jenni
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How to discuss different genres of "arab music"
How do you put into words the differences between genres of classical arabic music?
I am beginning to hear the differences... the way i divide it in my head now is: andalousi; syrian/lebanese/palestinian; egyptian; gulf; iraqi
maqam.
but if someone were to ask me, "what is different about these genres," and in musical terms, i would have NO IDEA what to say. the furthest i'd get
is to describe maybe the differences in some vocal techniques...
it's probably my nature to be curious about this because my background is western classical music, in which we must be able to describe theoretically
and musically what makes one genre or piece of music diferent from the next... i guess i would like to be able to translate my musical "feelings" or
"intuition" into logical statements.
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David.B
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Hi jenni,
I going to talk about oud, not arab music. The first school, al andalus, is from the Maghreb (it came to Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, (Libya ?) from
Andalousia after the reconquista). The second school you're talking about is the Levant school: Egypt, Lebanon and Syria. The Third is the Iraqi
School. Also, you have the Turkish school and the Black African school (like in Sudan).
I guess there's a correlation between the growth of al andalus and the Omeyyades, the Levant school and the Fatimides, the Iraqi school and the
Abbasids and the Turkish school and the Seldjoukides. This is for the political and geographical point of view. For the artistic point of view I give
up as I'm studying the Levant School without so much points of comparison...
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David.B
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About Arab music:
LES DIFFERENTS GENRES DE MUSIQUE SAVANTE PROFANE:
1. Le Maqam al-Iraqi
2. La Nouba andalouse
3. Le Mouachchah
4. Le Dor
5. La Qasidah
6. Le Layali
7. Le Maoual
8. Le Taqsim
9. Le Bachraf et le Samaï (Persev et Semaï en Turc)
10. La Tahmilah
11. Le Doulab
LA MUSIQUE RELIGIEUSE
1. Le Tartil, Tadjouid ou Tagbir
2. L'Adhan
3. Le Maoulid
4. Le Madih Nabaoui
5. Le Zikr ou Dhekr
6. La Hadra
Each genre is detailed in "La Musique Arabe" by Habib Hassan Touma.
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jenni
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cool, thanks david!
(to answer the question you asked in the other discussion, i unfortunately don't speak french...)
so these genres exist in all of the schools?
i guess now looking at all of these genres, i see how incredibly general and (consequently) difficult my question is....
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David.B
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I really don't know. In Paris I learned with Longa-s (this genre is not discussed by Touma), Doulab-s, Mouachchah-s and Taksim-s, but most of all
Farid El Atrach, Oum Kaltoum, Abdel Wahab... I don't think there's a standard way for all schools.
Quote: Originally posted by jenni  | | i guess now looking at all of these genres, i see how incredibly general and (consequently) difficult my question is.... |
Yes you're right 
OK, I've just remembered a website in English:
http://www.maqamworld.com/forms.html
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Brian Prunka
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Touma's list is confusing because he conflates musical forms (i.e., formal genres) with musical styles (i.e., stylistic/regional genres).
Sometimes these are inseparable, but it can be confusing.
I don't claim authoritative knowledge here (I meant it when I said it's confusing!), but here are some distinctions as I understand them:
Bachraf, Longa, and Samai are all Ottoman forms, but there are many compositions by Egyptians, Syrians, Palestinians, etc. utilizing these forms.
Muwashshah for example is an Andalusian song form originally, but many of the most well known are actually more recent (primarily Syrian)
compositions. They often have complex rhythmic cycles: 10 and 14 are frequent, as well as 7, 9, 32, etc.
Dor is a particular kind of long-form vocal piece, common in Levantine music, if I recall correctly. Originally Egyptian, it features simple meters,
refrains, call and response. A lot of Farid, Oum Kulthoum, and Abdel Wahab songs are in this general category.
In contrast, Qudud are much simpler songs, mostly originating in Syria. Wadi al Safi's repertoire contains a lot of these.
Nouba is Tunisian, I think--I don't know too much about that one.
Tahmilah is an instrumental form that is specific to the Levant, utilizing a kind of theme and variations in a call and response setting between the
soloist and ensemble.
Doulab is generic term for a short instrumental introduction.
Qasidah, Mawwal, and Layali are all vocal forms. The Qasidah is the most composed, with both text (classical Arabic) and music, while Mawwal has a
text, but improvised melody, and Layali is improvised melody with no poetic text.
Stylistically, Khaliji (gulf music) is characterized by the unique rhythms and relatively sparse instrumentation.
Egyptian music often has larger orchestras with tightly arranged parts, although stylistically it is not that different from the music of Lebanon,
Palestine and Syria. Lebanon also has a propensity for "modern" orchestras with more arrangement and bigger groups.
There are regional variations in repertoire, often most pronounced in the folk music of the area, rather than the 'classical music.'
Iraqi maqam refers to both the maqamat used and a specific repertory of melodies and compositions that are unique to that style.
Often certain iqa'at are preferred in certain regions or in particular formal genres:
Jurjinah is popular with Iraqis, but much less common in Egypt and Lebanon.
Gulf Arabs have a wide variety of rhythmic variations that are unique to their music.
Dor (Dawr) uses only simple iqa'at (2, 3, 4, 6, and 8), while Muwashshahat often use complex iqa'at (7, 10, 14, 32).
The music of non-Arab Africans is an area unto itself. Sudan, Somalia, 'Upper Egypt' etc., all have their own characteristics.
A Palestinian might perform a Gulf song, but it will not sound like a real Khaliji performance. For an example, contrast Naser Musa and Abadi el
Johar playing/singing gulf songs.
Hamza el-Din would sometimes perform a muwashah or dawr, but stylistically he maintained his regional identity even in that repertoire.
etc.
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David.B
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Thanks Brian to complete and comment what Touma wrote, I'm not so aware of all these musical forms and styles. Your knowledge is welcome!
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Luttgutt
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Very difficult and confusing topic indeed!
my two cent... the way I undderstood jenni's question:
There are 3 categories:
1- Classical arabic music: This is big "ambrella" that covers all the music of the "cities" (Cairo, Tripoly, Aleppo etc....)
2- Traditional music: that is highly subjective. In Lebanon, Wadi al Safi, Sabah, Filimon Wehbi-Fairuz etc would be traditional. The same for the
other countries..
3- Folk music: And as much as I know there only 7 or so of them in the arabic world. Of wich I remember: Khaliji (golf), Saaidi (south egypt), Mount
Liban (Mijena, Ateba...), Soudani (forgot the name).
P.s. As for Andalousi, as Brian Prunka says, what we today assosiate with andalousi or muwasha7 is recent (exp. Lamma bada is of Said Darwish).
The closest we can come to Andalousi is actully the Nouba (with is from Andalousia, but "presurved" and is kept alive thanks to Marroco, Tunis and
Algeria. Exp: Shams al 3ashi (qodam raml al maya).
The wood might be dead, but the oud is alive.
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