#4616, Maya Youssef, from London

Hear works from Syrian musician Maya Youssef’s second studio album, Finding Home. Throughout these pieces you will hear Youssef playing the qanun, a 78-stringed plucked zither.

Recently, John Schaefer caught up with Youssef at her home in London. She demonstrates traditional Arabic modes and the importance of ornamentation, and they discuss the gendered associations around the qanun. Plus, listen to a special performance of "Lullaby A Promise of a Rainbow," from the new album, recorded live in her home.

There’s also music by Amir ElSaffar, a trumpeter, santur player, vocalist, and composer of Iraqi-American heritage. He and his 17-piece orchestra, Rivers of Sound, perform a piece from their album Not Two, which incorporates elements of jazz, maqam modal music, and other musical traditions. – Laura Boyman

Program #4616, with Maya Youssef, from London

ARTIST: Maya Youssef
WORK: An Invitation to Daydream [6:03]
RECORDING: Finding Home
SOURCE/INFO: https://mayayoussef.lnk.to/FindingHome

ARTIST: Maya Youssef
WORK: My Homeland [4:07]
RECORDING: Finding Home
SOURCE/INFO: https://mayayoussef.lnk.to/FindingHome

ARTIST: Maya Youssef
WORK: Jasmine Bayati: To An Earth Angel [4:53]
RECORDING: Finding Home
SOURCE/INFO: https://mayayoussef.lnk.to/FindingHome

ARTIST: Maya Youssef
WORK: Walk With Me [4:12]
RECORDING: Finding Home
SOURCE/INFO: https://mayayoussef.lnk.to/FindingHome

ARTIST: Maya Youssef
WORK: Lullaby A Promise of a Rainbow [2:18]
RECORDING: Private recording
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available, but the tune appears on Finding Home 
INFO: mayayoussef.lnk.to/FindingHome | mayayoussef.com

ARTIST: Amir ElSaffar and Rivers of Sound
WORK: Jourjina Over Three [7:13]
RECORDING: Not Two
SOURCE: New Amsterdam Records
INFO: Bandcamp

ARTIST: Amir ElSaffar and Rivers of Sound
WORK: Reaching Upward [1:01]
RECORDING: Rivers of Sound: The Other Shore
SOURCE: Outnote Records
INFO: amirelsaffartworivers.bandcamp.com