Khyam Allami at St. Peter Mancroft Church

On the evening of Wednesday 22nd May 2013 I attended the Khyam Allami with Vasilis Sarikis concert at St. Peter Mancroft Church, Norwich. Khyam Allami is an Iraqi virtuoso of the Oud and a composer with an international reputation, but his roots are in rock and punk. He was accompanied by percussionist Vasilis Sarikis at this Norfolk and Norwich Festival event.

For this concert Khyam Allami revisited his 2011 album Resonance/Dissonance, exploring the middle eastern melodic music of Maqam. St. Peter Mancroft Church is a beautiful venue that proved to be perfect for this concert which I witnessed from the choir stalls. The pair provided us with a powerful and dynamic live show.

This was an emotional night as the sounds of classical Arab music which Khyam Allami has given a contemporary feel came to the Norfolk and Norwich Festival. It is always a pleasure to listen to music at this venue and this performance sounded incredible. Both performers seemed to greatly enjoy playing their music at St. Peter Mancroft.