Phillips Collection: Karim Sulayman & Sean Shibe
In person: $45 ($25 member)
Stream: $15 ($10 member)
- Karim Sulayman, tenor
- Sean Shibe, guitar
John Dowland — Praeludium in G
John Dowland — A Fancy, P. 6
John Dowland — Time stands still
Giulio Caccini — Dalla porta d'oriente
Claudio Monteverdi — Sì dolce è'l tormento, SV 332
Claudio Monteverdi — La mia turca che d'amor, SV 310
Traditional — La prima vez (Sephardic)
Anonymous — Lamma bada yatathanna (Arab-Andalusian muwashshah)
Sayed Darwish — El helwa di
Fairuz — Li Beirut
Jonathan Harvey — Sufi Dance
Layale Chaker — A Butterfly in New York
Toru Takemitsu — In the woods ("I. Wainscot Pond")
Benjamin Britten — Songs from the Chinese, Op. 58
Two versatile artists renowned for their conceptual programming and innovative approach to the concert repertoire, tenor Karim Sulayman returns to the Phillips with guitarist Sean Shibe, who makes his Phillips debut. Probing their own identities as Lebanese-American (Sulayman) and British-Japanese (Shibe) musicians, they present an intricately woven suite of music full of dynamic conversations between Eastern and Western traditions.
The program brings together English and Italian works from the 16th and 17th Centuries; soul-stirring melodies from Sephardic and Arab-Andalusian songs; Benjamin Britten's settings of translated poems, Songs from the Chinese; music by Tōru Takemitsu; and a recent commission by Lebanese composer Layale Chaker.
This event will be broadcast live from the Music Room on Sunday, November 19 at 4pm Eastern. All registered ticket holders will receive a link directing them to a livestream webpage where the performance can be accessed. Ticket holders will be able to watch this performance "On Demand" for 48 hours following the broadcast time.
About Karim Sulayman, tenor
Lebanese-American tenor Karim Sulayman, a 2019 Grammy Award winner for Best Classical Solo Vocal, is a sophisticated and versatile artist consistently praised for his sensitive and intelligent musicianship, riveting stage presence, and beautiful voice. Sulayman earns acclaim for his thought-provoking programming and recording projects, and maintains a busy career on the world's opera and concert stages, in programs that range from often-heard classical favorites to new work, to audacious commissions and curatorial projects. In 2022, he debuted the widely acclaimed Unholy Wars, a program that recontextualizes Italian Renaissance music about the Crusades through an Arab-American lens, paired with a new work by American composer Mary Kouyoumdjian.
https://www.karimsulayman.com/About Sean Shibe, guitar
One of the most versatile guitarists performing today, Scottish guitarist Sean Shibe's innovative approach to his instrument has enhanced his reputation for being "the most interesting voice on the guitar for a generation." (Gramophone) A great admirer of the masterful composers of the past, Shibe is equally committed to new music. Alongside his transcriptions of Bach's lute suites and 17th-century Scottish lute manuscripts, he continues to explore, experiment, and expand the repertoire for his instrument with recent works and new commissions, including a solo work by Thomas Adès and collaboration with Cassandra Miller and Dunedin Consort.
https://seanshibe.com/