Sounds of Claire
Independence
Deeb's Candy Shop
Chemin de fer
Orient Palace Hotel
The Green Valley
Seeking
Claire
Listening to the Wind
Je suis seul ce soir
To a Fading Port Eyes Behind Smoke
To the Lost Cedars 6:23 3:08 4:23 4:26 3:27 2:47 5:06 2:32 6:31 3:48 3:13 3:17 4:38
o u n d s o f C l a i r e
Alex Wakim - Composer, Piano
Jeffrey Charles Palmer - Voice
Lama El Homaissi - Voice
Layth Sidiq - Violin Solo
Sarah Mueller - Violin
Noemie Chemali - Viola
Quinn Lake - Cello
Jamie Baum - Flute
Gideon Forbes - Ney
Brian Prunka - Oud
John Murchison - Bass
Alber Baseel - Drums
Budapest Scoring - Orchestra
Fadi Broumana - Byzantine Vocals
Emily Solo - Backing Vocals
Alex Wakim - Producer
Todd Carder - Recording Engineer
Oscar Zambrano - Mastering & Mixing
Recorded March 27 2025 th
The Bunker Studio, NYC
Sounds of Claire is a surreal meditation on the world of the 1930s-50s levant as seen through my teta’s (grandmother’s) eyes. We are all formed by elusive familial roots - what if we could, for a day, go back in time, deep into the roots, and witness first-hand these glorified memories? This album seeks to seat us next to her on the Beirut-Damascus train in 1935; at the Swiss Embassy's annual party at the Orient Palace Hotel in 1951; next to her hand-held radio, listening to every word; at her wedding party; and under the same cedars that have lived for hundreds of years in the green valley (al wadi l’akhdar.)
Special thanks to everybody who’s supported this journey: first to Teta Claire (or as we knew her, Nour), for fueling my inspiration towards music. To my parents, Mimi & Tony who let me explore the world through music and travel. To my partner, Mollina, who is uplifting, cognizant and so loving. To mentors and teachers: Jamie Knight, Craig Weston, Wayne Goins, Mark Suozzo, Stephen Gerard Kelly. To my collaborators especially Camille Hamade and Nay Tabbara for trusting me with your stories, inspiring my understanding of story and the work it takes to make things truly good, and for consulting on story and lyrics on this album. To Gregory Van Acker for lyrical support; as well as Juan Dussán & Quinn Lake for too many reasons to list! To the supporters: Bassam Mattar and Family, Amo Paul Wakim, the Koch Cultural Trust, and NYSCA. This is a love letter geared towards looking back, but also forward to a new era of beauty and magic to the levant.”
- Alex Wakim
About Alex Wakim
Wakim delivers unspeakable truths right to your heart through composition. With work showcased at SXSW, CIFF, Tribeca, Wakim's work is grounded in the cinematic world. Artist projects include: 'Sounds of Claire', the score to his grandmother’s levantine childhood; 'Dust and Ions', a work juxtaposing the Beirut port explosion and the NEOWISE comet, co-written with Yara Zgheib and set for publication by Rose Metal Press as a hybrid-book; 'The B!tchelorette', an opera about BPD, backed by a top opera organization; 'An American in Beirut', a dark musical-comedy co-written with Mona Mansour about the power of laughter in the face of horror; orchestral works premiered by the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, and more. His experimentation with traditional Arabic instruments and tropes, such as the ney, to create unique synths and worlds of expression in film have led to syncs on Netflix (Somebody Feed Phil) and receipt of the Reel Change Grant. He loves stargazing, history, and subtly heartbreaking storiesseeing his music as an astrolabe to help interpret our world.
Track 2 - Deeb’s Candy Shop
My father was very abaday, very strong
Aando ken, grocery store.
W hiyeh aando l’bonbon, chocolawey, Ay ahsan chi, ahsan chi.
Atyab chi.
Ay men rooh,
Ma fi matrah bil chantah
Bil mala chantah.
Inshallah byejeh wa’at
Wa’at men rouh
Badde taamik hek:
Chocolat, caramel, karawya.
Inshallah.
My father was very strong, very strong
He had a grocery store.
And the store had candy, chocolate.
Yes it was the best stuff, the best stuff.
When we’d go,
There wasn’t room in your suitcase.
In any suitcase.
God-willing there’ll come a time
A time we’ll go.
I want to give you these:
Chocolate, caramel, caraway (pudding).
God-willing.
Track 3 – Chemin de Fer
Chemin de fer
You lulled her to sleep.
Il y a quelque chose de magique
Dans la façon dont tu te balances.
Ah.
Chemin de fer de Beyrouth à Damas.
The mountains ahead
Les étoiles du pays.
Smile down upon us.
Notre train notre fierté notre merveille, merveille. Chemin de fer.
Train
You lulled her to sleep.
There’s something magic.
About the way you rock back and forth.
Ah.
Train from Beirut to Damascus.
The mountains ahead
The stars of our country.
Smile down upon us.
Our train our pride our marvel, marvel. Train.
Track 3 – Chemin de Fer (cont)
(spoken)
I walked through the trainyards at Rayak
Where the trains once thrived, for a century.
And I asked, where did they go?
Corrupted away?
Melted into bullets?
Shot off in vanity?
(sung)
We couldn’t get to the green valley
Al wadi l’akhdar, al wadi l’akhdar
The pride of the conductors, the pride of our country.
Al wadi’l akhdar, al wadi’l akhdar
Stolen years before the trains stopped running.
How can we fly on these silent tracks
We forget, how access to transportation equals dignity
For what reason are we without a train in Lebanon and at Rayak?
Why?
Why?
Chemin de fer
Où es-tu?
Where are you
Where are you
Chemin de fer
I’m looking and looking for you
Chemin de fer
Où es-tu?
(spoken)
I walked through the trainyards at Rayak
Where the trains once thrived, for a century.
And I asked, where did they go?
Corrupted away?
Melted into bullets?
Shot off in vanity?
(sung)
We couldn’t get to the green valley
The green valley, the green valley.
The pride of the conductors, the pride of our country.
The green valley, the green valley.
Stolen years before the trains stopped running.
How can we fly on these silent tracks
We forget, how access to transportation equals dignity
For what reason are we without a train in Lebanon and at Rayak?
Why?
Why?
Train
Where are you?
Where are you
Where are you
Train
I’m looking and looking for you
Train
Where are you?
Track 3 – Chemin de Fer (cont)
I look for you I look for you and i look
Na na na na na
Na na na na na
Chemin de fer
Chemin de fer
Chemin de fer
Where are you?
Chemin de fer
Ah
Where are you?
Notre train
Notre fierté
Notre merveille
Where are you?
Track 4 – Orient Palace Hotel
The Orient Palace Hotel
Damascus fifty-one
The contest for the “prize of beauty”
We’d tango’d all night
With diplomats and typists
Ye! You should have seen me dance
The Orient Palace Hotel
W ana kenet awal bi prix el jamel
I won the pageant!
And ye! you should have seen me dance!
I look for you I look for you and I look
Na na na na na
Na na na na na
Train Train Train
Where are you?
Train
Ah
Where are you?
Our train
Our pride
Our marvel.
Where are you?
The Orient Palace Hotel
Damascus fifty-one
The contest for the “prize of beauty”
We’d tango’d all night
With diplomats and typists
Ye! You should have seen me dance
The Orient Palace Hotel
And I was first in the prize of beauty. I won the pageant!
And ye! you should have seen me dance!
Track 4 – Orient Palace Hotel
Ah.
Oh, how we danced and twirled
We had all the time in the world
Dresses and trains
Time
Dresses and trains
Time
Dresses and trains
Time
Dresses and trains
Time
The Orient Palace Hotel I looked it up online
Its beauty fades
But hers remains. Always in her prime I can’t imagine how it felt to be there in her time
The Orient Palace Hotel
If I could be there now, I know the ghosts would speak their truth
So long ago, yet I see the glimmers of her youth
(Spoken)
Barke men rouh bi chi marrah. Kif bet khayerli, bi
(Sung)
Time Time Time Time
Ah.
Oh, how we danced and twirled
We had all the time in the world
Dresses and trains
Time
Dresses and trains
Time
Dresses and trains
Time
Dresses and trains
Time
The Orient Palace Hotel I looked it up online
Its beauty fades
But hers remains. Always in her prime I can’t imagine how it felt to be there in her time
The Orient Palace Hotel
If I could be there now, I know the ghosts would speak their truth
So long ago, yet I see the glimmers of her youth
(Spoken)
Maybe we go there sometime.
Can you see me? In my time?
(Sung)
Time
Time Time Time
Track 4 – Orient Palace Hotel (cont)
(Archival)
You see my sister Yvonne, she made the best dress, for Odette, for Suzie.
We take, in the club, we take the prize of beauty. She make a dress, ya latif, ya Habibi.
All our new dress, good dress, from her hand. Kel akhwati hamdellah helou.
(Sung)
Dresses and trains
Dresses and trains
Dresses and trains
Dresses and trains
The Orient Palace Hotel
We thought we had all the time in the world.
Track 7 – Claire
(Archival)
I was with my aunt
In the street.
He asked, who is this one? You know them?
They told, of course we know them, they are the best! What do you want from them?
He said, this, this young girl. She is with her aunt. They invite him to take coffee, he said ‘with pleasure.’
(Sung)
Enta habibi
Sa’alet aanni
W ana sur les escaliers
Ou ‘ilit esmi Claire.
(Archival)
You see my sister Yvonne, she made the best dress, for Odette, for Suzie.
We take, in the club, we take the prize of beauty.
She make a dress, oh goodness my dear!
All our new dress, good dress, from her hand.
All our siblings thank God are beautiful.
(Sung)
Dresses and trains
Dresses and trains
Dresses and trains
Dresses and trains
The Orient Palace Hotel
We thought we had all the time in the world.
(Archival)
I was with my aunt
In the street.
He asked, who is this one? You know them?
They told, of course we know them, they are the best! What do you want from them?
He said, this, this young girl. She is with her aunt. They invite him to take coffee, he said ‘with pleasure.’
(Sung)
You my love
Who asked about me
And I was on the stairs
And said my name is Claire.
Track 7 – Claire (cont)
Next un café
Then a diamond
Our life began in fifty-four
A life that stayed the same.
W fi’it l’yom bi l’dene ma befham
It’s all the same, but everything has changed.
(instrumental)
W fi’it l’yom bi l’dene ma befham
It’s all the same, but everything has changed.
Without
Enta habibi
Sa’alet aanni
W ana sur les escaliers
Ou ‘ilit esmi Claire.
Esmi Claire
Esmi Claire
My name was Claire
I’ve changed
And now I’m someone different Ana chakhess gheyr
You can call me Nour.
And now I say goodbye
And now I say adieu
Till the next life.
Next a coffee
Then a diamond
Our life began in fifty-four
A life that stayed the same.
I woke up today in a world I don’t understand. It’s all the same, but everything has changed.
(instrumental)
I woke up today in a world I don’t understand. It’s all the same, but everything has changed.
Without
You my love
Who asked about me
And I was on the stairs
And said my name is Claire.
My name is Claire
My name is Claire
My name was Claire I’ve changed
And now I’m someone different I’m someone new.
You can call me Nour.
And now I say goodbye
And now I say adieu Till the next life.
Track 9 – Je Suis Seul Ce Soir
Je suis seul ce soir avec mes rêves,
Je suis seul ce soir sans ton amour.
Le jour tombe, ma joie s'achève, Tout se brise dans mon cœur lourd.
Je suis seul ce soir avec ma peine, J'ai perdu l'espoir de ton retour, Et pourtant je t'aime encore et pour toujours
Ne me laisse pas seul sans ton amour.
Amour, amour, amour
Ah (Instrumental)
Amour, amour
Ah
Je suis seul ce soir avec mes rêves, Je suis seul ce soir sans ton amour.
Le jour tombe, ma joie s'achève, Tout se brise dans mon coeur lourd.
Je suis seul ce soir avec ma peine, J'ai perdu l'espoir de ton retour, Et pourtant je t'aime encore et pour toujours
Ne me laisse pas seul sans ton amour .
Ton amour
Ton amour
Ton amour
Je suis seul ce soir sans ton amour.
I'm alone tonight with my dreams, I'm alone tonight without your love.
The day is falling, my joy is ending, Everything is breaking in my heavy heart.
I'm alone tonight with my sorrow, I've lost hope of your return, And yet I still love you forever. Don't leave me alone without your love.
Love, love, love
Ah (Instrumental)
Love, love
Ah
I'm alone tonight with my dreams, I'm alone tonight without your love.
The day is falling, my joy is ending, Everything is breaking in my heavy heart.
I'm alone tonight with my sorrow, I've lost hope of your return, And yet I still love you forever.
Don't leave me alone without your love.
Your love
Your love
Your love
I'm alone tonight without your love.
Program Notes
1 Independence (1943)
She was 18-years old when Lebanon gained its independence – how could one imagine that feeling? Running through the streets of Beirut: honking, fireworks, bells, singing, excitement, but also anxiety. Independence was not simply a magical moment of clarity, it was the beginning of an incredibly complex saga. Her world was beginning, with the clamor of joy and fear, and a touch of the romantic. This initial track sets up Claire’s main musical theme, which is utilized throughout, particularly in Track 7, Claire.
2 Deeb’s Candy Shop (1933)
In an interview with my grandma, she spoke about this candy shop her father, Deeb, had in Damascus, how she wanted to take me there one day, and your suitcase would be full of candy. This was one of the earlier pieces I wrote, and it came very naturally from the text she spoke, the decision to take us to the candy shop as an 8-year old would experience it, especially in 1933 prior to the ubiquity of sugar, was formed here.
3 Chemin de Fer (1935 / 2025)
I discovered the Beirut-Damascus train early in my research of the levant – there was a more famous one, the Hijaz railway, yet the Beirut-Damascus line (built in 1895 by swiss engineers) was cutting edge, ‘very slow’ according to Claire’s brother-in law, but epic – the war killed it in 1976, though it was gutted by the government prior. Norbert Schiller wrote a wonderful article about it on his website photorientalist.com, and a conversation with him led me to Elias Maalouf, the founder of Train Train, an NGO devoted to restoring at least some of this line. As I continued exploring this pride of the Lebanese, and discovered the true crime of incompetence that led to its demise and the failings of current efforts, my reverie of remembrance turned into rage. This is the journey of this piece, sung fabulously by Jeffrey Charles Palmer. We begin on the train, lulled to sleep by its rocking. Then jolted into present time, where did it go? Why? Why? For what reason are we without a train in Lebanon. A gentle beckoning of chemin de fer levitates into a red-blooded scream to the harmonic language of Giant Steps. The dream is over, we’re back in 1935, Claire pulls into the station, perhaps on another visit to the candy shop in Damascus.
Program Notes
4 Orient Palace Hotel (1951)
One of teta’s most poignant memories was winning the ‘prize of beauty.’ I never really factchecked this until the album. My mother told me that it was in Damascus, at the Swiss Embassy’s party, at the Orient Palace Hotel in 1951 (which is right off the train.) I wanted to go there, and alas, a tango ensues. The track begins with a tango of my grandmother singing about this prize of beauty, perhaps a few years later in the 50s. Then I reflect through Jeffrey’s voice, and ultimately, I’m beckoned to go back in time. The track delivers us, through archival recording of my grandmother’s voice, back to 1951, and we sit there for the rest of the track, in a hip samba, perhaps the dance that made her win this memory which brought her joy to her last days.
5 The Green Valley (1959)
I also heard of the green valley (al wadi l’akhdar), which still exists, in the mountains on the road between Beirut and Damascus. A valley with a place to rest, reflect, have some food, and dance. I imagine a dream-like state of being, with Claire, her husband, and three kids, which included my mother (the fourth would come later.) This track has distant sounds, bells, all based on an extrapolation of the prelude to Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin. I use that triplet motif as an ostinato, and it guides us through the whole track.
6 Seeking (1965 / 1995)
Digital Only. Seeking through a radio. Aunt Betty, who’s a staple in Westchester and to my New York City life, (Claire’s sister-in-law) always remembered Claire with a little hand-held radio. I wondered.. what on earth would she be listening to in 1965 on a hand-held radio? This is the impetus to the track. Fragments of classical music, chant, samba (yes from a different track), come in and out of this, until we come to full fidelity on a gentle piano rendition of Je Suis Seul ce Soir, a song she loved even before it was directly relevant to her situation. The ambient sound is from a home video in 1995, Claire and my parents speak, Walid (her son) walks through pictures. This easily could have been thirty years prior.
Program Notes
7 Claire (1975)
An extended oud solo invites us into this proper iteration of Claire’s melody. She tells us in English about how she first met her husband, ‘he saw me, and asked, who is this girl?’ We continue to the present, and after a winding instrumental, realize that this is the moment she had to say goodbye, very pre-maturely, to her husband. The stress of the war was too much. She started going by Nour instead of Claire at this time, and her transformation is musicalized near the end. (Sung in Arabic), “I said my name was Claire. My name was Claire, it was. Now I’m someone different, I’m someone new – you can call me Nour.”
8 Listening to The Wind (1976)
I imagine that she found a moment, perhaps in the green valley, perhaps elsewhere, to sit and listen to the wind. Listening is a lost art in our culture now, something that we must intentionally push to regain. This is a cello septet, with Quinn playing all the parts. It’s amazing what seven Quinns can do, gently guiding us through the rhythm of the wind.
9 Je Suis Seul ce Soir (1977)
This is an old French song written in the 1940s by Paul Durand. It was popular among French widows of soldiers lost in WWII. It naturally made its way to the levant, and was extremely popular. We placed Claire (or Nour) in a café, she’s hearing this, sung by a brilliant French voice, and it’s sad, though on the words ‘sans ton amour’ (without your love), she reflects on the love she had, with new appreciation. This turns into a big psychedelic dance, and this song is imprinted forever. Even til her last days, she loved hearing this song, and I never knew how closely she related to it until September of 2024 (random, but it took that long to put it together.. that after 1975, she was truly alone.)
10 Chanson to a Fading Port (1979)
A large chanson to the fading port of Beirut as she is exiled to the United States, never to return. Quinn Lake (cello) and Layth Sidiq (violin) guide this piece, and one climactic moment features soaring piano chords, reminiscent of the opening to Tchaikovsky’s first piano concerto (a piece my grandmother played often and with pride.)
Program Notes
11 Eyes (2023)
She would always say: ye a ti’ a’bish ‘ayounak (bless the light of your eyes.) A saying from ottoman times. I think the beauty of eyes is so poignant, and I thought it was fitting to have this gentle piece portray the last moment she opened her eyes.
12 Behind Smoke
This was the second piece written, another orchestral staple. I always knew this was the end piece. Why? There’s a hint of Je Suis Seul at the end, though instead of landing on the root on the seul of the first phrase, we land on the 7th, giving an ethereal altered quality. The clarity of history is fascinating, once all the smoke settles and the stupidity that fuels most conflict fades, what are we left with? Behind the smoke? I imagine her entering her eternal life, and gaining this clarity on the whole of the 20th century and beyond.
13 To the Lost Cedars
Digital Only. This song dates to my concept show, Dust and Ions. This is a new recording with the proper expression, and it is an homage to the cedars. There are two ecological crises that are close to home: the fact that Venice is sinking, and the Cedars are dying. This is a beckoning to those lost cedars and voices, and a rageful call to action and return common-sense and decency.
d C l
