The story of the Joubran Trio's creation can be traced back some ten years.
Samir Joubran, the eldest, started his solo career with his first two albums, Taqaseem (1996) and Sou'fahm (2001).
For his third album, Tamaas, Samir invited his younger brother Wissam Joubran to join him on his musical adventure. Randana, which came out in 2005, is the trio's very first album.
Adnan Joubran, the youngest, had joined in with his older brothers to form the first and only oud trio known of to this date. With their skillful, heart-wrenching improvisations that tell of Palestine, the trio brings to bear harmony and sweetness, depth and joy. On the stage, as their eyes meet, their instruments join together to express that which the spoken word cannot.
The trio's repertory, made up of original creations and magnificent improvisations, takes root in their knowledge of the imposing culture of traditional maqâms and their subtle interpretations. The group was the big revelation at Langon's Atypical Nights (Nuits Atypiques) festival, nomitated for the 2004 Django dOr awards, selected at the Womex 2004 and the Strictly Mundial 2005, the trio has been living a musical adventure that is taking it all over the world: the trio played before thousands at the Festival of Nyon, was welcomed at Carnegie Hall in February 2006, and played at the Jerusalem festival in 2007.
Samir:
Samir was born in Nazareth, in 1973, in the Galilee. At five, his father introduces him to the oud. The encounter between boy and instrument is more like the passionate encounter of two lovers. At nine, Samir enters the Nazareth Institute of Music. In 1995 he graduates from the highly prestigious Muhammad Abdul Wahhab Conservatory of Cairo. His musical talents are recognized in the musical workshops and seminars he attends in various Arabic and European countries, leading him to teach the oud in a large number of schools and institutes.
The Joubran family adventure begins with Samir, an innovative soloist. Their first album, Taqaseem, comes out in 1996, followed by Sou'fahm in 2001. His first album under the Daqui label (the label of the Atypical Nights in Langon), Tamaas, appears in 2002. His run of performances in European and Middle Eastern venues begins. At the time, Samir is the only Palestinian performing outside the borders of his country. He is also the first musician to be awarded, in 2003-2004, a two-year scholarship to Italy through the Writer's Asylum Program which is organized by the International Parliament of Writers.
His musical virtuosity receives universal acclaim, and he is quickly invited to play with numerous other artists, in particular with great poets of the likes of Mahmoud Darwish. Music allies itself with the spoken word to bring to life poetry where melancholy and passion are inextricably mixed.
Samir Joubran's musical talent is acknowledged by the movie world when he composes the original sound track for Rashir Masharawi's Ticket to Jerusalem. He is then contacted by director François Dupeyron. Three tracks from the album Tamaas are included in the sound track of Inguélézi. Three titles from Randana are used in Parvez Sharmas' documentary A Jihad for Love (2012).
After Randana, the first album to bring together all three Joubran brothers, their new opus, Majâz, came out fall of 2012. With Palesine beating in his heart, driven by his desire to give voice to his oud, Samir Joubran will travel the world with his brothers.
"We have two battles to fight. The first is for our career, and the other is for peace in Palestine, and the end of the occupation."
Wissam:
Wissam was born in 1983, in Nazareth, in the Galilee. His father signs him up for violin lessons at the Nazareth conservatory. He becomes attracted to the oud after watching and listening to his brother Samir play it. He establishes an intimate connection with the oud, with its wholesome curves, its round belly. Seeing how he merges with the instrument, Hatem, his father, hand crafts and gives him a small oud for his ninth birthday.
Wissam starts out by performing local concerts in Palestine. He then turns toward the theater, where he plays the role of a singing oud player in a piece about the life of Moudaffar El Nawab. When he is twelve, he seizes the opportunity to take his dreams and talent all the way to Paris' Arab World Institute, where he shares the stage with his brother Samir.
In 2002, again at his brother's side, Wissam performs musical interludes at readings of Mahmoud Darwish' poetry. Then, with the album Tamaas, Wissam's international career takes off. He decides to bring is musical culture and experience fully to bear in his relationship with the oud; thus, in 2005, he is the first Arab to graduate from the prestigious Antonio Stradivari Conservatory, in Cremona. Wissam, like his father before him, continues in the line of his ancestors and becomes a master luthier. He builds the Joubran Trio's three ouds with his own hands, tailoring each one so that, when they are played, oud and player are one.
Master luthier, oud player, and firm believer in the symbiosis of traditional Arabic music and the modernity of the oud, Wissam Joubran is carrying his family legacy steadfastly into the future.
Adnan:
Adnan was born in the Galilee, in Nazareth, in 1985. The life story of the youngest of the brothers is unique. Since childhood, he had wanted to become a percussionist. Yet, he would soon hearken to the oud's call. His desire to play it becomes stronger at the age of fifteen. For two years, alone and with the help of his older brothers, Adnan learns to play this instrument. Immediately upon coming home from school, he would pick up Wissam's oud and, playing Samir's melodies, send his fingers flying along the trail left by his brother. Hatem, their father, encourages him to take part in oud playing contests, and he is one of the five winners of a contest held in Palestine. The first audience Adnan would play to are his father's clients.
Returning from a tour, Samir brings up the possibility of forming a trio. This possibility becomes the object of Adnan's striving, and during the next year he would work with passion and discipline. It is thus that, in Paris' Luxembourg garden in August 2004, the Joubran Trio would come to life.
Alongside his brother Samir, Adnan provides musical accompaniment for the Fattoumi-Lamoureux dance company. In addition to his career within the Trio, Adnan will also perform for Parisian audiences a piece that combines music and the circus called EKO DU OUD (the oud's echo).
Time Must Go By
Le Trio Joubran Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
سَنمْضي إلى حتْفنا، أوّلاً، سنُدافع عن شَجرٍ نَرْتَديه
وَعَنْ جَرَس اللّيل، عن قمرٍ، فوق أكواخنا نشْتهيه
وعن طيش غزلاننا سندافع، عن طين فخّارِنا سَندُافعُ
وعن ريشنا في جناح الأغاني الأخيرة
عمّا قَليل تُقيمون عالمكُمْ فَوْق عالمنا
مِنْ مقابرنا تَفْتَحون الطّريق إلى الْقمر الاصطناعيّ
هذا زمان الصّناعات، هذا زمانُ المعادن
من قطعةِ الفحْم تبزغُ شمْبانيا الأقْوياءْ
هُنالك موْتى ومستوطنات، وموْتى وبولدوزرات
وموْتى ومستشْفيات، وموتى وشاشات رادار ترْصُدُ مَوْتى
يعيشون بَعْد الممات، وموْتى يُربّونَ وحْش الحضارات مَوْتًا
وموتى يموتون كيْ يحملوا الأرض فوق الرّفات
إلى أيْن يا سيّد البيض؟ تأخُذُ شعْبي وشعْبَك
The lyrics to Time Must Go By by Le Trio Joubran convey the idea that time passes quickly leaving our present as the past - unless we make something of it. The words paint a picture of a world in constant motion, where people are defending trees, bells, and moonlight. They are fighting for their existence and their values in the face of industrialization and the conversion of nature into manufactured goods. The reference to the dead and the bulldozers suggests that the living are being overrun by the technological and commercial forces of the modern world.
The lyrics urge individuals to take a stand and push back against these overwhelming forces. They suggest that living for something is better than living for nothing, and that we must defend the things that matter most to us, even if it means risking our lives. The passage of time may be inevitable, but we have the power to shape our present and future.
Overall, this song speaks to the fragility of human existence in the face of a rapidly changing world. It calls upon people to be mindful of their surroundings and the things they hold dear, and to fight against those who would seek to destroy them.
Line by Line Meaning
سَيَمْضي زمانٌ طويلٌ، ليصبح حاضرنا ماضيًا مثْلنا
Time will pass for a long time, and our present will become the past just like us.
سَنمْضي إلى حتْفنا، أوّلاً، سنُدافع عن شَجرٍ نَرْتَديه
We will go to our death, but first, we will defend the tree that we adorn.
وَعَنْ جَرَس اللّيل، عن قمرٍ، فوق أكواخنا نشْتهيه
And we long for the night's bell and the moon above our huts.
وعن طيش غزلاننا سندافع، عن طين فخّارِنا سَندُافعُ
And we will defend our wild gazelles and our clay pottery.
وعن ريشنا في جناح الأغاني الأخيرة
And our feathers in the wings of our last songs.
عمّا قَليل تُقيمون عالمكُمْ فَوْق عالمنا
Soon, you will establish your world above our world.
مِنْ مقابرنا تَفْتَحون الطّريق إلى الْقمر الاصطناعيّ
You open the way to the artificial moon from our graves.
هذا زمان الصّناعات، هذا زمانُ المعادن
This is the time of industries and metals.
من قطعةِ الفحْم تبزغُ شمْبانيا الأقْوياءْ
From a piece of coal, the powerful Champagnes sprout.
هُنالك موْتى ومستوطنات، وموْتى وبولدوزرات
There are dead and settlements, dead and bulldozers.
وموْتى ومستشْفيات، وموتى وشاشات رادار ترْصُدُ مَوْتى
And dead and hospitals, dead and radar screens watching dead.
يعيشون بَعْد الممات، وموْتى يُربّونَ وحْش الحضارات مَوْتًا
They live after death, and the dead cultivate the beast of civilization as death.
وموتى يموتون كيْ يحملوا الأرض فوق الرّفات
And the dead die to carry the earth above their graves.
إلى أيْن يا سيّد البيض؟ تأخُذُ شعْبي وشعْبَك
Where are you taking us, lord of the eggs? You take my people and your people.
Writer(s): Wissam Joubran, Adnan Joubran, Samir Joubran
Contributed by Jordyn B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.