Sister Marie Keyrouz

WITH her black calf-length dress, and black wimple, Sister Marie Keyrouz brought light on a rain-sodden evening for she sang like angel pointing the road home to God.

When she sang, especially the Sufi piece by female Sufi saint Rabiha-Al-Adawiyyah (said to be related to Rabrindanath Tagore), her joy and passion rang throughout Greyfriars Kirk.

“O God! You are my joy, my hope and my support”, she sang from the Sufi poem.

To say I was bowled over by Keyrouz and the Ensemble de la Paix who presented Psalms And Canticles From The Eastern Churches is an understatement.

To say I was touched to listen to this early-evening peformance in a church made famous by the statue of a loyal Skye terrier called Bobby, on its grounds is accurate.

The Lebanese nun — also a musicologist and an anthropologist — gave moving renditions of the chants.

And not a word of it was in English.

As she sang, she would sometimes close her eyes while the Arabic-sounding music held sway. You could feel her love for god.

She was supported by a sonorous set of five male voices, and five musicians – the Ensemble de la Paix (Together For Peace).

The pamphlet stated that she had formed her ensemble during the bombing of Lebanon.

Keyrouz’s work has involved the unearthing, re-working and performance of music of ancient middle-eastern chant traditions.

The Edinburgh International Festival director Jonathan Mills said the festival was founded with the aim of reuniting people of different cultures and origins in the aftermath of the Second World War.

With Keyrouz on the programme, he hit the concept on the nail. Just don’t forget to bring the brolly.