Tag Archives: Arab world

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 | 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 | November 18, 2024 · 6:00 am

Moroccan sung poetry and recitation

Many Moroccans, especially those outside the conservatory tradition, view malḥūn not as music, but as the recitation of poetry. The very name malḥūn adds to this ambiguity. Derived from the Arabic root laḥana, the term has various meanings, including speaking ungrammatically, chanting, and setting words to music. Moroccan scholars themselves are divided on which interpretation is most fitting. The late Mohamed el-Fassi, a prominent scholar and former minister of culture, argued that malḥūn was always intended to be sung while others have suggested that some malḥūn poetry is meant to be recited, not sung. A similar debate exists in Yemen, where a comparable form of dialectical song poetry, known as homayni (or sometimes malḥūn), closely mirrors the Moroccan style. This debate is unlikely to reach a definitive conclusion, as both perspectives hold merit. Malḥūn often breaks standard Arabic grammar and uses nonstandard vocabulary for metrical or poetic effect. Ultimately, it is best experienced through listening—whether recited or, more fittingly, sung.

To this day, malḥūn continues to resonate with both the working class and the elites in Morocco. King Hassan II was a prominent patron of Moroccan music, including malḥūn. During his reign, a rising cultural nationalism fostered a renewed interest in traditional Moroccan art forms, such as malḥūn, as well as proverbs and other forms of oral literature in both Arabic and Berber. This cultural revival was part of a broader effort to assert a distinct Moroccan identity, particularly in response to the intellectual dominance of France, and to the cultural influence of Egypt and Lebanon in the Arab world. Malḥūn can be found in a diverse range of contexts, from street performances and religious lodges to the royal palace, often accompanied by various ensembles. According to some sources, malḥūn singers originally accompanied themselves with the deff, a square, double-headed frame drum measuring about 20 to 25 centimeters on each side. Since the primary focus of malḥūn is the poetry itself, no additional instrumentation was required.

This according to The Garland encyclopedia of world music. The Middle East (2013). Find it in RILM Music Encyclopedias.

Watch a performance of malḥūn in Morocco below.

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by | April 12, 2023 · 6:00 am

Singing the revolution in the Arab world: An annotated bibliography

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 of this collection, along with abstracts written by RILM staff members contained in RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, the comprehensive bibliography of writings about music. Since the onset of the Arab Spring in the early 2010s, the Institut du Monde Arabe has hosted exhibitions and concerts featuring musicians and artists who are at the heart of the cultural production in the region.

Illustration by artist Amado Alfadni featuring the young female protestor Alaa Salah, nicknamed the “Kandaka” of the Sudanese revolution of 2018-2019 for her role in mobilizing protesters through revolutionary chants. Kandaka refers to the name of ancient Nubian queens and the design is a remake of the old perfume label “Bint El Sudan” (the daughter of Sudan). Illustration used with permission. 
“It takes a revolution/To find a solution”
- From the song “Revolution” by the Palestinian hip-hop band DAM.

Revolutions and popular movements are characterized by a distinct soundscape defined by chants, songs, and the rhythmic movements of collective bodies. The act of protesting in the Arab world is often encapsulated in the idiom kasir ğidār al-ṣamt (to break the barrier of silence); in contrast, the authorities’ act of oppression is referred to as an act of silencing. 

Since the turn of the 20th century, the peoples of the Arab world have composed, disseminated, and rendered songs and chants against all forms of domestic, foreign, secular, and religious oppression. Musicians, vocalists, urban poets, and rappers all moved people to act in spaces, public and virtual. In music literature, these songs and chants are referred to by different names: al-aġānī al-ṯawrīyaẗ (revolutionary songs), aġānī al-iḥtiğāğ (protest songs), al-aġānī al-multazimaẗ (socially committed songs), and al- aġānī al-waṭanīyaẗ (patriotic songs). With the rise of communist and leftist movements in the Arab world during the 1960s and 1970s, aesthetic judgment was defined by the level of social and political consciousness of music and songs.

The history of independence and protest movements in the Arab world is interlinked with a crackdown on civil liberties and freedom of expression, and is marked by the movement of peoples across regional borders and beyond. Writers on music have commented on the phenomena of protest songs in their home countries as well as the circulation of songs across borders and cross-cultural influences among Arab diasporas in exile, acknowledging the continuous connections between communities at home and elsewhere.

Given the cosmopolitan contexts in which musicians and poets work and perform, the musical and poetic production of non-Arabic-speaking peoples of the region is noteworthy: The Algerian Kabyle vocalist Lounès Matoub (1956–98) singing in Kabyle, youths living abroad rap in European languages, and Moroccan urban poets known as Jil Lklam (Generation of Words) mix the languages and dialects of Amazigh and Arabic, fusing them with expressions in French, English, and Spanish. 

The music that carries protest and political themes is as diverse as the dialects and languages present in the Arab world. The patriotic and nationalist songs of the first half of the 20th century draw from the rich repertoire of al-qaṣīdaẗ al-ʽamūdīyaẗ (vertical poetry), fusing with local melodies and European-style orchestration and arrangement. Other songs rely on local dialects and musical sensibilities to appeal to the broader masses. Among the anti-colonial and independence songs, the Tunisian “Tūnis al-yūm brāt mi al-tankīdaẗ” stands out, sung here by legendary Tunisian vocalist Saliha (1914–58).

Tunisian musician Ṣalīḥaẗ performs “Tūnis al-yūm birāt mi al-tankīdaẗ”

The songs of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s that offer social and political commentary rely on local folk styles and instruments, as can be observed in the revolutionary songs of the Sabreen group (Palestine) and the revolutionary anthems of the Firqaẗ al-Ṭarīq (Iraq). The songs of Nass el Ghiwane (Morocco) feature elements of rwais, and the rebel songs of Groupe El-Ouali (Mauritania) use the subversive lyrics of Sheikh Imam (1918–95) from Egypt. In the last decades, rock, reggae, rap, hip hop, and other popular genres have served as a source of inspiration for bands such as Mashrou’ Leila (Lebanon), DAM (Palestine), and Cairokee (Egypt), with its aspirational lyrics and rock instrumentation that respond to the 2011 Egyptian revolution. “Ya El Medane” is one song that expressed the aspirations of the youth during the Egyptian revolution.

Cairokee’s “Ya El Medane”

Protest songs in the Arab world are forms of expression that break boundaries, defy expectations, and challenge reality. They hail from the Atlas Mountains to Tangier and Algiers, and find a receptive audience in the banlieues of Paris; chants are heard in Tahrir Square and move protesters in Sana’a, Beirut, and Tunis. 

The writings featured in this annotated bibliography present and carefully analyze songs accompanying key political and social events. These include nationalist protest movements that unfolded in the Arab world in the last century, from anti-colonial movements and national movements in the first half of the century to chants that accompanied the revolutions of 2011 and beyond.

– Written and compiled by Farah Zahra, Assistant Editor, RILM

___________________________________

Select Bibliography

  • Caubet, Dominique and Amine Hamma. Jil Lklam: Poètes urbains (Casablanca: Éditions du Sirocco; Mohammedia: Senso Unico Éditions, 2016). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2016-56443; IMA catalogue reference]

The Moroccan music scene that emerged in the mid-1990s has become a crucial part of the overall cultural scene of the country. Rappers, slammers, reggae musicians, creators of metal music and non-music genres such graffiti and break dance have all initiated an urban movement that mixes genres and contributes to a multicultural Morocco. The evolution of discourse emerging from the underground scene to the public sphere is explored, with attention to the lyrics of songs expressing a young generation that is concerned with taboo subjects, cool music, and tough texts. Eloquent, humorous, sensitive, angry, and poetic, this creative and rebellious generation expresses, in multilingual tongues—vernacular, Amazigh, mixed with French, English, and Spanish—its love for its homeland along with its desire for dignity, freedom, and a future. A new generation of artists is revealing, in addition to its eloquence and its extraordinary talent for writing and composition, an unquenching determination to be heard. The generation adapted the American counterculture’s ethos of do-it-yourself and solidarity while using new technology and social media to share its music. Including interviews with experts on the new music scene, a selection of song texts shared in their original language and translated to French, and rich iconography, the book represents a platform for the new generations of artists to be heard and seen, a generation that is the true echo of the youth.

  • Dridi, Daïkha and Omar Zelig. “La petite musique du voyage au bout de la nuit: Quand la musique se revolte, entre ‘bizness’ et poesie”, La pensée de midi 4 (mai 2001) 65–71. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2001-49702; IMA catalogue reference]

Abstract: A description and an interpretation of the music scenes in 2001, after ten years of political violence that Algeria witnessed. The aftermath of violence and political stances in music genres and scenes, old and new, is discussed. Local genres such as raï, Kabyle militant, and chaabi triste sorrowful chaabi capture a general spirit of hopelessness, but also of hope. Case studies and performances such as the hip-hop group Intik and the group Ragga-Gnawi are explored, and the performance and the following banning of Baaziz’s “Algérie mon amour” is interpreted against the backdrop of political upheavals in Algeria. Algerian hip hop is a rhythmic, musical, and lyrical rupture from everything that preceded it.

  • El Mazned, Brahim. “Les rwayss, ou la musique amazighe comme résistance”, Le monde arabe existe-t-il (encore)?, ed. by Chirine El Messiri. Araborama 1 (Paris: Institut du Monde Arabe; Seuil, 2020) 190–193. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2020-71413; IMA catalogue reference] 

Abstract: Approaches Amazigh (Berber) music as an expression of cultural, social, and political resistance. Rwayss is a genre that originates in the Sous region, the center of Amazigh culture, and incorporates singing, dance, and a religious ceremony. The setting where rwayss is traditionally performed is described, and new scenes of rwayss in urban spaces in Morocco and in Europe, especially in France and Belgium, are analyzed. Resistance to musical assimilation and the importance of continuity in rwayss and its connection to the past are considered the main expression of resistance that the tradition holds.

  • El Zein, Rayya. “Resisting ‘resistance’: On political feeling in Arabic rap concerts”, Arab subcultures: Transformations in theory and practice, ed. by Layal Ftouni and Tarik Sabry. Library of modern Middle East studies (London; New York: I.B. Tauris, 2016) 83–112. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2016-56445; IMA catalogue reference]

Abstract: Explores the ways in which young Arab rap artists navigate the contradictions in the urban and public spheres in everyday life. The discourse of resistance permeating scholarship on rap and hip hop in the Arab world is critiqued and perceived as an expression of neoliberal power. Within the context of the rap scenes in Beirut and Ramallah, political feeling is expressed through objection, confrontation, repetition—a set of processes that hinges on collective action and solidarity rather than individual agency. Interactions, as such, should not be labeled as political but should be approached as subversive in their own terms. Conclusions are based on ethnographic studies conducted in Beirut and Ramallah, where interviews and conversations were conducted and exchanges between artists and audiences were observed.

  • Houssais, Coline. “En chansons: Florilège musical révolutionnaire”, Il était une fois…: Les révolutions arabes, ed. by Chirine El Messiri. Araborama (Paris: Institut du Monde Arabe; Seuil, 2021) 239–248. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2021-101344; IMA catalogue reference] 

Abstract: Provides a selection of songs that marked the history of revolutionary and nationalist songs. Most of them were initially poems later set to music. All the case studies feature a short background on the poet, the performer, and the historical context. Brief background information is then followed by the lyrics in Arabic and  a French translation. Among the case studies featured are Min djibalina (From our mountains)  by Mohamed Laid Al Khalifa from Algeria, Irdatou al-hayat (The will to live) by Abou el Kacem Chebbi from Tunisia, “Ana Afriqi ana Soudani”  by Alsir Gadour from Sudan, Ounadikoum (I call upon you) by the poet Tewfik Ziad from Palestine, and other cases from Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, and Syria.

  • Institut du Monde Arabe. Hip Hop: Du Bronx aux rues Arabes [Exposition, Paris, Institut Du Monde Arabe, 28 Avril–26 Juillet 2015], ed. by Aurélie Clémente-Ruiz (Gent: Snoeck; Paris: Institut du Monde Arabe, 2015). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2015-89747; IMA catalogue reference] 

Abstract: Issued as part of the exhibition Hip Hop, du Bronx aux Rues Arabes organized by the Institut du Monde Arabe in 2015. The book is divided into three sections: the birth of a movement, a new aesthetic, and rap and society. The editors approach hip hop not simply as a genre but as an aesthetic, a lifestyle in perpetual evolution and a continuous transformation. In the preface, the director of the Institut du Monde Arabe remarks on the recourse of young Arab generations to hip hop as a way to express frustration with current realities and to vocalize their aspirations. Articles by multiple authors covering various topics and aspects of hip hop history and its adaptation by contemporary Arab artists are included.

  • Massad, Joseph. “Liberating songs: Palestine put to music”, Palestine, Israel, and the politics of popular culture, ed. by Rebecca L. Stein and Ted Swedenburg (Durham; London: Duke University Press, 2005) 175–201. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2005-31981; IMA catalogue reference] 

Abstract: Analyzes the role of patriotic, nationalist, and revolutionary songs in the struggle for Palestinian liberation, approaching songs as a register for the changing dynamics of the Palestinian struggle and the various populations and demographics involved in it at different stages of the country’s history. Themes of the songs include the fight for liberation, the dream for Arab unity and solidarity, and the struggle for refugees’ rights. Songs are categorized in three historical phases. The first phase is marked by the growing support for pan-Arabism, the rise of Palestinian guerrillas, and the underground scene in the late 1960s and 1970s. The second phase comprises songs produced by non-Palestinians following the great defeat of 1967. The third phase covers songs that accompanied the first intifada (1987–93). Overall, resistance songs were subject to many transformations throughout the second half of the second century and beyond. Musicians and artists moved away from state-sponsored productions to underground scenes in Palestine and among its displaced population. Nowadays, Palestinian resistance and patriotic songs have reached a wide reception and have become a founding aspect of Arab and Palestinian popular culture.

  • Mérimée, Pierre and Jacques Denis. Intifada rap. Trans. by Tara Dominguez and Sarah Bouasse (Paris: LO/A Edition, 2014). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2014-95113; IMA catalogue reference] 

Abstract: Presents photographs featuring Palestinian rappers, spoken word artists, and musicians, as well as photos of the broader urban spaces in which the alternative and broader Palestinian music scene flourishes. The photographer followed musicians in their everyday lives and captured aspects of their activity. The photographs are occasionally accompanied by brief written commentary and by quotes or lyrics by Palestinian poets and artists and Israeli activists. Hip hop artists featured include Saz (Sameh Zakout), Boikutt (Jad Abbas), Shaana Streett, Mahmoud Jrere of  DAM, and members of MWR, WE7, and G-Town. Other non-hip-hop artists featured are Amal Murkus and Said Mourad (founder of Sabreen Band).

  • République Arabe Sahraouie Democratique. Groupe El- Ouali chants et danses sahraouis: Une culture de résistance (Nouakchott: Ministère de L’information de la République Arabe Sahraouie Démocratique, 1983). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 1983-26413; IMA catalogue reference] 

Abstract: Surveys the works, repertoire, and style of the Mauritanian music and dance company Groupe El-Ouali, and situates them within the broader landscape of cultural resistance in Mauritania in the 1970s and the liberation movement led by the Front Polisario. Groupe El-Ouali was formed by amateur musicians and militants and performed live concerts and disseminated their music on cassettes. The book covers dance styles such as the war dance Dance de ausred, which was performed during the resistance movement led by the Front Polisario against the Spanish occupation of the Sahara, and La touiza, a women’s dance. The book also includes lyrics of selected songs by Groupe El-Ouali translated into French. The songs express themes of revolution and independence, as well as relationships to the land, national identity, and the values of the nationalist movement.

  • Shalaby, Nadia A. “A multimodal analysis of selected Cairokee songs of the Egyptian revolution and their representation of women”, Women, culture, and the January 2011 Egyptian Revolution, ed. by Dalia Said Mostafa (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 2017) 59–81. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2017-90149; IMA catalogue reference]

Abstract: Analyzes the music videos Ṣawt al-ḥurrīyaẗ (Voice of freedom), Yā al-mīdān (O Tahrir Square), and Iṯbat makānak (Stand your ground) by the Egyptian band Cairokee. The three music videos were released during the year following the breakout of the Egyptian revolution on 25 January 2011, and each reflects the popular mood accompanying the phases of the revolution. The creation and reception of meaning through these music videos is a product of lyrics, music, and other semiotic resources such as visual cues, photographs, camera angles, framing, range of shots, and gaze. The visual design of each music video is discussed to show how multimodal discourse is formed through the employment of various visual, verbal, and musical modes. Finally, the presence and the agency of women in the three music videos are analyzed following the same analytical model.

  • Skilbeck, Rod. “Mixing pop and politics: The pole of raï in Algerian political discourse”, The Arab-African and Islamic worlds: Interdisciplinary studies, ed. by Kevin R. Lacey and Ralph M. Coury (Bern: Peter Lang, 2000) 289–302. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2000-83623; IMA catalogue reference] 

Abstract: Documents the rise of popularity of raï and of kabyle musics among young Algerians at home and among the country’s diasporas, covering the origins and early development of raï in the early 20th century and documenting its popularity in the 1970s and 1980s. Raï is a hybrid genre that merges Arabic and Bedouin poetry and incorporates local and Western instrumentation. Raï song texts can be categorized in terms of clean raï, which narrates stories of love, and dirty rai, which deals with forbidden sexual desires, alcoholism, and alienation. At the start of the Algerian civil war in 1991 raï became one of its battlefields, and while raï itself was not political, it became political insofar as it represents marginalized social classes through expressions of themes that are deemed taboo or unethical by society or political authorities. During the civil war raï artists were banned, and some were murdered by religious guerrilla groups. One important case study presented is the raï song El harba way? (To flee but where to?) by Cheb Khaled, which became the anthem of protesters during the political crisis of 1988.

  • Al-Sayyid, ʽUmar. Kalām al-ġīwān (Rabat: Ittiḥād Kuttāb al-Maġrib, 2002). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2002-50214; IMA catalogue reference] 

Abstract: A comprehensive collection of song lyrics by the Moroccan group Nās al-Ġīwān, compiled by one of its members. The preface includes key information about the group and presents a critical take on various commentators’ views on the phenomenon of Nās al-Ġīwān, their musical career, and their popularity in Morocco. Formed in the 1960s, the group accompanied and contributed to the cultural, artistic, and political movement that was unfolding in Morocco. The 1960s and 1970s were marked by a growing popular protest movement that Nās al-Ġīwāne marked with their lyrical and musical contribution. However, one should not reduce the group’s artistic production to a political message. Nās al-Ġīwān merged musical and lyrical elements belonging to four cultures—African, Arab, Amazigh, and Saharan—providing a case study of how to properly reclaim musical and cultural heritage and identity. The concept of a Nās al-Ġīwān dictionary of terms is introduced.

  • Šalābī, Fawzīyaẗ. Qirāʼāt munāwiʼaẗ (Tripoli: al-Dār al-ʽArabīyaẗ li-al-Kitāb, 1984). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 1984-28079; IMA catalogue reference] 

Abstract: Approaches political songs from the 1960s through the 1980s as expressions of contemporary Arab consciousness. The difference between the Arab intellectual elites fueling the conscious cultural movement and the Arab masses who follow with little critical take is explored. Political songs that do not give lip service to intellectual elites, but rather engage and express the real suffering of the people, are highlighted, distinguishing between progressive songs (al-aġānī al-taqaddumīyaẗ) of politically and socially engaged people and political songs (al-aġānī al-siyāsīyaẗ) of authoritarian states and the Arab right. Case studies from Morocco (Nās al-Ġīwān), Tunisia (Aṣḥāb al-Kalimaẗ), Iraq (Firqaẗ al-Ṭarīq), and Egypt (al-Šayẖ Imām) are included.

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by | January 17, 2023 · 6:00 am

Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale and Institut du Monde Arabe announce their collaboration

New York. — January 17, 2023 — Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale (RILM) has entered a three-year collaboration with the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris (IMA, Arab World Institute) that aims to increase public engagement, advance global cultural understanding, and connect diverse communities by highlighting and sharing the Institute library’s holdings on music from the Arab world. RILM, which documents and disseminates music research worldwide, supports this initiative by drawing on its comprehensive digital resources to create blog posts about a selection of Arabic music literature. Each post is enhanced with an expertly curated bibliography. 

The bibliographic references stem from one of the richest and most exhaustive resources of global music research, RILM Abstracts of Music Literature™, which contains 1.5 million bibliographic records from relevant writings on music published from the early 19th century to the present in over 170 countries and in more than 140 languages.

Blog posts are published on both institutions’ websites: RILM’s Bibliolore at https://bibliolore.org/ and the Institut du Monde Arabe’s Bibliographies page at https://www.imarabe.org/fr/ressources/bibliographies and the IMA News page at https://www.imarabe.org/fr/actualites.

Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale (RILM), New York: RILM is committed to the comprehensive and accurate representation of music scholarship in all countries and languages, and across all disciplinary and cultural boundaries. It publishes a suite of digital resources aimed at facilitating and disseminating music research. Its flagship publication is RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, the international bibliography of writings on music covering publications from the early 19th century to the present, now available in an enhanced version that includes the full text content of over 260 music journals. RILM Abstracts is available on the EBSCOhost platform along with RILM Music Encyclopedias, a full-text repository of a wide-ranging and growing list of music reference works, and the Index to Printed Music, a finding aid for searching specific musical works contained in printed collections, sets, and series. Distributed worldwide on RILM’s own platform are the continually updated music encyclopedia MGG Online, RILM Music Encyclopedias, and the  Dizionario Enciclopedico Universale della Musica e dei Musicisti (coming in mid-2023). RILM is a joint project of the International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres (IAML); International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM); the International Musicological Society (IMS); and the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM). www.rilm.org

Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris: The Institut du Monde Arabe was founded to create strong and durable cultural ties while cultivating constructive dialogue between the Arab world, France, and Europe. This cross-discipline space is the central place for the development of cultural projects, in collaboration with institutions, creators and thinkers from the Arab world. The Institut du Monde Arabe is fully anchored in the present. It aims to reflect the Arab world’s current dynamics. It intends to make a distinctive contribution to the institutional cultural landscape. No other organization in the world offers such a wide range of events in connection with the Arab world. Debates, colloquia, seminars, conferences, dance shows, concerts, films, books, meetings, language and culture courses, and large exhibitions all contribute to raising awareness of this unique and vibrant world. https://www.imarabe.org

For more information, please contact:

Michael Lupo
Marketing & Media
Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale
365 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3108  •  New York, NY 10016-4309
mlupo@rilm.org  •  Phone 1 212 817 1992  •  www.rilm.org

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by | November 6, 2017 · 6:00 am

Ša‘bī and politics

Commonly associated with Cairo’s working class, ša‘bī (شعبى ) is a politically charged musical genre with a long history of bawdy humor and trenchant social critique. While the cultural elite may see the term as an index of the backwardness of the uneducated masses, for many Egyptians ša‘bī evokes a sense of identity, tradition, and heritage.

One of contemporary ša‘bī’s foremost practitioners of social commentary and political dissent, Ša‘bān ‘Abd al-Raḥīm (شعبان عبد الرحيم, above), stormed into popular culture in the early 21st century by mobilizing the genre’s potential to tap into the pulse of the Egyptian-Arab street. By 2002 ‘Abd al-Raḥīm’s brazen sociopolitical commentary had turned him into the unlikely hero of millions of Egyptians and Arabs.

This according to “‘I’ll tell you why we hate you!’ Ša‘bān ‘Abd al-Raḥīm and Middle Eastern reactions to 9/11” by James R. Grippo, an essay included in Music in the post-9/11 world (New York: Routledge, 2007, pp. 255–75).

Below,   ‘Abd al-Raḥīm’s Obama, which excoriates George W. Bush while poking fun at the notion that the newly elected Barack Obama will save the Arab world like Saladin.

 

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by | December 31, 2014 · 6:00 am

Umm Kulṯūm, voice of the people

Umm Kulthum

The virtuoso Egyptian singer Umm Kulṯūm (أم كلثوم) has been acclaimed as representing the voices of the people throughout the Arab world.

Following a long historical tradition of well-known, respectable female singers, Umm Kulṯūm’s repertoire revolved around Arabic poems with historic themes and colloquial Egyptian Arabic songs. Performed during a time of rejection of all things colonial in favor of all things Egyptian, her songs, both textually and melodically, reflected this emphasis.

The role of listeners is crucial in constructing the identity of her voice and their usage of live and recorded performances for their own purposes. Songs from Umm Kulṯūm’s repertory illustrate how social identity may be embedded in music using specific musical cues understood by the performer and her audience.

This according to “Voices of the people: Umm Kulthūm” by Virginia Danielson, an essay included in Women’s voices across musical worlds (Boston: Northeastern University, 2004, pp. 147–165).

Today is Umm Kulṯūm’s 110th birthday! Below, Baeed anak (Away from you) at the Olympia Théâtre in Paris, November 1967.

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