I am dazzled by a Frankish woman whose body exudes sweet perfume,
A sweet-smelling branch has slipped beneath her dress,
And her cape is made of the silvery moon.
Her eyes are as blue as the glinting steel of a lance.
-Ibn al-Qaysarani, or Son of the Caesarean
This lyric from a qasida by Ibn al-Qaysarani (1056-1113) known as Ibn Tahir of Caesarea was sung and recorded on the album Arab Music from the Time of the Crusades by the Al-Kindi Ensemble, led by the late Julien Jalal Eddine Weiss. The album has a photograph of the Aleppo citadel, the city’s symbol but because of the war now much damaged, on the cover. Julien and his takht, a grouping of soloist-quality classical musicians, had previously recorded The Aleppian Music Room in his own 16th century house in the old city, featuring a central domed room with circular second floor balconies, which had been rehabilitated by the architect, preservationist, and urban historian Khaldoun Fansa.
In the fall of 2003 I attended a concert there as Khaldoun’s guest. I do not remember the singer’s name but it may have been Omar Sarmini who sang on the Crusades album. The room resonated through the night with the driving notes of Julien’s qanun and the hand drums, flute, and oud. The piercing lyrics rose to the top of the dome near where I was sitting in the balcony and nearly loosened the keystone. I was dazzled. Or better said, to translate that first part of the lyric- laqad fatinatni- more precisely, she seduced me.