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“Majnoun Layla” is a suite of 6 movements for Piano (and optional Percussion). Recorded by pianist Kaiyin Huang, and released in October 2020, and available for streaming and purchasing through all the major’s online music stores.
You can read my article about the “Majnoun Layla ” suite by clicking this link
About Kaiyin Huang
Graduated from The Juilliard School and Yale School of Music, Kaiyin received the Doctor of Music Arts at SUNY Stony Brook University. She has appeared on stages around the world, in countries such as the United States, England, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Korea, and China.
She started to embark on an unconventional musical journey after she published her first book entitled The Boiling Frog (2012), an exploration of current macro-economic phenomena and corporate social responsibility.
In 2013, Kaiyin co-founded Taiwan88, an education project that aims to bring interactive live performances to different parts of Taiwan, accessing a public unused to western classical music.
She has supported various social projects across Southeast Asian and North African countries. Her effort led to the establishment of the Myanmar Music Festival, recognized by the United Nations and supported by Aung San Suu Kyi. She was selected as one of The Ten Most Outstanding Young Persons of Taiwan.
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The six movements of the suite are based on poems by Kays Ibn EL Moullawah. following the text of the poems, translated by Hanin El Nakouzi.
First movement
تَعَلَّقتُ لَيلى وَهيَ غِرٌّ صَغيرَةٌ
وَلَم يَبدُ لِلأَترابِ مِن ثَديِها حَجمُ
صَغيرَينِ نَرعى البَهمَ يا لَيتَ أَنَّنا
إِلى اليَومِ لَم نَكبَر وَلَم تَكبَرِ البَهمُ
Leila was attached, and she was the one with amulets around her neck
She had no beauty yet to show
We were still young, and looking after the cattle
To this day, we wish we never grew older, and neither did our desires
Second movement
أَرى أَهلَ لَيلى أَورَثوني صَبابَةً
وَمالي سِوى لَيلى الغَداةَ طَبيبُ
إِذا ما رَأَوني أَظهَروا لي مَوَدَّةً
وَمِثلُ سُيوفِ الهِندِ حينَ أَغيبُ
I see Leila’s parents have gifted me with the heat of longing
And, I shall have none but Leila to heal my pain
When they greet me, I am met with cordiality
But as I leave, I am cursed and rejected
Third movement
أمر على الديار ديار ليلي
أقبل ذا الجدارَ وذا الجدارَ
وما حب الديار شغفن قلبي
ولكن حب من سكن الديارَ
I pass by the house, Leila’s house
I am faced with a wall and then another
Believe me, it is not the residence that holds my heart
Rather the resident inside it
Fourth movement
جُنِنتُ بِلَيلى وَالجُنونُ يَسيرُ
عَلى حُبِّها عَقلي يَكادُ يَطيرُ
وَما بِيَ إِلا حُبُّ لَيلى كِفايَةٌ
جُنوناً وَإِنّي في الغَرامِ أَسيرُ
I am mad about Leila, and my madness trails along
Only her love can induce my mind to fly
And only her love can fulfill my madness
And on the path of love I shall trail
Fifth movement
ألست وعدتني ياقلبُ أنّي
اذا ماتُبتُ عن ليلى تتوبُ
فها أنا تائبٌ عن حُبِ ليلى
فما لك كلما ذُكرت تذوبُ
O heart, did you not promise to repent Leila
if I were to repent her?
I have rued her love
So why is it that whenever her name is called you still jump?
Sixth movement (“The big funeral”)
تَوَسَّدَ أحجارَ المهامِهِ والقفرِ
وماتَ جريح القلبِ مندملَ الصدر
فياليت هذا الحِبَّ يعشقُ مرة
فيعلمَ ما يلقى المُحِبُّ من الهجرِ
He found his solace in between the desert and stones
He died, wounded in the heart
His chest was still aching from the blow
O if only his lover were to love once!
So, as to understand the solitude that lovers must endure
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