J. S. Bach; G. F. Handel; A. Vivaldi; J. P. Lully; R. Schumann; J. Brahms; F. Mendelssohn; M. Ravel; Isaac Albeniz; M. De Falla; J. Rodrigo; W. A. Mozart's concertos and Requiem; L. V. Beethoven's symphonies, concertos and sonatas; F. Chopin's Nocturnes and valses; H. Purcell's Choral Works; Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire; Douglas Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe; Ciro Scotto’s Songs of a Geisha; English lute songs; Accordion Musette, Tango, Paso Doble and Valse: Piazzolla, Schwenk, Ugarte, Diaz, Horner, Larcange, Pruvot, Aimable... etc. Singers: Enrico Caruso, Geraldine Farrar, Feodor Chaliapin, Kirsten Flagstad, Lauritz Melchior, Birgit Nilsson, Renata Scotto, Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne, Franco Corelli, Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo, Maria Callas, Carlo Bergonzi, Barbara Hendricks, Mario Lanza, Christine Moore, Fayrouz and many others.
The CUMPARSITA Dedicated to Nabeel Issa by Maha
(Translated from Arabic by Nabeel Issa)
I love the way you interpret the Cumparsita
With your whole fingers
And guide me so carefully
To follow
My feet, my legs
My entire being
Celebrating your exact trajectory and timing
A deeply felt underlying pulse
Anchoring swift precise accents
Gorgeous flowing sweeps
Stunning pauses
I love the way you hold me close sometimes
So delicious
I want to be pressed here forever
Like a flower
And ah
The poems we write with our feet
Others may like dancing with you
But I
Worship
The ground you walk on.
Dear Nabeel, I often come to your space to listen to your brilliant performance of the Turkish March. This Rondo alla turca of Mozart that only an accomplished pianist or a philharmonic orchestra can make both harmonious and full of life, is simply made so by your ten fingers that sound like twenty. Your ten fingers are in fact ten professional musicians working together at one time reflecting your own dynamism on your vivid performance. Bravo Nabeel and thanks for sharing your successful achievements with your friends.
Ludwig Haslinger, orchestra conductor; Austria.
Your according of "La Paloma" is charming, lovely, and romantic; "Turkish March" wonderfully lively, and "La Comparsita" passion made patient.
Richard of Eire, philosopher-poet-artist-publisher; Ireland.
Wonderful playing--Vibrant and beautiful! All I can say is "More!"
Best wishes,
Mary Rai, composer; USA.
Beautiful Nabeel! I can only describe your accordion performance as vivid and stunning. You are an exceptional, romantic accordionist filled with passion for life, love and beauty.
Kisses
Maria Kazentzakis, soprano; Greece.
Music is love in search of a word. (Sidney Lanier)
May I add that you are the purest of love making music that brings to people love and happiness throughout this world. What a wonderful gift you are to so many. To share your gifts so lovingly is so incredible. Thank you for all that you do and all of the love that you share each and every day of your life.
Hummingbird, poet; USA.
Hello Nabeel Issa!
Thank you very much for sharing you fantastic accordion playing with the world...
Ana Garcia-Agundez, guitarist, composer and singer; Spain.
Let me congratulate you, Nabeel, on your very special performance of La Cumparsita, which is known to have the peculiar condition of recreating itself permanently, in a kind of symbiosis, according to the musical personality of its eventual interpreter. I admire the attractive musical effects you use ably. Your ten fingers form an orchestra, and you lead your tango orchestra according to your own arrangement and personal rendition of the celebrated tango.
Ludwig Haslinger, Orchestra Conductor; Austria.
I was brought up in a family where the children are to prove to be exemplary in every way. My mother was a teacher in the High School of the American Mission, where I received my first education. From the start I showed an interest in music, philosophy and poetry and soon started taking music lessons with Qassem Qossra, conductor of the military band in Lattakia. Religion had a place in the family. My father was an elder, also a member of the Confessional Evangelical Court. While my parents had great dreams for me, neither they nor I had an idea of what that meant. But the atmosphere was charged with high expectations. In a contest, I was given the title of the first accordionist in Lattakia. So, I began training myself early in the use of abilities and skills that would win approval in the adult world. As a first grader, I loved to get up and recite the ditties and poems I had memorized. I was really good at that. My teachers adored me because I was a good, well-behaved, bright little boy.
CHRONOLOGICAL DATES:
1957, First performance as an accordionist on the stage of the American School, Lattakia.
1961, Won the best accordionist award in the presence of Gamal Abdul Nasser, president of the formerly United Arab Republic.
1973, Degree in Business Administration, the University of Damascus.
1983, Sworn Translator, the Syrian Ministry of Justice.
1987, Participated in creating the choir of the Evangelical Church in Lattakia.
1988, Member of the Confessional Evangelical Court in Lattakia.
1993, Master degree in European Languages, Theory and Practice of Translation, Tudor College, also completed the doctoral work "A Modern Conception of Metaphysical Issues" and received a doctorate degree in Metaphysics.
My translations include a variety of famous works such as Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible; W. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine; Maimonides, the Commandments; Dr. W. Wasserman, The Law of Moses according to Maimonides and the Mishnah; Dr. R. Farah, The Integration of Spiritual Values and Education; K. Arthur, The Call to Follow Jesus; Dr. M. Al-Dick, The Descent of Isa to Earth; Prof. Dr. Werner Gitt, Stars and Their Purposes: Signs in Space; B. Samaha, The Doctrine of Convergence; Dr. W. Wasserman, Predestination; L. Sabato, Spanish Dances etc.
I believe in the power of prayer to change, to transform, to heal and to save and I have experienced this power through a miraculous healing (read my testimony on my other page). I'd like to meet people of every walk of life. I love all God's creatures. I understand love as simple, plain and easy to give though it is the most precious and powerful thing in life. Love, to me, is like a music that gives our life rhythm and sounds that make us more blooming and beautiful inside and out. Love is a fire that begets a vehement heat in the soul, and consumes the dross and chaff that are in it, melts it down like wax into a new form, and carries it upwards as the sparks towards God and heaven.
"Treat everyone you meet as if he or she were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness, and understanding you can muster, and do so with no thought of reward. Your life will never be the same."
Okay, birthday boy, I believe you rapped up the max on birthday greetings! You must know how much you are loved by so many! Hope it was a great day for you and your family and friends. Hugs, Glenda
My dear Nabeel, Thank you for all the Christmas wishes and the beautiful words and poetry you always left on my page. I apreciate your presence and wonderful music!
Let us keep Christmas, holding it close to our hearts... for its meaning never ends and its spirit is the warmth and joy of remembering friends... Merry Christmas and Every Happiness in the New Year.
A love so great and a love so true comes today to wish upon you A sky full of blue with the sun on top A walk outside with pleasant how do you do A beautiful smile and a face full of laughter A touching embrace and a kiss that matters A hand held softly with a twirl or two A night full of blessings laid upon you A twinkle in your eye from me to you
Dearest Nabeel, I am thinking of you on your birthday and holding you close to my heart. My prayer for you this day and everyday is for a sense of fulfillment ... for a feeling of closeness to those you love ... for confidence and enjoyment in all that makes you special to others ... and for a deep and abiding peace within. You see needs that cry out to be met that no one else sees, and you meet them, out of your deep and caring heart, out of your wisdom, out of your strength. I treasure your uniqueness; there is no one else like you, and I feel blessed to know such an extraordinary person. I appreciate you, respect you, cherish you, and look up to you. May this day and all your days be filled with the wonder of God’s special love for you. May you rest secure in the knowledge of God's constant love and care for you, personally. My wife and all the family here send love and kisses to you and share in wishing you a very happy birthday. God bless you Nabeel and keep you always in His tender, loving care.
Nabeel! Your birthday is a special time to celebrate the gift of 'you' to the world. I can only imagine the amount of unknowing people you put at ease while you are around them.
Happy birthday to the best father I know, a father, a teacher and a guide whom I dearly love and respect. If everyone had such a really good father like mine, the world would be so much better. It would look like God's own design.
Have a great Brithday, dad! And I love you so much!
