Words of Peace utilizes 17 singers, chanters and instrumentalists in a music ensemble from Cairo, Egypt. Composed by Riad Abdel-Gawad, Words of Peace cross-pollinates the western oratorio with the eastern wasla and nouba musical traditions into a newly composed 21st-Century work in the World music genre. Through music, song and chant, Words of Peace offers healing, spiritual and practical tools to our present-day existential dilemma along with offering a social critique of racism, corruption, materialism, and the Climate Crisis. To the story of Adam & Eve, to the history of Egypt and to the narrative of Prophet Muhammed’s striving towards peace through the activism of politics, the result – of the 18-track 53 minute album – is a secular and sacred parable about the plight of our planet and its inhabitants through Arabic and Nubian (African) poetry.
The CD-booklet has beautiful cover, booklet and inside-tray art from two female contemporary Arab artists. Arabic transliteration into Latin as well as the Arabic translated into English aids Western listeners to easily follow along the text-meaning of the album. The album has multiple mesmerizing improvisations from the Nubian folk singer, the female solo singer, the Coptic and Islamic chanters, and from the principle Arab solo instruments: kaman, nay, oud, qanun and percussion.