Michel Merhej (Riq)
Merhej is one of the pioneers in the world of rhythm and percussion in all its various and changing forms. His specialty is the riqq (tamborine), the instrument he used to govern the beat of the songs of the great singer Fairuz throughout her long and unique career. The riqq was also his shadow and loyal guard. "I always had my riqq on me, never left it anywhere or let anybody borrow it."
Baklouk was born in Jerusalem in 1928. In 1947, he joined Near East Radio as a telephone operator. The radio station manager noticed that Baklouk always tapped on his desk rhythmically, resulting in an offer to join the station's orchestra. The Nakba of 1948 forced the relocation of the station to Cyprus; in 1953, the orchestra moved to the station's office in Beirut, where Baklouk worked until 1956. At about the same time, a recording studio company was started and headed by Sabri al-Sharif. Baklouk worked for that company until the British Broadcasting Corporation opened a facility for British war propaganda; he and many of his colleagues worked for the BBC until 1961, when they moved to the newly-formed Lebanese radio station.
In 1962, Baklouk started teaching percussion at the National Conservatory (his tenure would be 26 years). He accompanied the pioneers of the modern Lebanese song, a genre that grew out of folk music yet exposed to world cultures. He worked with Halim al-Rumi, Farid al-Atrash, Tawfiq al-Basha, Zaki Nasif, Filimon Wahbi, Abd al-Halim Hafez, Mohammad Abd al-Wahhab, and others. His primary work, however, was with the Rahbani Brothers and Fairuz, whom he first remembers as a choral singer at the radio station.
Baklouk currently resides in New York City, where he teaches percussion and performs in nationally-renowned ensembles.
