In photos: All-female Firdaus Orchestra closes Expo Space Week with AR Rahman

On Saturday, Expo 2020 Dubai's all-women ensemble Firdaus Orchestra made its long-awaited stellar debut in a one-hour concert led by conductor Yasmina Sabbah. The open-air performance took place at the Jubilee Stage to mark the end of Expo's Space Week, which kicked off on October 17.

Academy and Grammy award-winning film composer AR Rahman has been mentoring Firdaus Orchestra, comprising 50 women of 23 nationalities, in the run-up to Expo, with the musicians making an appearance during last month’s Opening Ceremony.

The film composer wrote a new piece of music specifically for Expo, called ‘Humanitas-Proorismós-Al Amal’, which was performed as the grand finale at the concert. The 15-minute composition was inspired by the stars, planets and space exploration. ‘Al Amal’, Arabic word for ‘Hope’, is also the name of the first Arab mission to Mars.

He said: “‘Humanitas-Proorismós-Al Amal’ is an ode to the explorers of space. I’ve been trying to write it for the past three months; I had a lot of ideas. For the first Firdaus Orchestra concert, I wanted to do something for Space Week, so this is a 15-minute piece inspired by the endeavours of space from the East.

“There’s the sense of poetry, and a sense of deep spirituality when you see the planets and space. So how would an Indian sound or Eastern sound come together with a Western orchestra or Middle Eastern instruments? That was the idea, and it’s an experiment. I hope people like it.”

Besides his original composition, the evening concert included 'Also Sprach Zarathustra,' the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey, as well as music from Star Wars and E.T. – Adventures on Earth. It also featured Karl Jenkins’ 'Palladio' and Beethoven’s 'Symphony No. 5'.

Firdaus will assemble throughout Expo to mark special occasions and ceremonies with its very own base on site to retire to – the Firdaus Studio by AR Rahman, a permanent world-class facility that will support artists in the UAE and around the globe.

“We wanted to encourage women from this region … Dubai is opening its arms to different philosophies, arts, music. It’s a sign of liberation and it’s a great statement coming from Reem Al Hashimi [Minister of State for International Cooperation, Director-General of the Expo 2020 Dubai Bureau],” said AR Rahman in an interview with Gulf News.

Ines, a Polish flautist from the ensemble told Gulf News: “[The orchestra] opens us up to different musical cultures. Since you have your own style as a musician, you have the opportunity to learn about and from each other. Every culture has a different tone. All that [amassed] connection is powerful.”