By Joe Snell | Dec. 28, 2023
Nouri Iskandar, an Assyrian composer, pioneer of classical Syrian music, and musicologist who wrote some of the most iconic Assyrian folk songs, and later fled his home in Syria during its budding civil war, died on Christmas morning. He was 85.
“Malfono worked tirelessly to document our culture and to celebrate the continuity of ancient Assyrian heritage,” wrote Assyrian musician Lolita Emmanuel. “He showed the world the historically rooted contributions of indigenous Assyrians to the Middle Eastern musical landscape.”
Born in Deir ez-Zur, Syria in 1938, Iskandar and his family moved to Aleppo when he was three years old. That’s where he began taking music lessons and joined a local Syriac Orthodox band.
Iskandar’s love for music took him to the University of Cairo in 1959, where he studied music and began composing Assyrian folk songs.
He returned to Syria in 1964, and used his music education to establish Assyrian choirs. He wrote popular songs in the 1970s including “O Habibo,” “Zliqi Frisi” and “Lo tehfukh.”
In 1972, he joined with Aho Gabriel and Amanuel Salamon to found the Shamiram Folklore and Musical Group. They were considered the first group to have singers perform in public in both the eastern and western Assyrian dialects during the same concert.
The group performed annually at the UNESCO Palace in Beirut. In 1973, they participated in the first modern festival of Assyrian music in Beirut, presenting Assyrian folk songs alongside Lebanese musician Wadih El Safi. He later served as director of the Music Conservatory of Aleppo.
Iskandar composed soundtracks for several films and television shows in Syria, including the series, “Bab al-Hadeed” and the films, “Public Relations” and “Guardians of Silence.”
In 1979, he composed the soundtrack for the film The Fifth Castle (القلعة الخامسة) that won second place at the Damascus International Film Festival. He also composed music for the Syriac operetta Parqana and the famous classical song, “Solo Oud with String Trio.”
The Syriac Orthodox Church was close to Iskandar’s heart. He notated and compiled over 700 chants into a book called, “Beth Gazo.”
Iskandar had to flee Aleppo in 2014 because of the Syrian Civil War. He moved to Sweden and lived there until his death.
Listen to this concerto composed by Iskandar, taken from his album “Vision.”