"Ya Hal Al-Samar" and the Traditional Kuwaiti Song

Mufarrah Al-Shammari

The audience at the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Center enjoyed the second edition of the “Ya Hal Al-Samar” concert, which offered a musical evening evoking the atmosphere of Kuwaiti heritage. Through a vocal journey that brought together the Sawari, Khamari, and Ashuri musical modes, the event presented a facet of the artistic memory that has connected successive generations.

The evening featured a distinctive artistic ambiance, with the participation of a large group of heritage artists, alongside a choir and an orchestra conducted by Maestro Dr. Khalid Nouri. The program varied among authentic Kuwaiti vocal styles, crafted in a musical arrangement that preserved the spirit of the heritage works while presenting them in a manner befitting their presence on the stage.

The program included several well-known songs, among them “Ya Hal Al-Samar,” “Ya Awni Ya Allah,” “Qalb Al-Ma’na Areeel,” “Habibi Shama’a Al-Jalas,” and “Wateeh Afkari Ghazal,” along with other works that allowed the audience to recapture a glimpse of the beautiful era of Kuwaiti song.

The vocal evening was produced by Sin Company and celebrated the contributions of prominent figures in the history of Kuwaiti music, including poet Fahad Boursali and composer Yousef Al-Muhanna. The event served as a space uniting poetry, melody, and performance, reintroducing works deeply embedded in the Kuwaiti collective consciousness to a new audience.

The evening was not limited to the presentation of songs; rather, its details carried an effort to revive the spirit of traditional gatherings, celebrations, and occasions where folk singing was an integral part of daily life. This lent the concert a unique character, particularly as the audience actively engaged with songs they knew and had memorized.