DaveH
Oud Junkie
Posts: 526
Registered: 12-23-2005
Location: Birmingham, UK
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Rant
Hi All
This post by al Halabi interested me. It's from a recent thread on a CD by the Turath ensemble:
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"It is odd that the title given to this album ("La musica de al-Andalus") has little relationship to the origin of the music on it. The music is
actually Syrian, typical of the tradition of Aleppo. The recording includes five muwashshah songs, a poetic genre that did originate in Islamic Spain,
although the poets who wrote the verses of these particular songs are not known and cannot be placed definitely in Islamic Spain. The melodies of most
of the traditional muwashshahat we have today were composed after the fall of Islamic Spain, primarily in Aleppo, which was a leading center for
composition in this genre into the twentieth century. The recording also includes five Aleppo folk songs of the qadd halabi genre, which has no
claimed connection to the music of al-Andalus; a 20th-century sama'i (the sama'i developed in the Ottoman Empire well after the fall of al-Andalus);
and examples of mawwal, qasida, and layali that are typical of the Syrian tradition of improvisational singing. And the medley of vocal and
instrumental pieces in the recording is organized as a wasla, a Syrian musical suite that emerged sometime around the 17th century as a local
counterpart to the contemporary Ottoman suite (fasil). |
Now I'm sure the CD is great (I haven't heard it but I will try to).
But it's an example of something I'm sure lots of people have noticed - the use of the very romantic image of al Andalus to sell CDs. And very well it
seems to work too - for people right from Munir Bashir to Jordi Savall and modern "flamencoud lounge".
I have to admit it gets on my nerves a little. Mainly because, as al-Halabi points out, the music that claims this link is usually very distant from
andalusi music, whatever that was. As far as I know, we know nothing at all about what this music actually sounded like
Muashahat, which are so often claimed in concerts and in CD liner notes, may have a poetic form which originated in this period, but musically they
bear no relation at all, as far as I understand, being a 19th century and Arab creation.
I guess arguably the closest link is the Andalusi music of North Africa. But this actually rarely features in this type of nostalgia, I think because
it is less accessible to the Western ear - We often prefer something much more recognisable or "flamencoized".
I'm no expert on the history of this, but I just wondered what other people thought about this marketing phenomenon.
Why is it so effective? Are Europeans trying to steal arabic forms or somehow make them less "threatening"? Are we trying to hark back to a
romanticised age when all was well between East and West (which is an oversimplification of both then and now)? And why do we always have to invoke
Ziryab? (don't get me started on Ziryab).
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John Erlich
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1463
Registered: 8-26-2004
Location: California, USA
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Mood: Oud-Obsessed
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Hi Dave,
I think the Spanish "Andalus" music series are generally excellent recordings, but many have a very questionable connection to geographic
Spain/Al-Andalus.
I have the Al-Turath Ensemble one legitimately and the others via (illegal) MP3 download. Unfortunately CDs published by the Spanish (and French)
seem to go out of print quickly.
I agree that it's cloying anytime music is commercially packaged in a way that is historically inaccurate. However, I keep trying to remind myself
that projects such as this--albeit "baby steps"--are positive in terms of Spain coming to terms with its past.
Just my thoughts...
Peace,
John
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Manil
Oud Maniac
Posts: 77
Registered: 3-19-2010
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Andalusia is the last place in Europe where Arabs stayed for a long time, it was a place for sharing (culture, business, knowledge) and the remaining
arab buildings are outstanding, people from europe are very attached to this part of history since it inspired them, a lot of mid-age music is based
on the same modes that we have in the Andalusi music in north africa, some of them want to learn andalussy music to know better their mid-age
music.
Sorry my english is not that perfect....just my thoughts
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fernandraynaud
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1865
Registered: 7-25-2009
Location: San Francisco, California
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Manil has many good points.
Besides, it will be a long time before human history can be studied impartially. In light of all the contradictory data, and the bias shown by
everyone, it's perhaps smartest to accept labels and concepts that promote harmony and friendship, as long as the details are not falsified. It's
harmless, even helpful, to romanticize Al Andalus as a place of East-West brotherhood, and splash the terms on album jackets, as long as no gross
inaccuracies are inserted into the history books. Advertising is not the place for scholarly debates. I want the oud and Sharki music to be better
appreciated, I want people to get along, frankly that's more important to me than many other things. I don't care for the flamenco-oud sound at all,
Nasseer's style is on the verge of no no, but if the LABEL helps extend boundaries, if a CD jacket claiming Big Breasted Carmen's Corrida Takasim of
Seville gets people to hear Takasim, I'm not going to complain too loudly -- hopefully the inside liner notes are more historically relevant.
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DaveH
Oud Junkie
Posts: 526
Registered: 12-23-2005
Location: Birmingham, UK
Member Is Offline
Mood: No Mood
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Yea, well, I called it rant because I know it's a pretty rhetorical viewpoint. I realise promoters will latch on to anything that has a link to
something in the popular imagination, no matter how tenuous. And for anything arabic, that seems to be al-Andalus, at the moment.
But as I said, I'm not criticising these specific recordings, as I haven't heard them and will make a point of doing so. It's just I'm wondering why
it is this works for us as impressionable listeners/buyers.
I'm off to muwashahat Ziryab fusion with Paco de Lucia and the Sephardi orchestra of enlightenment at the Alhambra (that's the Alhambra, Blackpool).
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