KARACHI, March 20: It is a shame that despite Pakistan’s geographic and cultural proximity to the Middle East, very little of that region’s rich culture filters down to Karachi’s social scene.

Though there is a fairly large Arab diplomatic presence in the city, leave it to the Alliance Francaise to bring a couple of oud-playing Frenchmen down to Karachi to regale its citizens with the positively mystical strains of the instrument.

Thursday night saw the duo of Marc and Thomas Loopuyt put on a dexterous display of their considerable mastery over the oud — an instrument that perhaps exemplifies the soul of Middle Eastern music — at the Alliance as part of its Semaine de la Francophonie, or Francophone week.

The elder Loopuyt – Marc – who began his career as a classical and flamenco guitarist, has extensively travelled across the Middle East and Spain and has studied under the masters of oud in Morocco, Turkey, the UAE, Syria and Yemen.

Under a starlit night with the pleasant Arabian Sea breeze blowing and the mosquitoes out for blood, quite literally, the Alliance resounded with the majestic sounds of the oud, as nearly all the cultures of the Middle East and North Africa — Arab, Iranian, Turkish, Armenian, Berber, etc — were represented through the adept playing of the two Loopuyts.

Before he started, Marc warned the audience — which was pitifully thin — that he would have to tune the instrument several times due to the humid weather in Karachi. He said the oud was the cousin of the rubab, while adding that his repertoire for the night would touch upon the tunes of the Arab and Turkish lands.

The first set of tunes was from the Caucasus and Iran. The two musicians interwove the melodies with deftness and speed, all the while maintaining a vibrant tone. One also noticed a bit of soloing, perhaps borrowed from the blues. But considering the ancient roots of the oud, it was probably the other way round.

The duo then played a tune called Leila by famed Syrian-born Egyptian Druze musician and actor Farid al-Atrash. Marc Loopuyt told the audience that when al-Atrash died, it was said that the oud had been orphaned. The tune was a slower, more expressive piece and didn’t rely on speed but dynamics to communicate a rich, resonant tonality.

This was followed by a traditional Egyptian melody that came from the early 20th century, when there was a great movement towards improvisation.

Here one must say the oud has a much earthier tone compared to other, more synthetic instruments. This assumption was backed up when Marc told the audience his instrument was 100 years old, while Thomas’s was 80. Perhaps that explained the magnificent tone the instruments produced.

Samai, a 10-beat rhythm in the Bayeti mode, followed. Marc said this word was Persian for nomad and was the preferred mode with the Arabs. Apparently, the mode was aptly named as the duo’s playing brought to life visions of the desert’s desolate beauty.

The pieces played on Thursday night in particular and the oud’s sound in general is very multi-layered and expresses a dervish-like feeling of eternal longing. Perhaps it is calling out for the Avaaz-i-dost, to borrow a phrase from Mowlana Rumi.

The latter pieces included fare from Syria, while some reflected a Spanish influence. This might have been picked up during Marc Loopuyt’s sojourn in Andalusia. Or perhaps the Spaniards picked it up some time during the 800-year-long Arab presence in that country.—QAM