The Crossing, Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture, and Navona Records present Words Adorned. Conducted by Donald Nally, with Takht musical direction by Hanna Khoury, the combined forces interpret lush scores from Kinan Abou-afach and Kareem Roustom; the music is at times driven and passionate, at others mystical and lyrical, responding to ancient Andalusian poetry in the Muwashshah tradition. The takht – masterfully handling the oud, qanun, violin, cello, and percussion – guides the kaleidoscopic sounds and colors in these poems of love, revelry, and war, with additional solo work by Dalal Abu Amneh.

Words Adorned was made and originally released as part of an Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture multimedia project inspired by Andalusian poetry, with a series of events and newly commissioned works bridging the traditions of East & West. This re-release on Navona Records is produced by Jonathan Bradley, Donald Nally, and Kevin Vondrak. Major support for Words Adorned has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, with additional support from the Arab Fund for Arts & Culture and the William Penn Foundation.

The Al-Bustan team who has developed this project includes Founder/Executive Director Hazami Sayed, Music Director Hanna Khoury, Project Manager Ahmad Almallah, Marketing Director Morgan Gengo, Publicist Cindy Byram, Digital Designer Ayman Alalao, and Program Assistant Eman Haj. Ashley Choukeir and Hanane Kai created the graphic identity and designs, Dave Tavani created the series of videos documenting the process, Jasmine Erdener created the podcasts, and Joe Hannigan provided sound and audio recordings.

Recorded December 4, 2015 at Goodhart Hall, Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr PA
Live Sound Assistant, Jonathan Orose
Recording Assistant, James Clark Conner
Recorded, Mixed, Edited & Mastered by Joe Hannigan at Weston Sound

Al-Bustan Takht Ensemble

Hanna Khoury, violin and music director
Wassim Odeh, oud
Hicham Chami, qanun
Kinan Abou-Afach, cello
Hafez Kotain, percussion