Perth Festival: The Ayoub Sisters
Perth Concert Hall, 23/05/26
The Ayoub Sisters (Laura & Sarah Ayoub, violin & cello), Giulio Romano Malaisi (guitar), Giovanni Velez (drums)
The balmy night of 23rd May, almost exactly 3 years after their Perth Festival of the Arts debut, saw Perth Concert Hall welcome the return of Scottish/Egyptian classical/crossover duo, Laura and Sarah Ayoub. In 2023, they had played the second (longer) half of a concert, after a first half from the The Lark Piano Trio. This time, the multi-instrumental multi-genre players, composers and arrangers played the full show, Laura and Sarah sticking with their main instruments, violin and cello, respectively. Previously, foot-operated digital samplers (loop stations) permitted multiple rhythm and backing instrumental tracks to be laid down and looped during performance, the rhythm ingeniously derived from tapping the belly of the cello. This time, they were joined by two fabulously talented Italian session musicians, guitarist Giulio Romano Malaisi and drummer Giovanni Velez, a contribution that blurred any boundary between arrangement and improvisation. Classical, pop, folk, Arabic (and fusion of all these elements) tracks from the 2023 concert and the 2022 album ‘Arabesque’ were reprised and, whilst there was nothing wrong with the originals, these were undeniably “next level” as a quartet. Attendance was not full, but satisfactory.
Before being joined by the guys the sisters played three pieces. A stylish set of reels seemed to bow to the Scottish part of their heritage, but was more eclectically inclusive, with an Irish reel, Copland’s refashioning of a Scottish reel from the ‘Hoe-down’ of his ‘Rodeo’ ballet, and the klezmer reel ‘Onga Bucuresti’. Already fast and vigorous, it accelerated at the end. Fabulous. After the first item, the sisters took turns to genially introduce the remaining programme items. Their spectacularly virtuosic duo arrangement of Monti’s ‘Czardas’ was reprised from three years ago. The melodies were shared equally, with the cello often very high in its register, with flawless intonation and sweetness of tone. Cheeky teasing rubato pointed the drama to perfection, while the faster bits sported flawless articulation at breakneck speed. Original ornamentation added improvisatory flair. Mind-blowing stuff, prompting wild applause from the Perth audience. An ingenious duo arrangement of the ‘Presto’ finale of Vivaldi’s concerto ‘Summer’ from ‘The Four Seasons’ merited and was awarded the same reception.
The first quartet item was the Egyptian folk song ‘El Helwa Di’ (meaning “this sweet one here”, “this pretty lassie”), which Sarah said always evokes the smell of freshly baked bread for her. Drums set up a Middle-Eastern rhythm, guitar entered, followed by the sisters in a beguiling melody. Lazim helwa wa taybeen. ‘The Scottish Egyptian’, which followed, was a piece of Scottish/Arabic fusion, a slow Glaswegian jig picking up some quarter-tones and morphing into a faster Arabic dance in 4, violin and cello in a chamber conversation. The next piece was quite extraordinary. ‘Lamma Bada Yatathanna’ (“When my love starts to move with a swaying gait” – giving the lie to the notion that music appreciative of the female form in motion originated in the 20th century) is a 14th century poem from Moorish Spain, with a 10/8 melody almost certainly as ancient. The lyrical playing from violin and cello was beguiling enough, but Giulio’s guitar playing in Andalusian style, emulating the oud, was superb.
The next piece performed, the first they wrote together, dates from 10 years ago and was the first they filmed to make a promotional video. The ideal location, a Moroccan cafe off Oxford Street in London, was too expensive to hire, but they managed to blag an hour before opening time. The nearest tube station was far enough away that, when the skies opened with torrential rain as they emerged from the station, they were thoroughly drenched by the time they arrived. They still managed to make the film but must have looked a fright. This much I glean from my notes written in the dimmed light of the auditorium and vague recollection. The fact that this story differs sufficiently from the one that introduced their track ‘Storm’ three years ago makes me doubt that that was what we heard. The first half of the concert concluded with a number incorporating two Arabic melodies by an ‘old’ (they said 65, that’s not old!) respected songwriter, but I did not catch the name and my attempt at jotting down the titles in the dark has defeated Google in the light of day. Suffice it to say: thoroughly excellent, with a phenomenal drumming interlude in the middle.
The song 'Fatma' by Egyptian composer and drummer Omar Khairat (he’s 77 – was that who they meant earlier?) opened the second half. An idiomatic drum rhythm was joined by rhythmic guitar, the dancelike melody on violin and cello in conversation, then in harmony. A slower central section was reminiscent of the main theme of the slow movement of Rodrigo’s ‘Concierto de Aranjuez’. Based on a poem by Lebanese philosopher/poet Khalil Gibran with a haunting melody by Najib Hankash, ‘Aatini Al Naya Wa Ghanni’ (Give me the flute and sing) was described as “perfect for a wistful Beirut scene in a Bond movie where Bond and latest love interest must say their goodbyes”. Totally agree, though, having spent over 13 years of my youth working for a Lebanese-owned international school, just over 4 in Wiltshire and the balance in Abu Dhabi, my mental image is of tearful homesick Lebanese colleagues crying into their arak while listening to cassettes of the Lebanese diva Fairuz. Brushes on the drums sustained the illusion. A delicious highlight for me. The sisters’ arrangement of ‘Misirlou’ from the film ‘Pulp Fiction’ followed, in a new version with an Andalusian guitar intro and melodic support. Very atmospheric.
Two prayers, one Coptic and one Muslim, featured in the next number, at first separately and then together, each emerging as a perfect countermelody to the other – very lovely. ‘Madad’ (succour) is the Islamic prayer; ‘Agios’ (holy or Saint in Greek) is an extract from the Coptic Orthodox liturgy. A similar message to the inclusion of the Muslim call to prayer and the chanting of a Koranic school in Fanshawe’s ‘African Sanctus’. In a flashback to the COVID lockdown, when the spirit of mutual tolerance of even the closest families was fraying, the “Hymn to Isis” was inspired by watching spectacular but eerie TV coverage of the Egyptian event of 2021, the ‘Royal Mummies Parade’, when ancient pharaonic mummies were ceremonially transported to a new museum. Laura found herself musing, years later, over how the mummies, who had obviously not been consulted about the move, would have reacted if they had woken up in transit. The conclusion was high dudgeon and visiting retribution as per the ‘Curse of the Mummy’. The stuff of horror movies and their scores. Very enjoyable. Finally, the evening concluded with ‘Abdul Kader / Sidi Mansour’, two North African songs in praise of two historic sufi saints of the Maghreb, returning us to the sound world of 3 years ago, with the loop station pressed back into service, but with the additional blandishments of the piece I couldn’t identify before the interval, notably another high octane drumming interlude. Fabulous.
Last year I wrote: “The Ayoub Sisters are engaging, charming and skilful performers, draw on an apparently inexhaustible vein of cultural and artistic variety, are possessed of astounding technical ability, but, above all, display surpassing and radiant musicianship. Perth has taken them to its heart”. That bears repeating. But I can add that the quartet as a performing unit adds a whole new dimension to their performing armoury. It was surprising, then, to hear that Giovanni is not their usual drummer and is new to this genre. He has taken to it as a duck to water. I am not, nor have I ever been, an awarder of stars. But if I were, it would be 5.