In Memoriam: Lebanon Loses Beloved Musician Imane Homsy
Lebanon's foremost qanun musician, Imane Homsy, has passed away, leaving behind her a legacy of musical innovation, writes Elie Hajj.
Lebanese musician Imane Homsy created a revolution in playing the qanun, a stringed Arab-Turkish instrument that resembles the guitar. At the pinnacle of her contribution to music, Imane died, taking her talent and refined femininity with her. Her fingers became stiff as illness crept into her bones and stopped them from moving, leaving her no longer able to pluck out the most delicate melodies and heart-wrenching sounds. The image of this woman leaning over her qanun has been engrained in the memories of the Lebanese and Arabs at large, playing the most incredible and technically challenging pieces in innovative ways.
In her early years, Homsy fell victim to her love for this difficult yet alluring musical instrument. While her friends where running around and playing with toys and dolls, she turned the qanun into a game, a friend, a confident and a companion. She spent the greatest part of her time with her strings, experiencing joy and sadness with it, sleeping and traveling with it.
Homsy’s family played a vital role in her musical gift, as they were the greatest motivator in launching her as a small girl on her own path of passion. At the age of 12, Homsy participated as a beginner in a televised art competition in Lebanon, and become an integral part of the same program’s orchestra ten years later.
She chose to specialize in the qanun early on, studying and then graduating from the Higher National Music Institute in 1999. Her passion for music did not stop her from developing profound knowledge in another specialty: engineering, in which she earned a degree. The qanun remained, however, a constant focal point in her life.
