Jabal Ram

Oriental Rhapsody for Recorder Orchestra

Score and 15 Parts

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In October 2012 I traveled two and a half weeks through Jordan with my kids. The highlight of our trip was a visit to the desert Wadi Rum, known for Lawrence of Arabia, who organized the Arab rebellion against the Ottoman Empire from here during the First World War. The film Lawrence of Arabia was shot here, as well as scenes for Dune, The Martian, Transformers, Prometheus, Red Planet, and Star Wars - and this for a reason. Wadi Rum is a magical place: no people, streets, or buildings, and (nearly) devoid of animals or plants. Jabal Ram is the highest mountain in Wadi Rum. The piece begins with a recorder player, sitting alone on the mountaintop, thinking melancholy thoughts while the sun goes down. After that, the Jinn, those legendary Arabian ghost creatures, begin to appear. They approach the mountain, flying around it, chasing one another and celebrating a wild Arabian Walpurgis Night.

I would like to thank Simon Borutzki for commissioning the piece, for his many suggestions of improvement, and for his brilliant conducting, and also the Berliner Blockflötenorchester (BBO) for the fantastic performances and the recording of the piece for their CD Alla Turca (klanglogo 1527). In 2017 the BBO won a prize at the ORDA competition Amsterdam with their performance of Jabal Ram.
I am always delighted to receive recordings and comments: mail@soerensieg.de.

Hamburg, June 2019