Dana Al Fardan Fiesole's immersive, multisensory show

Learn more about the pioneering Qatari-born artist in concert at the Roman Theater on July 17

A pioneer of contemporary music in Qatar, Dana Al Fardan is a composer, symphonic musician and singer-songwriter influenced by her homeland’s culture and heritage, but who has been in the international spotlight for years, all the more so since the transcontinental release of her fourth album, Indigo, which will be performed in Florence on July 17 during a concert-event at Fiesole’s ancient Roman Theater. We had a chat with her to learn more about her authentic music world which is, however, open to different cultural influences and collaborations, such as with the London Metropolitan Orchestra, for the adaptation to music of the novel by famous Lebanese poet and painter Kahlil Gibran, Broken Wings, at London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket and which brought, for the first time, Arabian music and her talent to a new audience (2021). This year, she accepted to compose the music performed by the Symphonic Orchestra of Sicily for the new version of the Giocando con Orlando theatrical piece played by Stefano Accorsi, which met with great success at Palermo’s Politeama Garibaldi Theater.

Dana Al Fardan (ph. Jamie Morgan)

Dana, how did you get into music and what was your first source of inspiration?

The way I looked at the world was always translated through the lens of music. I have loved music ever since I was child, and as a teenager I developed a passion for the arts, but for many years I was expected to work in the family business. For this reason, once I graduated in political science, I studied gemology. Then I got married and became pregnant with a girl. It was then that I realized that, although the work provided me with great experiences and opportunities, I had a calling that I could no longer ignore.

What motivated you to make such a radical choice?

The thought that, had I not made that choice, my daughter would have never known who her mother truly is.

Please help us understand your music. What impact does your Middle Eastern heritage have on it?

My heritage brings a distinctive color to my work, the desert and the sound of the water in Qatar… There is a significant musical reference to ‘roots’ as illustrated in a tribal yet esoteric soundscape. In my current album, this is especially present in Heliodore and Harlequin. The most comprehensive example of this is in my upcoming album Tempest, which I have just finished recording and which contains our seafaring musical tradition from the Gulf region. Tempest is a demonstration of the interconnectivity between different cultural influences that arise from the sea, while consolidating the universality of the human experience through bringing to life our seafaring stories. Each song will include the fundamental features of the Qatari Pearl Diving musical tradition, that is, Fjiri.

What are the daily challenges you have had to face as a musician?

Every day is a hurdle for me as a composer and a musician. Art is the way I live. To express it without boundaries provides the deepest and highest expression of who I am. The industry is a massive global framework that I am trying to engage with in my own original way. There is no conventional industry classification for who I am as a musician. Italy, however, has been extremely welcoming to what I do and how I express it.

What brings Dana Al Fardan to Fiesole’s ancient Roman theater?

The concert is based on my latest album Indigo, a multisensory experience with each song embedded in a color scheme and soundscape designed to raise your vibrational frequency, performed by a chamber orchestra of six musicians and electronics. In Fiesole, Indigo will be performed by the members of the Florence Philharmonic Orchestra and of the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, with the collaboration of the Lyric Dance Company, conducted by Alberto Canestro.

What do you love about the city and what do you hope to experience in Florence this time?

I fell in love with Florence instantly. It is the most culturally dense place I have ever experienced. I am not saying that other places are not, but the energy transmitted from the historical-cultural significance of this place is palpable. I visited Fiesole in September and ‘manifested’ the desire to do a concert there. And now, here we are... That’s the energy of Florence, which attracted and keeps attracting most of the world’s artists and thinkers.