Arabian moods: instrumental

This well-selected 14-track collection serves an an excellent introduction to both traditional and modern Middle Eastern instrumental music. Around the turn of the 21st century, EMI Arabia began issuing compilations of Arabic music from their vaults, including Arabian Moods, which comes off as the Arabic equivalent of the Mantovani Orchestra -- big, lush orchestras and (sometimes) synths performing smooth music -- although there are some elements of more traditional Middle Eastern music on some of the tracks. This easy listening collection includes original compositions but also instrumental versions of classic Arabic songs. All tracks are composed and played by well known musicians including Elias Rahbani, Ammar El Sherei, and Omar Khairat.