"Yet until the civil war started, Aleppo was still the musical powerhouse it had been for centuries, the place where Syria's best musicians played and sang their wasla suites ... Still, with players from all round the Mediterranean, the music itself [on Orient-Occident II] is of a very high standard, and it makes a lovely celebration fo the spirit of this unfortunate country. The singers are excellent, and the soloists on the oud, rebab, ney and percussion are brilliant".
