Yair Dalal was born in 1955. He a composer and singer, and also plays the oud and the violin. His work reflects his musical talent and his commitment to peace. His Iraqi-Jewish roots define his works. In recognition of his contribution to Israeli music, he was won several awards, including a nomination for the BBC World Music Award of best musician in the Middle East.
“The oud is the most beautiful and most important musical instrument in the Middle East. It is the most beloved and shared instrument for Arabs and Jews. With the oud, as in the desert, time resonates in its own unique, boundless form, a type of Taqsim. Peace, too, takes its time.”
Oud or ud
In the first few centuries after the birth of Christ, we find depictions of a five-stringed ‘ud’ (alud = wood), the lute of the Islamic peoples, which gave its name to the European lute (German: Laute; French: luth; Italian: liuto; Spanish: laud). With the masons and Saracens, in the first half of the 8th century, the lute reached Spain and Sicily, and spread throughout Europe in the following centuries. The oud has a pear-shaped body and a saddle at the top that is bent almost at a right angle. It is played using a plectrum.