances each year, and international tours have earned the orchestra a worldwide recognition for artistic excellence. SSO concerts encompass performances of masterpieces from the classical repertoire, music by some of the finest living composers, and collaborations with guest artists from all genres of music and performance. These collaborations reflect the orchestra’s versatility and diverse appeal, and highlights have included concerts with Human Nature, Ben Folds, The Whitlams, Burt Bacharach, Dianne Reeves, George Benson, John Farnham, Sting, Rajaton and Conchita Wurst, as well as violinist Nigel Kennedy and Japanese drumming ensemble Taikoz. In 2016 the SSO developed Witches in collaboration with NIGEL WESTLAKE Working Arts Productions, and other recent highlights have included tribute concerts for David Bowie Nigel’s career, spanning four decades, began as a clarinettist touring Australia and the world with (Nothing Has Changed) and George Michael (Praying for Time). many ensembles. He began composing from 1980, receiving offers to write for radio, theatre, circus, TV and film. His film credits include Paper Planes, Miss Potter, Babe, Children of the Revolution The SSO also celebrates the role of the symphony orchestra in movies, television and video games and the IMAX films Antarctica and Imagine, amongst many others. His television credits include with concerts such as Final Fantasy, Star Trek, The Music of John Williams, Battleship Potemkin, The documentaries, telemovies, news themes and station idents. He writes extensively for the concert Wizard of Oz, Bugs Bunny, Charlie Chaplin’s Gold Rush, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Raiders of the hall, receiving commissions to write for orchestras, ensembles and soloists. Lost Ark, Babe, Danny Elfman’s scores for Tim Burton films, and the Harry Potter films. Nigel has received many awards including 15 APRA and AGSC Award across both classical and screen www.sydneysymphony.com categories, and the Gold Medal for Best Original Music at the New York International Radio Festival. His Missa Solis – Requiem for Eli won the Paul Lowin Orchestral Prize in 2013, the 2011 Limelight Award for Best New Composition and was named Orchestral Work of the Year at the 2012 APRA Art Music Awards. Compassion – Symphony of Songs for voice and orchestra won the ARIA Award for Best Classical Album in 2014. He has conducted all the major symphony orchestras in Australia and holds an honorary doctorate awarded in 2013 by the University of NSW. In 2016 he made his US conducting debut at the Lincoln Center with the New York Philharmonic. He is represented by Maggie Rodford (Air Edel). 6 7 For Ali’s Wedding Soundtrack Album Credits Cast Original Music conducted by Nigel Westlake Ali Osamah Sami Score Production Manager Jan Loquet Westlake Sheikh Mahdi Don Hany Score Recording Engineer Lachlan Carrick Zahra Frances Duca Score Recordist Craig Beckett Moe Green Khaled Khalafalla Score Recording Assistant Rose MacKenzie Peterson Ramona Asal Shenavehzadeh Orchestration Nigel Westlake, Jessica Wells & Clifford Bradley Dianne Helana Sawires Music Preparation Jigsaw Music Luay Shayan Salehian Recording Producers Jessica Wells & Nigel Westlake Ayoob Rahel Romahn Composer Management Maggie Rodford, Air Edel (London) Yomna Maha Wilson Recording Studios Trackdown Scoring Stage (Sydney) Abu Faisal Ghazi Alkinani Air Edel (London) Haj Karim Rodney Afif Moose Mastering (Melbourne) Seyyed Ghaffar Majid Shokor Rimshot Music (Sydney) Mohsen Robert Rabiah Music Mix Facility Moose Mastering (Melbourne) Chris Aljin Abella Scoring Mixer Lachlan Carrick Wazza Ryan Corr Mastering Engineer Lachlan Carrick Judge Cummings Genevieve Picot Additional Music Recording Engineers Nick Taylor (Air Edel) Evan McHugh (Trackdown) Director Jeffrey Walker Tom Heuzenroeder (Sonic Art) Writers Andrew Knight, Osamah Sami Joel Westlake (Rimshot) Producers Sheila Jayadev, Helen Panckhurst Album edited and assembled by Nigel Westlake Associate Producer Osamah Sami Sydney Symphony Orchestra recorded at The Simon Leadley Scoring Stage, Trackdown Studios Executive Producers Tony Ayres, Michael McMahon, Studio Manager Elaine Beckett Ian Kirk, Greg Sitch, Nina Stevenson Cinematographer Don McAlpine ACS, ASC Original Music performed by Sydney Symphony Orchestra Production Designer Paul Heath Managing Director Rory Jeffes Editor Geoffrey Lamb Director of Orchestra Management Aernout Kerbert Costume Designer Anna Borghesi Head of Commercial Programming Mark Sutcliffe Original Music Nigel Westlake Casting Director Allison Meadows, Mullinars Consultants 8 9 For ABC Classics Executive Producer Toby Chadd Publications Editor Natalie Shea Booklet Design Imagecorp Pty Ltd Photography Ben Timony, Natalie van den Dungen (p6) Recorded at the Simon Leadley Scoring Stage, Trackdown Studios on 31 August and 1 and 2 September 2016. Nigel Westlake’s score to Ali’s Wedding is published by Rimshot Music Australia Pty Ltd / N. Westlake (APRA). ABC Classics thanks Nigel Westlake, Sheila Jayadev, Helen Panckhurst, Hamish Lane, Joel Spiteri, James Limon, Natalie Waller, Robert Patterson and Virginia Read. www.abcclassics.com P 2017 Matchbox Productions Pty Ltd. C 2017 Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Universal Music Group, under exclusive licence. Made in Australia. All rights of the owner of copyright reserved.