Rima Khcheich {ريما خشيش} (b. 1974) is a Lebanese singer,

Khcheich w… Read Full Bio ↴Rima Khcheich {ريما خشيش} (b. 1974) is a Lebanese singer,

Khcheich was born in Khiam, South Lebanon. She started singing classical Arabic music at the age of nine, and was awarded the bronze medal at the 'Bizert Festival for the Mediterranean Song' in Tunisia, 1985. Her singing career started with the children's choir at the Arabic Cultural Club, and later evolved into a solo performance with the Beirut Oriental Troop for Arabic Music under the supervision and direction of Salim Sahab.

Khcheich studied the tradition of classical Arabic singing at The Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music in Beirut, and her efforts were supported by her father Kamel Khcheich who encouraged her to memorise and master classics from the Arabic music heritage, such as Muwashahat*, Adwar, and other styles. She has performed Zakariah Ahmad, Al-Kassabji, Sayyed Darwish, Kamel Al Khal'i, and Muhammad Abdel Wahab, amongst others.

Having participated in various concerts in Lebanon and around the world, Khcheich has gained international repute and admiration for her gift at performing complex Arabic classical forms such as Dor 'Emta El hawa', and Muwashah 'Anta al Mudallal'.

Currently, Khcheich teaches Oriental singing at the Lebanese National Higher Conservatory of Music and is invited on a yearly basis to Massachusetts, USA, where she teaches voice and classical Arabic singing at Mount Holyoke College under the framework of the Arabic Music Retreat program directed by musician and composer Simon Shaheen.

Her professional collaborations include performing with Shaheen, singing on composer Toufic Farroukh's album Tootya released in 2006, and being an integral part of the Dutch-Lebanese- Iraqi band The Orient Express. This band tried to create meeting grounds between the Arab musical heritage and Jazz. The band released one album, Orient Express, in 2002.

In 2006, Khsheish released her debut solo album, Yalalalli, which features a number of old songs and Muwashahat that she performs in a personalised, contemporary manner, alongside new compositions.

* Muwashahat: plural of Muwashshah, a vocal form in Arabic music.

A strophic song with refrain. The form originated at Cabra, near Cordoba, in the 9th century; it enjoyed a vogue in Muslim Spain in the 11th century, and spread subsequently throughout the Arab world, where it survives in oral tradition.

One of seven post-Classical poetic forms, It is performed on both secular and religious occasions and combines classical metres with new ones arranged in strophes. Each poem is divided into an indefinite number of units (abyat, sing. bayt), each containing a varied number of poetic lines. Musically, a muwashshah is performed by a solo singer alternating with responsorial, antiphonal or collective singing in unison, depending on the performing group. The performance of this difficult art, composed by specialists, demands a mastery of both maqams (modes) and usuls, the complicated rythmic patterns of Arabic music.

Muwashah Lahen Tayyah
Rima Khcheich Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

لاه لاه لاه تياه
بسهام العينين رمى
يرنو يرنو يرنو بدلال
فيثير بأشواقي ظما
أهواه أهواه وألقاه
بأفراح وغنا
وأذيب بألحاني يا عين
أشواقي نغما

ناد ناد ناد مياد
ذو دلال وبها
هل يدري كم يجري بأفكار
بأفكار ونها
يغريها يمنيها فتصبو
فتصبو وأنى لها

يتمنى يتجنى يا عين
يلقي يلقي اللوم بها

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Rima Khcheich's song Muwashah Lahen Tayyah describe a yearning love for someone who is depicted as elusive and unreachable. The use of metaphors and imagery enhances the emotion in the song. The opening lines "Lah lah lah tayyah" sets the melancholic tone of the song. The singer speaks of how the beloved has thrown arrows (or glances) from their eyes, making the singer yearn for them even more. The beloved is described as being playful and teasing, which adds to the frustration of the singer. This is exemplified in the lines "يرنو يرنو يرنو بدلال" which roughly translates to "he teases me with his playfulness".

The chorus "أهواه أهواه وألقاه بأفراح وغنا وأذيب بألحاني يا عين أشواقي نغما" is particularly powerful, describing how the singer loves the beloved and wants to spend their life with them in happiness and song. The use of music as a metaphor represents the harmonious life they could have together. However, the following stanza "ناد ناد ناد مياد ذو دلال وبها هل يدري كم يجري بأفكار بأفكار ونها" questions if the beloved understands the depth of the singer's love for them. The use of the words "نها" (limitless) and "ذو دلال" (playful) portrays the immense love and admiration of the singer for the beloved.

Overall, the song Muwashah Lahen Tayyah is a beautiful portrayal of unrequited love and the feelings of yearning and frustration that come with it. The use of poetic language and metaphors elevates the song's emotional impact, making it a powerful and relatable piece.

Line by Line Meaning

لاه لاه لاه تياه
Oh! Oh! Oh! My beloved.

بسهام العينين رمى
My beloved pierced my heart with his eyes.

يرنو يرنو يرنو بدلال
He longs and yearns for me with affection and sweetness.

فيثير بأشواقي ظما
He ignites my passions and thirsts for me.

أهواه أهواه وألقاه
I love him, I adore him and I throw myself at him.

بأفراح وغنا
In happiness and song.

وأذيب بألحاني يا عين
I melt with my melodies, oh my eyes.

أشواقي نغما
My passions are a melody.

ناد ناد ناد مياد
Call, call, call, oh Muwasha singer.

ذو دلال وبها
With grace and charm.

هل يدري كم يجري بأفكار
Does he know what thoughts run through my mind?