by Fatima Aruri
RAMALLAH, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Zuhaira Sabbagh, the mother of iconic Palestinian singer Reem Banna, who died of breast cancer last month, stood on an empty stage of the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music in central West Bank city of Ramallah.
The conservatory was where her daughter worked on her last album before she died.
Standing on the stage with dim lights and slide show of the late singer's photos, the mother spoke to a small audience of her daughter's friends and fans who came to listen once again to Banna's songs in a ceremony marking the launch of Banna's last album in her life.
"Reem's career shined as she sang a folkloric lullaby 'Oh night, how long are you?' that became her identity," said Sabbagh, adding that that her last album is her message of determination.
The mother went from Nazareth in northern Israel to Ramallah to launch Banna's new album in memory of her daughter.
Banna, a prominent Palestinian singer and songwriter, died in her hometown of Nazareth on March 24 after nine-year battle with breast cancer.
Though born in Israel, Banna was best known for her contributions to Palestinian music and poetry.
In 2006, Banna was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her deteriorating health conditions led to the loss of her vocal cords, causing her to lose the ability to sing.
But this didn't make Banna give up her music career. Instead, she turned to writing lyrics that spoke about her shock after losing voice.
After one-year complicated surgeries in Berlin, the singer regained her voice. Although her voice was not as same as it was before the cancer, she continued to sing and write songs.
The lyrics she wrote were turned into songs merged with electronic music by Arab Canadian music band checkpoint 303, who composed the music which reflects both the fear and courage of the female singer in her years' battle with cancer in the one-hour album.
Erik Hillestad, who flew from Oslo to attend this ceremony, had been Banna's music producer for the past 15 years.
He said that he decided to continue to work with Banna, despite the fact that her voice would never be the same again, as she agreed to read her lyrics "like rap or spoken words."
This was the first time Banna sang her own lyrics. Hillestad said that when she recorded the lyrics reading at the conservatory, her voice cracked a lot and so they needed to repeat recording many times.
"The last song in the album was finished on the very day when Banna passed away," said Hillestad.
"It was a very hard process toward the end when we knew that she was about to pass away. We worked very hard... it was very emotional," Hillestad said.
Banna, a mother of three whom she named after ancient Palestinian cities, was born in Nazareth in 1966. She was known for signing folkloric and nationalistic songs to all ages and focusing on the collective suffering of the Palestinian people.
