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Brian Prunka
Oud Junkie
Posts: 2916
Registered: 1-30-2004
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Member Is Offline
Mood: Stringish
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Not to put down Anouar Brahem, because I really love his music and I think he is a great player and composer, but I'm not convinced that he
"knows a tremendous amount about the Arabic tradition." Maybe so, but it's not apparent from his recordings (I have the following:
Barzakh, Conte de L'Incroyable Amour, Astrakan Cafe, Thimar, Madar, Le Pas du Chat Noir, and also Silences of the Palace, a film soundtrack he
produced). He never uses quarter-tones, which are such an essential part of the tradition. His improvisational concept, while brilliant, seems to
have little to do with the tradition of taqsim. The traditional musical vocabulary is largely absent from his compositions and improvisations.
I'm not saying he would sound better if he were more traditional, just that it's not apparent that he has studied the tradition in great
depth. Maybe he does know more than he's letting on . . . has anyone heard him play traditional music? Doesn't Adel know him? I've
been mystified by this for a while . . . either way, I love his music, though.
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mavrothis
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1674
Registered: 6-5-2003
Location: NJ/NYC
Member Is Offline
Mood: big band envy
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Brian,
His modern compositions are mostly devoid of 'quarter-tone' notes by his choice, not b/c he is lacking in any knowledge or experience.
In a short bio I read of him, it described how he studied in great lengths not only the rich Arabic tradition, but the Ottoman tradition as well.
I think it should be always assumed that what you hear in a recording is a limited representation of the performer, what he/she has chosen to present
to us for various reasons in a short span of time.
I think many players seem to want to branch out from the traditionalist playing that they were brought up on, and leave their own mark. Each one
chooses their own way. I agree that his music is really wonderful.
Take care,
mav
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Brian Prunka
Oud Junkie
Posts: 2916
Registered: 1-30-2004
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Member Is Offline
Mood: Stringish
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Mav,
I agree that "what you hear in a recording is a limited representation of the performer," which is why I wasn't saying that Brahem is
"lacking in . . . knowledge or experience." But that given this admittedly "limited representation," I find no real evidence
that Brahem "knows a tremendous amount about the Arabic tradition," as Roy put it. Not that it proves he doesn't, either,
there's just no way to tell from the recordings. I understand that he produced a number of casettes while he was still living in Tunisia;
I'd like to hear them, as I assume that they may have shown more of his "traditional" side.
I don't think that "mostly devoid of quarter-tones" is an accurate description of his music . . . can you point to ANY use of
quarter-tones by Brahem? Even on "Silences of the Palace," where he's not playing and he's obviously composing in a more
traditional style, he avoids quarter-tones. it may be his choice, certainly, and he may very well have a great depth of knowledge which he chooses
not to display. If so, I must say it's a curious choice that I find hard to understand. it's very possible, but I'm not going to just
assume that it's true without any evidence.
Bios and press releases are generally not credible sources; they're written by people whose agenda is to sell the artist, create an image, etc,
and the writers tend to embellish or stretch the facts. In short, I'm not assuming that he has a great understanding of Arabic music, but
I'm not assuming that he doesn't, either. I'd really like more information . . .
of course, none of this really matters in determining whether he is a great musician; only the music matters for that. Still, since the subject of
the thread is who you should study to learn about traditional oud playing, then Brahem is definitely not the guy to choose. You might learn a lot
about music and playing oud, but traditional he is not.
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Brian Prunka
Oud Junkie
Posts: 2916
Registered: 1-30-2004
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Member Is Offline
Mood: Stringish
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oops, I actually found one example of quarter-tones on "Silences of the Palace." I didn't realize it was one of Brahem's tunes (a
lot of the music is by other composers). Anyone know of any other pieces?
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