Product DescriptionThe Iraqi Maqam Ensemble was founded in 1989 in Baghdad as continuation of The Iraqi Musical Heritage Group by the late Munir Bashir, the famous ud player and teacher. The new ensemble, founded by Mohammad Gomar, has dedicated itself to reviving the classical Iraqi maqam and other traditional Iraqi music. The fact that the group is fronted by the distinguished female singer Farida Mohammad Ali, is very remarkable. Her distinctive style and voice are very well suited to sing maqam. The Maqam is one of the genres of singing in Iraq. This album was selected as one of the best 10 CDs in the world for the year 2000 by Songlines.