For nearly 30 years, his music has made its way to every young Egyptian’s ringtone — but it is the country’s ancient history that recently propelled composer Hesham Nazih to the realm of superheroes.
Following his career-defining score for the Pharaohs’ Golden Parade last year — a grandiose spectacle that saw 22 mummies transferred across Cairo to a new museum — Nazih was tapped to write the music for Marvel Studios’ latest series, Moon Knight.
The six-episode saga starring Oscar Isaac tells the story of a superhero who draws his powers from an ancient Egyptian god.
Photo: AFP
“Ancient Egyptian civilization is extremely appealing for any composer, whether Egyptian or not,” the 50-year-old composer said from his studio in Cairo.
However, while drawing inspiration from ancient heritage is “not an artistic goal” in and of itself for the musician, it has allowed him to realize his dream of transcending national boundaries.
In April last year, all eyes were on the globally streamed procession of mummies through the capital, when Egyptian soprano Amira Selim, clad in a full-length gown adorned with Pharaonic motifs, took the stage with a haunting performance of the Hymn of Isis.
The ode, the lyrics to which were taken from texts in the Book of the Dead, was sung in phonetic ancient Egyptian and featured an arrangement of traditional folk instruments along with a classical orchestra, cementing the composer’s genre-shattering prowess.
The result was a media fervor that took Nazih himself by surprise, with the piece being shared widely in Egypt and abroad.
“The audience’s reaction was very moving,” he said.
The virtuoso was chosen to compose the score for Marvel’s Moon Knight, marking his first foray into Hollywood.
Helmed by Egyptian director Mohamed Diab, the series has proven massively popular among his compatriots — despite there being no way to legally stream the show there yet — due in no small part to Diab’s insistence on the production being an Egyptian affair.
In addition to a cast and crew that brings together the likes of Egyptian-Palestinian actress May Calamawy and Egyptian editor Ahmed Hafez, the series soundtrack has been peppered with popular Arabic songs, ranging from golden-era classics to modern electro street music known as mahraganat.
“I’m still processing all of it. Moon Knight is a whole other level for me,” the composer said. “I was seeing reactions from so many different audiences and cultures.”
For the 2014 thriller series The Seven Commandments, Nazih wove in spiritual Sufi chants, to massive success. The soundtrack was a hit on social media, achieving a long-held dream for the musician.
Nazih said that when he was nine, he stopped halfway down a street in Alexandria to watch a Sufi ritual at a mosque, and was haunted by the “majesty” of the scene.
Decades later, he was finally able to channel it into a composition.
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