by | January 21, 2025 · 6:00 am

The many lives of the ʿūd

The library of the Institut du Monde Arabe (Arab World Institute) in Paris is home to an extensive collection of writings on music from the Arab world, a region stretching from the Atlas Mountains to the Indian Ocean. This series of blog posts highlights selections from this collection, along with abstracts written by RILM staff members contained in RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, the comprehensive bibliography of writings about music and music-related subjects. The Institut du Monde Arabe Museum holds a permanent exhibition of select musical instruments from the Arab world. It features a ṭambūr  (frame drum), a darbūkaẗ (drum), a few mizmār (flutes), a qānūn (box zither), and an ʿūd (lute), all on loan from the Musée du Quai Branly, as well as a rabāb (spike fiddle).

The ʿūd has lived countless lives. While empires, caliphates, and sultanates have faded into history, the ʿūd endures—a carrier of musical knowledge and a symbol of civilizations’ legacy whose influence stretches from the shores of Spain in the West to landscapes beyond the Zagros Mountains in the East. The ʿūd has had many shapes and answered to many names. In Iran, it is the barbat; in the Eastern Arab world, the ʿūd; in the Maġrib, the naqlāb and kuwītraẗ; and along the Arab Gulf, the qanbūs. When the ʿūd journeyed to Europe with the musicians of Arab Andalusia (711–1492), it transformed yet again. It acquired new shapes, new roles, and a new reverence, preserving fragments of its name across European languages: laúd in Spanish, liuto in Italian, luth in French, and lute in English. The ʿūd also borrows references to the human body, with its frets stretching on a “forearm” (zind), its strings anchored on a “nose” (anf), and its “face” (wajh) adorned with sound holes named after the “moon” (qamarāt) and the “sun” (šamsiyyaẗ).

Figure 1. The ʿūd of Rabat at the Musée Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Essaouira [Photography collection of the Institut du Monde Arabe, inv. 99580 (copyright: IMA/MAROC IMAGES). Link to photograph.

In the Arab world, no instrument has been revered as much as the ʿūd  that was bestowed with the title of the “sultan of instruments”. Starting in the 9th century, the ʿūd was used to codify music theory. References to the ʿūd date to as early as the 9th century al-Kindī (801?–866?) and evolved through the writings of philosophers and theorists such as al-Farābī (870?–950?), Iẖwān al-Ṣafá (10th century), Ibn al-Munaǧǧim (855?–912), and Ṣafī al-Dīn al-Urmawī (1216?–94). These scholars used the ʿūd as a model to illustrate music theory, conduct mathematical calculations of musical intervals, and analyze the relationships between string length and fingerboard proportions. Intriguingly, philosophical reflections of the era often linked the ʿūd to the cosmological and natural orders. Writings from the Islamic Golden Age (8th through 13th centuries) drew parallels between the ʿūd’s four strings, the four seasons, the four elements of nature, and human temperaments. The four ʿūd strings (bamm, maṯlaṯ, maṯná, zīr) were imagined to resonate with human moods. With that, the ʿūd became a link between human and nature and bore the scholarly concerns with connecting the physical and the metaphysical realms.

Figure 2. An illustration by Ṣafī al-Dīn al-Urmawī of the ʿūd fingerboard demonstrating the place of frets and musical intervals. Source: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts LJS 235: Kitāb al-adwār fī al-mūsīqá, https://openn.library.upenn.edu/Data/0001/html/ljs235.html.

In the centuries since its rise in intellectual circles, the ʿūd has been carried in the arms of countless musicians, accompanied singers across genres, and appeared in illuminated manuscripts, ornate miniatures, and decorative artifacts. By the late 19th century, as Arab societies were mobilized during the Nahda era, the Arab Renaissance, the ʿūd was reimagined in shape and use to suit changing aesthetic tastes and sensibilities. The ʿūd was not merely preserved—it became an active participant in the cultural revolution of the time.

Above is a concert by the Algerian group Trio Bouchala led by Yahia Bouchala playing the Algerian kuwītraẗ, also known as the Andalusian ʿūd. Source: Institut du Monde Arabe.

The 20th century brought further reinvention, as the ʿūd earned the status of a national symbol. Burgeoning nation-states considered the ʿūd a national hero whose history stretched back in the history of their nations and was to carry the fervor of rapid modernization. The ʿūd reasserted its central presence in art musics across the region: the Andalusian ālaẗ suite of Fès, the mālūf of Algerian Constantine, the waṣlaẗsuite of Cairo and Aleppo, and the Iraqi maqām of Baghdad. The ʿūd was no longer a bridge between humans and the cosmos but represented the musical ideals of entire nations.

Figure 3. A stamp depicting the ʿūd issued by the Republic of Iraq in the 1980s.

After Ziryāb (d. 852?), a polymath and musician of the Abbasid court in Baghdad who fled to Andalusia in the 9th century, graced the ʿūd with its fifth string, adapting it to the demands of new musical styles and planting its roots in Europe, the instrument embarked on a journey that would span centuries and continents. Nearly a millennium later, the sixth string was added, expanding, yet again, the ʿūd’s capacity for expression. And the ʿūd, cradled in the arms of generations, remains as cherished as ever.

The annotated bibliography below introduces the Institut du Monde Arabe’s holdings on the ʿūd as well as  musical instruments, and their roles in Arab music.

Annotated bibliography

Abdallah, Tarek. “L’évolution de l’art du ‘ūd égyptien en solo à l’aune du 78 tours” [The evolution of the art of the solo Egyptian ʿūd as featured on 78-rpm records], Revue des traditions musicales des mondes arabe et méditerranéen 4 (2010) 53–66. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2010-29832; IMA catalog reference]

Presents an analytical study of the evolution of the art of the solo Egyptian ʿūd recorded on 78-rpm records between 1910 and 1930 and the influence of the recording medium on musical forms and the techniques of ʿūd making. The analysis of these recordings shows the impact of the recording format constraints on the development of independent instrumental music, in particular taqsīm and samāʿī. It also permits the development of a typology of playing techniques (the right-hand techniques such as rīšaẗ, octave shifting, and zīr bam; and left-hand techniques such as baṣm), which constitute characteristic signatures of the Egyptian school, and the manner through which soloists mark their style.

Abid, Mohamed. L’o̊ûd oriental: Pratique et méthodes d’enseignement en Tunisie [The oriental ʽūd: Practice and teaching methods in Tunisia] (Villeneuve d’Ascq: Septentrion, 2000) [Doctoral dissertation, Université Paris IV, 1997]. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 1997-55215; IMA catalog reference]

The ʿūd is the central instrument for practical and theoretical application in Arab music. Its history and origins illustrate its long use in performance practice across the Arab world and beyond, and various organological descriptions reveal its varied forms across countries in the region. In Tunisia, masters of ʿūd have developed techniques and repertoire for the instrument that culminated in oral and written pedagogical methods. Excerpts from these methods are included.

al-Ašhab, Muḥammad. تعليم المقامات العربية على الآلات الموسيقية [Teaching Arab maqām on musical instruments] (2nd ed.; al-Dār al-Bayḍā’: [Muḥammad al-Ašhab], 1994). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 1994-36229; IMA catalog reference]

Introduces 21 short exercises of various maqām applied on the ʿūd. The notated exercises are supplemented with illustrations of the fingers and the notes positions on the ʿūd.

al-Baṣrī, Ḥamīd. “بحث في تاريخ آلة القانون وأجزائها” [Research on the qānūn instrument], al-Ḥayāẗ al-mūsīqiyyaẗ/Music life 13 (1996) 31–43. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 1996-44009; IMA catalog reference]

Discusses the history, the development, playing techniques, and the parts of the qānūn.

Bilqazīz, ʿAbd al-Ilāh. “حوار مع مرسيل خليفة” [An interview with Marsīl H̱alīfaẗ], al-Mustaqbal al-ʿarabī 25:285 (Tišrīn al-ṯānī/Nūfambir 2004) 83–97. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2004-47657; IMA catalog reference]

An interview with Lebanese singer, composer, and ʿūd player Marsīl H̱alīfaẗ about his album Concerto al Andalus, his compositional style, his approach to poetry in composition, his works for the ʿūd, and broader issues related to the history and current state of Arab art music.

Fāẖūrī, Kifāḥ. آلات الموسيقى العربية [Arab musical instruments] (Bayrūt: Šarikaẗ al-Maṭbūʿāt li-l-Ṭibāʿaẗ wa-al-Našr, 1998). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 1998-50327; IMA catalog reference]

Introduces and describes instruments used in Arab music, including the ʿūd, the qānūn, the rabāb, the sanṭūr, the ṭanbūr, the ǧūzaẗ, the kināraẗ, the nāy, the mizmār, the mizmāraẗ, the darbūkaẗ, the riqq, the mizhir, the ṭabl, the ṣāǧāt, the naqqāraẗ, the ṣāǧāt.

Faraḥ, Ğūrğ. I تمارين موسيقية لآلة العود [Musical exercises for the ʿūd. I] (3rd ed., rev. and enl.; Bayrūt: Manšūrāt Dār Maktabaẗ al-Ḥayāẗ, 1985). [IMA catalog reference]

Presents introductory exercises for playing the ʿūd.

Faraḥ, Ğūrğ. II تمارين موسيقية لآلة العود [Musical exercises for the ʿūd. II] (3rd ed., rev. and enl.; Bayrūt: Manšūrāt Dār Maktabaẗ al-Ḥayāẗ, 1985). [IMA catalog reference]

Presents intermediate exercises and compositions for playing the ʿūd.

Faraḥ, Ğūrğ. III تمارين موسيقية لآلة العود [Musical exercises for the ʿūd III] (3rd ed., rev. and enl.; Bayrūt: Manšūrāt Dār Maktabaẗ al-Ḥayāẗ, 1985). [IMA catalog reference]

Presents advanced exercises and compositions for playing the ʿūd.

Farraj, Johnny and Sami Abu Shumays. Inside Arabic music: Arabic maqam performance and theory in the 20th century (New York: Oxford University Press, 2019). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2019-6370; IMA catalog reference]

What makes hundreds of listeners cheer ecstatically at the same instant during a live concert by Egyptian diva Umm Kulṯūm? What is the unspoken language behind a taqsīm (traditional instrumental improvisation) that performers and listeners implicitly know? How can Arabic music be so rich and diverse without resorting to harmony? Why is it so challenging to transcribe Arabic music from a recording? These questions are addressed from the perspective of two “insiders” in the practice of Arab music by documenting a performance culture and a know-how that is primarily passed on orally. Arab music has spread across the globe, influencing music from Greece all the way to India in the mid-20th century through radio and musical cinema and global popular culture through raqs šarqī, known as “belly dance” in the West. Yet despite its popularity and influence, Arab music, and the maqām scale system at its basis, remain widely misunderstood. Understanding maqām requires an approach that draws theory directly from practice and presents theoretical insights that will be useful to practitioners, from the beginner to the expert, and those interested in the related Persian, Central Asian, and Turkish makam traditions. The discussion of maqām and improvisation widens the general understanding of music as well, by bringing in ideas from Saussurean linguistics, network theory, and Lakoff and Johnson’s theory of cognition as metaphor, with an approach parallel to Gjerdingen’s analysis of Galant-period music–offering a lens into the deeper relationships among music, culture, and human community. [synopsis by the publisher]

Ḥamīd, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz. “العود في الآثار العربية” [The ʿūd in Arabic sources], al-Mūsīqá al-ʿarabiyyaẗ 1 (Tammūz/Yūlyū 1998) 11–44. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 1982-49223; IMA catalog reference]

The use of the ʿūd can be traced in Arabic literary sources before Islam. Manuscripts that survived from the Abbasid period (750–1258) contain writings on the instrument by philosophers and music theorists and provide depictions of the ʿūd, its shapes, and uses.

al-H̱ulaʿī, Muḥammad Kāmil. كتاب الموسيقى الشرقي [The book of Oriental music] (al-Qāhiraẗ: al-Dār al-ʿArabiyyaẗ li-l-Kitāb, 1993). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 1993-32078; IMA catalog reference]

According to traditional Arab music theory, music should be studied as two branches: melody (laḥn) and rhythm (īqāʿ). Sound and its physical characteristics, tones and intervals and their types, transposition, and what makes plausible intervals and tones, are also important topics in music theory. Performance styles in Egypt in the 19th and early 20th centuries reflect the broader social and aesthetic changes. Arrangements of 23 performance cycles of muwaššaḥāt with transcription of their poetry and rhythmic cycles are included. Biographies, chronicles, and selection from the repertoires of musicians serve as a rich reference for the musical and literary life of the period. The musicians include Aḥmad Abū H̱alīl al-Qabbānī, ʿAbduh al-Ḥāmūlī, Muḥammad ʿUṯmān, Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Raḥīm al-Maslūb, Muḥammad Sālim (al-Kabīr), Yūsuf al-Manyalāwī, Ibrāhīm al-Qabbānī, Salāmaẗ Ḥiğāzī, and Muḥammad Kāmil al-H̱ulaʿī. 

Loopuyt, Marc. Le oud Nahhât: Luth mythique de Damas (Paris: Musée de la Musique, 2018). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2018-63384; IMA catalog reference]

Repository of a thousand-year tradition in which geometry, philosophy, and poetry conjoin, the ʿūd made in the 1930s by the luthier ʿAbduh Naḥḥāt in Damascus is a window on the art and the knowledge of the Arab world.

al-Mahdī, Ṣāliḥ. إيقاعات الموسيقى العربية وأشكالها [Arab music rhythms and forms] (Qartāğ: Bayt al-Ḥikmaẗ, 1990). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 1990-43850; IMA catalog reference]

Īqāʿ (rhythm) is a defining feature of Arab music, its poetry, and musical and vocal forms. The relationship between poetic meter and rhythm in Arab music is of great importance, especially as it provides the foundation of many musical forms. Special attention is given to the art of ṣawt in the Arab Gulf, the nawbaẗ from the Arab Maghrib, the dawr, the muwaššaḥ, and instrumental forms such as bašraf, taḥmīlaẗ, samāʿī, and sīrtū. Arab music rhythms were documented in the recordings of the 1932 Cairo Congress of Arab Music. Selections of compositions recorded during the congress are discussed.

Poché, Christian. Musiques du monde arabe: Écoute et découverte (Paris: Institut du Monde Arabe, 1994). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 1994-21319; IMA catalog reference]

Presents an overview of the music of the Arab world, including repertoires, instruments, melodies, rhythms, and forms. The 25 musical examples illustrate the text and allow learners to complete the 82 proposed exercises. An answer key accompanies each of these exercises. Bibliographic references, an iconography of instruments, a glossary of terms, and a select discography complete this guide, whose objective is to facilitate the understanding and appreciation of Arab music.

Poché, Christian. “Le joueur magnifique” [The magnificent musician], Qantara 26 (hiver 1997-98) 22-24. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 1997-55262; IMA catalog reference]

Munīr Bašīr was an ʿūd master who introduced new techniques and aesthetics to the playing of the instrument. His interpretation of the Arab maqām and his improvisations marked an important milestone in modernizing Arab music.

Poché, Christian. “Oud: Histoire de l’instrument qui voulait jouer tout seul” [The ʿūd: A history of the instrument that plays on its own], Qantara 35 (printemps 2000) 23–25. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2000-84943; IMA catalog reference]

In the context of modernization efforts throughout the 20th century, the ʿūd experienced significant stylistic and technical transformations. In the early 20th century, ʿūd masters in Turkey–such as Şerif Muhiddin H. Targan (1892–1967), Udi Hırant (1901–78), and Yorgo Bacanos–and in Egypt, including Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, played pivotal roles in developing a unique approach to the instrument within their respective musical scenes. In the latter half of the century, ʿūd players Ǧamīl Bašīr, Munīr Bašīr, Salmān Šukr, and Marsīl H̱alīfaẗ contributed to this evolution by introducing modernist elements that redefined the ʿūd ’s role and expression within Middle Eastern musical traditions.

Qaṭṭāṭ , Maḥmūd. آلة العود بين دقة العلم وأسرار الفن [The ʿūd: Between the accuracy of science and the secrets of art] (Masqaṭ: Markaz ʿUmān li-l-Mūsīqá al-Taqlīdiyyaẗ/Oman Center for Traditional Music, 2006) [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2006-52600; IMA catalog reference]

The ʿūd is an ancient Middle Eastern instrument that has endured through the ages, thriving and earning its reputation as the sultan of instruments. Its history is marked by significant changes in organology, size, and use, with many adaptations shaping its evolution. Archaeological evidence reveals depictions of various lute-like instruments dating back to the 3rd century B.C.E. in the Near East and Central Asia. By the medieval Islamic period, the ʿūd had reached a remarkable stage of development, undergoing further refinement in both construction and playing techniques, reaching its peak in the 10th century. During that time, it was used in performance and as a tool for studying music theory and exploring the philosophical dimensions of music. These references are found in manuscripts, archaeological artifacts, decorative objects, and illuminations, with connections to music and a range of other topics, including science, society, and literature. The introduction of the ʿūd to Europe, facilitated by the Muslim rule in Andalusia, also impacted the development of the lute in Europe, influencing both instrument construction and music theory. In the 20th century, master ʿūd players have embraced new enhancements and innovations, influenced by the modernization of music and the adoption of forms from Ottoman musical tradition. Today, the ʿūd is used across various genres in the Arab world, known by different names across the cultural regions of the Arab Mašriq, Iraq, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Maghrib. Each area has distinct variations in the ʿūd’s shape, playing techniques, and repertoire. Modern instrument developments, including string construction and crafting techniques, have accompanied the rise of new performance schools.

Saḥḥāb, Fiktūr. السبعة الكبار في الموسيقى العربية المعاصرة: سيد درويش، محمد القصبجي، زكريا أحمد، محمد عبد الوهاب، أم كلثوم، رياض السنباطي، أسمهان [The seven wonders of contemporary Arab music: Sayyid Darwīš, Muḥammad al-Qaṣabǧī, Zakariyyaẗ Aḥmad, Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, Umm Kulṯūm, Riyyāḍ al-Sunbāṭī, Asmahān] (Bayrūt: Dār al-ʿIlm li-l-Malāyīn, 2001) [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2001-48847; IMA catalog reference]

The 19th and early 20th centuries brought rapid modernization to Egypt, with technological and cultural shifts that profoundly impacted musical life. By examining the musical contributions of eight masters from the first half of the 20th century, often regarded as the golden age of Arab music, we gain insight into the evolution of Arab musical forms, the emergence of new styles, as well as about political upheavals, all of which still continues to shape Arab music today. The biographies, anecdotes, works, compositional processes, stylistic characteristics, and political engagements of these influential singers, instrumentalists, and composers are analyzed.

Ṣafadī, Rūbīr. تاريخ الموسيقى العربية [The history of Arab music] (Bayrūt: Dār al-Fikr al-ʿArabī, 2004). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2004-46854; IMA catalog reference]

In the first three decades of the 20th century in Egypt, music making was marked by the work and performance practice of musicians, composers, and singers who laid the foundation of Arab music aesthetics. The main master musicians of that period were: Muḥammad ʿUṯmān, ʿAbduh al-Ḥāmūlī, Salāmāẗ Ḥiǧāzī, Abū al-ʿIlā Muḥammad, Dāwūd Ḥusnī, Muḥammad al-Qaṣabǧī, Sayyid Darwīš, and Zakariyyā Aḥmad. The following two decades witnessed the introduction of changes and innovation in Arab art music. The most prominent figures of that period were Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Wahhāb and his contemporaries including Maḥmūd al-Šarīf, Farīd al-Aṭraš, Ḥalīm al-Rūmī, Ǧalāl Ḥarb, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Maḥmūd, Muḥammad Fawzī, and Midḥat ʿĀṣīm. ʿAbd al-Wahhāb’s career, his style of composition, and the songs and music he composed for films attest to his contribution to Egyptian music and cinema. Starting in the 1950s, a new generation of musicians and composers drew on the aesthetics of the early period of modernization. The works of Lebanese musicians and composers also had a great impact on the development of Arab music. Biographies of musicians and excerpts of lyrics of select composers and singers are included.

al-Sibāʿī, ʿAbbās Sulaymān. العود العربي وتجربته على النغمة الخماسية في السودان [The Arab ʿūd and the Sudanese pentatonic scale] (al-H̱arṭūm: Manšūrāt al-H̱arṭūm, 2007) [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2007-54096; IMA catalog reference]

The ʿūd was a subject of study among philosophers of medieval Islam, including al-Kindī, al-Farābī, Isḥāq al-Mawṣilī, Ibn Sīnā, and Ziryāb. In Sudan, the introduction of the Arab ʿūd occurred in the early 20th century and had attracted significant interest. The ʿūd was adapted to play pentatonic music traditionally known in the country. Detailed descriptions of the craftsmanship of the ʿūd, as well as its technical and aesthetic aspects, are provided. Selected compositions by Barʿī Muḥammad Dafʿ Allāh, al-ʿĀqib Muḥammad Ḥasan, ʿAlī Makkī for the ʿūd are also featured. Additionally, the transcription of melodic excerpts and the application of Sudanese pentatonic modes, along with distinctive playing styles and techniques on the ʿūd are examined. Exercises for the ʿūd and scores of well-known Sudanese melodies and songs are included, providing a practical resource for students and musicians.

Makhlouf, Hamdi. Métamorphoses du ʿūd: De l’organologie á l’espace compositionnel [Metamorphoses of the ʿūd: From organology to compositional space] (Sīdī Bū Saʿīd: Ennejma Ezzahra: Centre des Musiques Arabes et Méditerranéennes;Tunis: Éditions Sotumédias, 2020). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2020-76947; IMA catalog reference]

The morphological evolution of the ʿūd from antiquity to the present established a foundation for understanding the ʿūd  both as a material object and as an influential element in musical culture and provided the background of a semantic analysis of modern compositional techniques and styles. The epistemological framework of the compositional space for the ʿūd  is structured on three levels: knowledge attained through listening, formal structuring, and semantic interpretation. Close analyses of a taqsīm by Ǧamīl Bašīr, and compositions by Munīr Bašīr (al-ʿUṣfūr al-ṭā’ir), Le Trio Joubran (Masār), and Naseer Shamma (Ḥadaṯ fī al-ʿāmiriyyaẗ) are presented.

Vigreux, Philippe. La derbouka: Technique fondamentale et initiation aux rythmes arabes [The darbūkaẗ: Basic technique and introduction to Arab rhythms] (Paris: Edisud, 1985). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 1985-31342; IMA catalog reference]

Rhythm in Arab music is discussed through its quantitative (time unit, measure, and rhythmic cycle) and qualitative (accentuation and ornamentation) aspects. Fundamental techniques of the darbūkaẗ are explained through illustrative images and notated practices of basic rhythms and their applications.

Written and compiled by Farah Zahra, Associate Editor, RILM

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by | January 17, 2025 · 6:00 am

Synchromism’s optics and acoustics

The avant-garde artistic movement known as synchromism was founded in Paris in 1913 by the American modernist painters Morgan Russell and Stanton Macdonald-Wright. Initially focused on figurative art, the two artists, after relocating to the French capital, began to explore the properties and effects of color, drawing inspiration from the artistic currents that had emerged in the late 19th century. Russell coined the term “synchromism” by combining the word “symphony” with “chrome,” inspired by idea of color and music blending together. The resulting artwork, called synchromies, used the color scale in a manner similar to how notes are arranged in a musical composition. Synchromism, in its prismatic approach to space through the decomposition of light, is grounded in the belief that color and sound are analogous phenomena. Color, in this sense, can be orchestrated on canvas or paper in much the same way a composer arranges frequencies, timbres, and modulations in a musical score.

The idea that a painting could be conceived based on a predetermined chromatic range was circulating in the artistic manuals of the time. Russell seemingly drew on the ideas of Canadian painter Percyval Tudor-Hart, whose lectures he attended with Macdonald-Wright in Paris. Tudor-Hart believed that sounds and colors are similar, both in their psychological effects and in the way they are perceived. Convinced that exact physical and mathematical correspondences between the two phenomena could be demonstrated, he proposed that, just as musical octaves are based on the progressive increase in frequencies, a similar principle applies to color scales.

Morgan Russell’s Cosmic synchromy (1913–14).

When considering other sound parameters, he drew parallels between acoustics and optics: pitch corresponds to brightness, intensity to color saturation, and timbre to the tone of color. In traditional chromatic models, the colors of the spectrum are uniformly distributed around a circle. However, in the pattern proposed by Tudor-Hart, the three primary colors—red, yellow, and blue—are equidistant, as are the three secondary colors—orange, green, and violet (or purple). By inserting six intermediate or tertiary colors between the primaries and secondaries, a chromatic circle consisting of twelve colors is formed. If each sector of this circle corresponds to a semitone in music, one could theoretically construct major and minor scales of light frequencies by selecting a different color as the tonic for each scale.

Stanton Macdonald-Wright’s Stony river rippling, lightning flickering.

Macdonald-Wright’s Treatise on color, a self-published theoretical guide for the students at the Art Students’ League of Los Angeles, closely resembles the approach proposed by Tudor-Hart. In this work, Macdonald-Wright provides a detailed discussion on how to create color scales and demonstrates how chord inversions, transpositions, and modulations between keys can be achieved. To help readers visualize these concepts, he suggests imagining the twelve colors arranged along a keyboard, with each primary, secondary, or tertiary color corresponding to a specific note of the musical scale.

This according to the entry on synchromism in DEUMM Online.

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by | January 13, 2025 · 6:00 am

U.S. public radio’s educational objective

U.S. public radio has unique origins and structure, distinct from both national broadcasters following European models and commercial enterprises. Public radio began as a highly localized system with educational objectives, shaped by the needs of public educators and initially implemented by state universities and educational institutions. The constraints and challenges faced by educational radio demonstrate how public radio advocates and practitioners worked to create an alternative vision to commercial broadcasting. Blending the efforts of government agencies, grassroots activism, classroom educators, universities, philanthropic organizations, and private industry, U.S. public radio emerged in the 1960s as a nonprofit sector. Free from the pressures of the commercial marketplace, public radio eventually shifted away from its educational focus to produce informative and socially conscious programming.

The foundational principles of public media originate in Progressive Era philosophies of the late 19th and early 20th century, notably those of John Dewey, who believed that democracy flourished when institutions raised awareness about one’s community. Dewey advocated for the understanding of democracy through education and believed that specific institutions, which he termed “intentional agencies”, could be tasked with promoting equity. Around this time, states began to view universities as bureaucratic centers for economic, public, and cultural extension work.

Public media and radio, in this sense, can be traced back to Progressive Era concepts advocating for equal access to education, through reform efforts, and culminating in the 1967 Public Broadcasting Act, which was structured around key provisions, including construction grants for educational broadcasting, the maintenance of facilities, and the study of educational and instructional broadcasting. Each of these provisions responded to different institutional pressures that had been building prior to the Act’s passage.

This according to “Educating the public: U.S. public radio’s roots in education and research” by Josh Shepperd, The Oxford handbook of radio and podcasting, ed. by Michele Hilmes and Andrew J. Bottomley (New York: Oxford University Press, 2024, 239–258; RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2024-6500).

January 13th is Public Broadcasting Day.

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by | January 10, 2025 · 6:00 am

Corpus Christi festivals of Mexico and Panama

In Mexico, the feast of the Eucharist has been celebrated since at least the 17th and 18th centuries, marked by vibrant processions featuring a parade of iconic joker characters, including La Tarasca, El Diablo Cojuelo, giants, and Indigenous folk figures. These characters would dance their way through the cities, creating a lively spectacle. Central plazas became a bustling hub, filled with artisans and merchants who traveled from across the region. Many Indigenous people, dressed in traditional attire, performed dances and played various forms of music, contributing to the rich cultural atmosphere of the celebration.

Celebrating Día de Corpus in México.

Cathedral chapel masters were responsible for composing special musical pieces–such as songs, matins, and masses–for the Corpus Christi festival. This task was of great significance, according to the minutes preserved in the cathedral archives. The Día de Corpus (Day of Corpus Christi) became one of the most important festivals in Mexico, alongside the Natividad. By the 19th century, the festival grew even more popular, with composers such as José Mariano Elízaga and José Antonio Gómez continuing the tradition of composing music for the event. However, the Mexican Reform War and the conflict against the Second Empire (1863–1867) diminished the festival’s prominence. Over time, the custom of creating special music for the Corpus Christi festival gradually faded. Today, the festival is only observed in certain communities of southern Mexico, where processional dances and songs of praise are performed, much like those held in honor of regional patron saints.

Musical accompaniment to Día de Corpus celebrations in Panama.

Similar festivals are celebrated across Central America, particularly in Panama, where the event blends Catholic traditions with local customs and lively festivities. The celebration features theater, music, burlesque dances, and vibrant costumes and masks. In some communities, dances are performed on carpets made of flowers, enhancing the visual splendor of the occasion. After the procession, participants dance freely, gathering in the streets and in family homes to share food and drinks, reinforcing community connections. In certain celebrations, a day before the main event, a theatrical and musical performance reenacts the battle between good (represented by Michael the Archangel) and evil, personified by the devil and his followers, as they struggle for control over the human soul. The dances and other cultural expressions of Panama’s Corpus Christi festivals are included on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

This according to Diccionario enciclopédico de música en México (2006–2007). Find it in RILM Music Encyclopedias.

Watch a short video produced by UNESCO on the artistic expressions (including music and dance) of Panama’s Corpus Christi festivals below.


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by | January 7, 2025 · 6:00 am

Dolly Parton, from country and pop to film

The country singer, songwriter, actor, and businesswoman Dolly Parton was the fourth of twelve children in a family of sharecroppers in Sevierville, Tennessee, located in the Appalachian Mountains. Commenting on her childhood, Parton once said, “Everybody where we grew up had a hard time. We were mountain people. Most people were poor, but we didn’t realize that we were poor until some smart head said so. Everybody around us lived the same way, but you don’t think about that until you’re away. We had good parents, but we didn’t have all the big luxuries that I’m able to afford now. But I wouldn’t trade it for nothing.”

Surrounded by hymns, traditional mountain music, and popular music genres from the 1940s and 1950s, Parton began playing the guitar at a young age. By 10 years old, she was already performing regularly on radio and television shows in Knoxville, Tennessee, hosted by Orton Caswell (Cas Walker). In 1960, Parton traveled to Louisiana to record two rockabilly songs for the Goldband Records label. While still in high school, she performed at local venues, and after graduation, she moved to Nashville, where her uncle, the well-established songwriter Bill Owens, assisted her in finding work and refining her songwriting abilities.

Parton and Porter Wagoner on the set of their 1960s television show.

Parton achieved her first commercial success as a songwriter in Nashville in 1966 when she recorded her debut country record. Country singer Porter Wagoner invited her to become a regular partner on his television show and also produced her solo recordings, helping her establish a moderately successful career. Parton’s major breakthrough came when she recorded a cover of Muleskinner blues, followed by her original song Joshua, which reached number one on the Billboard country charts. In the early 1970s, Parton rose to become one of country music’s biggest female stars, crafting a public image that celebrated her Appalachian roots, such as in the songs The Appalachian trail and Coat of many colors, while also embracing a distinctly female perspective, showcased in songs such as Jolene.

Parton performs I will always love you.

In 1974, Dolly Parton made the bold decision to separate professionally from Porter Wagoner, taking full control of her solo career. This decision proved successful, as she soon achieved a string of number one hits, including her most famous composition, I will always love you (later covered by the pop singer Whitney Houston). By 1977, Parton began embracing a crossover pop sound with songs like Here you come again. A new manager played a key role in facilitating her transition to the larger pop market. Parton also ventured into Hollywood, playing a leading role in the 1980 film 9 to 5, followed by other films like Steel magnolias (1989). Her commercial success continued into the early 1990s, including the acclaimed Trio album with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt, and Honky tonk angels with Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette. In the mid-1990s, Parton shifted her musical style again, returning to more acoustic, bluegrass-inspired sounds reminiscent of her early work. Since the early 2000s, she has continued to release new albums, some of which were produced through her own record label.

Parton has been inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. She has also received a National Medal of Arts in 2005 and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011 and is the recipient of over two dozen major country music industry awards.

Read the full free article on Dolly Parton in MGG Online.

Related Bibliolore posts:

https://bibliolore.org/2016/01/19/dolly-parton-semiotically-speaking/

https://bibliolore.org/2014/05/10/my-homeland-tennessee/

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by | December 30, 2024 · 6:00 am

Anna Moffo, the versatile soprano

Born in Wayne, Pennsylvania to an Italian American couple in 1932, the opera singer Anna Moffo began her formal music studies at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia in 1951. Initially intending to pursue a piano course, she found that the available spots were filled, so she auditioned for the vocal program and was accepted. At the Curtis Institute, Moffo also studied piano, viola, and composition, under the guidance of soprano Euphemia Giannini Gregory and pianist Martha Halbwachs Massena. In 1953, Moffo made her debut with a solo recital at the Tri-County Concerts Association. During her time at Curtis, under Gregory’s dynamic teaching, she quickly engaged with the core works of the classical repertoire.

In 1954, she won the Philadelphia Orchestra Young Artists Auditions and moved to Rome to train as a singer as a Fulbright fellow. Moffo made her debut at the Teatro Lirico in Spoleto a year later. After an audition, she won the role of Cio-Cio San in a television production of Madama Butterfly (1956), directed by Mario Lanfranchi. The broadcast, which aired on Italian national television in January 1956, marked her breakthrough in Italy and began her long career as a television opera star during the black-and-white era. Although Moffo primarily accepted lyric soprano roles early in her career, she also developed a vocal technique that enabled her to take on the more agile lyric soprano repertoire.

Moffo in La traviata.

She made her debut at the old Metropolitan Opera in New York on 14 November 1959, performing the role that would become her signature, Violetta in La traviata. Between 1955 and 1975, Moffo’s career took her to the world’s most prestigious theaters, including the inaugural series of performances at the new Metropolitan Opera in New York. During this period, she consistently demonstrated remarkable vocal stamina, appearing in over 200 performances at the Metropolitan Opera alone.

Moffo’s physical beauty, captivating presence, and exceptional stage and acting skills not only secured her continuous engagements in prestigious theaters but also led to successful ventures in film, where she performed admirably. Her participation in various productions showcased her innate acting talent. Moffo’s artistic versatility is evident in her diverse roles as a soprano, solo pianist, musicologist, presenter, narrator, composer, and even as a pop music singer. This breadth of talent was documented in various Italian television variety shows.

This according to the entry on Anna Moffo in DEUMM Online.

Below is a performance by Anna Moffo on Italian television.

Read a related post in Bibliolore:

https://bibliolore.org/2013/06/28/mise-en-scene/

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by | December 22, 2024 · 6:00 am

Zakir Hussain, tablā virtuoso and world music pioneer

The emergence of the tablā as a solo instrument in the late 20th century, along with the shift from performances for musicians to those for non-musical audiences, transformed how performers discuss musical meaning. This change highlights the interaction between music and speech in shaping musical experiences, as well as the differences in communication between musicians and broader audiences. For renowned tablā players like Zakir Hussain, musical meaning conveyed through speech, supplemented what the music itself might not express. When musicians communicate with one another, the primary mode of discourse is bol, a language of spoken, onomatopoeic syllables that represent specific drum strokes, integral to the oral/aural tradition of music transmission.

Hussain’s global popularity played an integral role in bringing tablā and Hindustani music to the forefront of the international stage. Born in Mumbai in 1951, he began his training at an early age under the guidance of his father, the renowned tabla maestro Ustad Alla Rakha Khan. Hussain fondly recalled, “From the age of seven, I sat on the stage with Abba (his father) while he played with so many greats. It was a lived experience for me, and it allowed me to absorb all that I had heard over the years.” By his teenage years, Hussain was already performing alongside the legendary Indian sitarist and composer Pandit Ravi Shankar, playing over 150 concerts annually, both in India and abroad. Despite the vast opportunities and his exceptional talent, Hussain always remained humble, emphasizing, “This is music’s appeal, not mine. I am a worshipper of music, who presents it in front of people.”

Hussain performs with flutist Rakesh Chaurasia in 2018 (photo credit: Juha Uitto).

As Hussain became one of Hindustani music’s most sought-after accompanists, he shifted away from performing with established stars of the genre, instead choosing to collaborate with younger and lesser-known musicians. By doing so, he leveraged his fame to help elevate emerging Indian artists to the global stage. Hussain was also widely regarded as a key figure in the development of the contemporary world music movement, having worked with pioneers like John Handy and George Harrison early in his career, and later gaining international recognition as a member of Shakti alongside guitarist John McLaughlin. A four-time Grammy Award winner, Hussain’s most recent accolade came in 2023 for his album As we speak, performed with Béla Fleck and Edgar Meyer. Additionally, he was honored with the NEA National Heritage Fellowship and received numerous prestigious awards from the Indian government in recognition of his significant cultural contributions.

This according to “Ustād Zākir Hussain” by Sudhīr Bhāīṇakar (Sangeet 80/3 [2014] 24–25; RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2014-94395) and “On musicians’ speech about music: Musico-linguistic discourse of tabla players” by Lowell Lybarger (Discourses in music 2/2 [winter 2000-2001]; RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2000-5114).

Watch three performances by Zakir Hussain below. In the first video, listen for his vocalization of bol, the spoken onomatopoeic syllables representing specific drum strokes. The second video is a performance with his father Ustad Alla Rakha from 1976. The third is a 2023 performance of Shakti on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series.

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by | December 18, 2024 · 6:00 am

Arabic language and music of the Middle East

Today, 18 December, marks UNESCO’s World Arabic Language Day, commemorating the date in 1973 when the United Nations General Assembly recognized Arabic as the sixth official language of the Organization. Arabic, one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, has inspired a rich and diverse aesthetic across fields such as architecture, poetry, philosophy, and song. UNESCO highlights that Arabic provides access to a vast array of identities and beliefs, with a history that showcases its deep connections with other languages. The language has played a crucial role in the spread of knowledge, facilitating the transmission of Greek and Roman sciences and philosophies to Renaissance Europe. Arabic has also been a bridge for cultural exchange along the silk roads, linking cultures from the coast of India to the Horn of Africa.

The Arabic language also has played a crucial role in shaping the musical practices of the Middle East. The arrival of the Arabs in North Africa, for example, had a profound impact, leading to the widespread adoption of Islam throughout the region and the expansion of the Arabic language in cities, towns, and rural areas. While some groups, like the Berbers, maintained their own language, they adopted Arabic for use in public spaces such as shops, schools, and businesses. This linguistic shift influenced the development of musical traditions and practices across the region, with Arabic becoming a key component in the cultural and musical landscape.

From the 1930s to the 1950s, both Algerians and Moroccans were deeply involved in anticolonial struggles against France. Revolutionaries from both nations used the Arabic language as a tool to unite the population around the vision of a nation standing together against colonial rule. Following their respective independences–Morocco in 1956 and Algeria in 1962–both countries declared Arabic as the national language and positioned it as a key element of their cultural identity.

In this regard, the music of the Arab world—a vast region stretching from western North Africa to the Arabian Peninsula and Mesopotamia—can be studied as a unified domain, especially when considering common factors such as the prevalence of Islam and Islamic institutions, the widespread use of the Arabic language, and the historical, political, and artistic connections that link the various Arab communities. However, music also exhibits significant internal diversity, reflecting the rich cultural variations across the region.

This according to The Garland encyclopedia of world music. The Middle East. Find it in RILM Music Encyclopedias. The volume on the Middle East features expert writers on the region who present the major traditions of North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, together with personal accounts of performers, composers, teachers, and ceremonies. Also included are dozens of brief essays that offer stories of typical musicians and genres, along with first-person descriptions of specific music performances and events, maps, and music examples.

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by | December 16, 2024 · 6:00 am

The sonic weaponization of Saydnaya prison

The complex intersections of carceral violence and acoustics are particularly evident in the case of Saydnaya, the infamous military prison in Syria, known for its state-run torture practices under Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Often referred to as “the slaughterhouse”, the prison witnessed the hanging of as many as 13,000 individuals between 2011 and 2015. Survivor testimonies, along with the recent digital reconstruction of the prison’s interior, reveal that sound played a pivotal role in shaping the power dynamics within the Syrian prison system. Much of the violence inflicted in Saydnaya was acoustic in nature, intentionally designed around specific elements of the aural experience. The weaponization of sound in Saydnaya suggests that listening itself was manipulated as a mechanism of surveillance and torture, while paradoxically, it also became a means of resistance and survival.

Image credit: https://www.lightwork.org/archive/political-listening-the-forensic-acoustics-of-lawrence-abu-hamdan/

The Syrian prison can be conceptualized as an acoustically surveilled site, marked by intentional sensory deprivation, weaponized silence, extreme listening practices, and acousmatic violence–violence whose sound lacks a visible source. Such practices were not isolated but part of a broader pattern of sonic warfare, which some critical sound theorists have increasingly highlighted in their exploration of the role of sound in incarceration.

This according to “Prisonniers du son: La prison de Saydnaya en Syrie” by Maria Ristani, Lieux de mémoire sonore: Des sons pour survivre, des sons pour tuer, ed. by Luis Velasco-Pufleau and Laëtitia Atlani-Duault (Paris: Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, 2021, 21–35; RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2021-107654).

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by | December 12, 2024 · 6:00 am

Benny Golson, jazz composer and saxophonist

One of Benny Golson’s earliest memories as a child was being taken to Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem, a now-legendary site of the earliest bop jam sessions, and seeing the house band play with Thelonious Monk, Joe Guy and Kenny Clarke. “I was 11 and didn’t know what the heck it was all about,” he admitted. “But Sugar Ray Robinson was there and my uncle [a bartender at the Playhouse] introduced me to him.” From 1947 to 1950, Golson studied music at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where he began composing and arranging music while playing in a big band. There, he met pianist and composer Tadd Dameron, whose style of composition and arrangement he admired. In 1953, briefly performing with Clifford Brown in Dameron’s band, Golson joined Lionel Hampton’s orchestra, where he met future collaborators Art Farmer and Quincy Jones.

Golson performs with Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers in 1958.

From 1954 to 1956, he played in Earl Bostic’s band while also gaining recognition as a composer. One of his early compositions, Stablemates, was performed by the legendary Miles Davis Quintet (featuring John Coltrane, whom Golson knew as a boy while growing up in Philadelphia) in 1955 and recorded on The New Miles Davis Quintet album. Golson then joined Dizzy Gillespie’s orchestra in 1956, where he worked as both a composer and arranger. He toured South America with the band, which disbanded in early 1958. Golson was then invited by Art Blakey to become the tenor saxophone soloist and musical director of the Jazz Messengers. During his tenure with the band, he composed iconic pieces such as I remember Clifford, Whisper not, Blues march, and Along came Betty, helping propel the ensemble to prominence within the hard bop movement. Golson himself regarded his time with Blakey’s Jazz Messengers as the peak of his compositional achievements.

In 1959 he studied composition with Henry Brandt and founded the Jazztet together with trumpeter Art Farmer, which initially existed until 1962. For this ensemble, Golson composed and arranged a three-part wind section, including the hit song Killer Joe. The years 1956 to 1962 were the high point in Golson’s jazz career, and in 1963 he stopped playing music for several years. After further studies with Brandt, who also worked as a film composer, Golson received composition commissions in Europe, where he worked mainly from 1964 to 1966.

After moving to Hollywood in 1967, Golson wrote music for numerous films and television shows such as Mission: Impossible and M*A*S*H. From 1975 onwards, he was sporadically active as a tenor saxophonist, but only ambitiously from 1982, the year the Jazztet was re-founded with Farmer. The ensemble, which was again very successful, performed in Japan and Europe in 1982 and undertook a tour of Southeast Asia in 1987, where Golson was commissioned to compose music for the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra. His work Two faces for symphony orchestra was premiered in New York in 1992. In 1994, Golson won the Guggenheim Fellowship for Composers. He has also worked as a lecturer at several universities and colleges since the 1980s.

Golson’s playing has been characterized by a warm tone and melodious lines. Discussing his composition style in a 2009 interview with Downbeat, Golson said “What gives a composition validity is the knowledge of the person writing it, the experience he can draw on. But when you get to the meat of it, it’s in the intervals, what follows what. That’s what a melody is. When I write my songs, I’m conscious of intervals . . . You get the right intervals in place and you’ve got something that will live past your time.”

Golson was inducted into the Jazz Hall of Fame in 2009 and received the Grammy Trustees Award in 2021. His autobiography Whisper not was published in 2016. Benny Golson passed away in New York City on 21 September 2024 at the age of 95.

Read the full entry on Benny Golson, along with his obituary in MGG Online.

Golson performing I remember Clifford on German television in 2014.

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