About
- Near and Middle Eastern MusicTo a large extent, village and rural music has long been the province of specialists. Singers, many of them women, who were also composers and poets, sang songs of praise, mourning, and satire, and in pre-Islamic times were accorded supernatural power. Group singing, not very common, is carried on responsorially by dervish fraternities. Improvisation of variations on a set tune, and of nonmetric tunes, is prominent. There are work songs to accompany agriculture and camel-driving. Various kinds of specialists are recognized. In northeastern Iran, for example, they include singers of the Shāhnāmeh, of the story of Hossein's martyrdom, and of songs for weddings; preachers who include recitationlike singing; minstrels who are also clowns; and beggars who chant musical formulas. A folk music genre is likely to consist of severely limited melodic material, and a singer may make his career from performing variants of one tune type. In Iran, thousands of lyrical quatrains are sung to variants of a single melody called the chahārbeiti tune. The figure of the 'asheq, singer of romantic narratives, is widespread in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia.
The distance between folk and art music is not great in the central nations of the Middle East. Because of the role of the specialist in folk culture, and since (in contrast to Europe) the singing style of folk music hardly differs from that of art music, the use of art music instruments is widespread in the folk community, and related styles exist in the two repertories. On its outskirts, e.g., Afghanistan and the Caucasus, contrastive folk styles, particularly in their use of polyphony, some of it in fourths, fifths, and seconds, may be found. The folk music of the Balkans and Spain shows the influence of Middle Eastern music in scales, nonmetric improvisation, singing style, and instruments.
Enta Oumry (Concert) - Umm Kulthum انت عمرى (حفلة) - ام كلثوم
Books
Music of a Thousand Years
A free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at www.luminosoa.org. Iran's particular system of traditional Persian art music has been long treated as the product of an ever-evolving, ancient Persian culture. In Music of a Thousand Years, Ann E. Lucas argues that this music is a modern phenomenon indelibly tied to changing notions of Iran's national history. Rather than considering a single Persian music history, Lucas demonstrates cultural dissimilarity and discontinuity over time, bringing to light two different notions of music-making in relation to premodern and modern musical norms. An important corrective to the history of Persian music, Music of a Thousand Years is the first work to align understandings of Middle Eastern music history with current understandings of the region's political history.
Made in Turkey
Made in Turkey: Studies in Popular Music serves as a comprehensive and thorough introduction to the history, sociology, and musicology of Turkish popular music. The volume consists of essays by leading scholars of Turkish music, and covers the major figures, styles, and social contexts of popular music in Turkey. Each essay provides adequate context so readers understand why the figure or genre under discussion is of lasting significance to Turkish popular music. The book first presents a general description of the history and background of popular music in Turkey, followed by essays that are organized into thematic sections: Histories, Politics, Ethnicities, and Genres.
The Arab Avant-Garde
From jazz trumpeters drawing on the noises of warfare in Beirut to female heavy metallers in Alexandria, the Arab culture offers a wealth of exciting, challenging, and diverse musics. The essays in this collection investigate the plethora of compositional and improvisational techniques, performance styles, political motivations, professional trainings, and inter-continental collaborations that claim the mantle of "innovation" within Arab and Arab diaspora music. While most books on Middle Eastern music-making focus on notions of tradition and regionally specific genres, The Arab Avant Garde presents a radically hybrid and globally dialectic set of practices. Engaging the "avant-garde"-a term with Eurocentric resonances-this anthology disturbs that presumed exclusivity, drawing on and challenging a growing body of literature about alternative modernities.Chapters delve into genres and modes as diverse as jazz, musical theatre, improvisation, hip hop, and heavy metal as performed in countries like Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and the United States. Focusing on multiple ways in which the"Arab avant-garde" becomes manifest, this anthology brings together international writers with eclectic disciplinary trainings-practicing musicians, area studies specialists, ethnomusicologists, and scholars of popular culture and media. Contributors include Sami W. Asmar, Michael Khoury, Saed Muhssin, Marina Peterson, Kamran Rastegar, Caroline Rooney, and Shayna Silverstein, as well as the editors.
Modern Hearbeat-Turkish Music
- Films on Demand This link opens in a new window
Jacob Edgar explores Istanbul to understand the city's music scene today. Traditional Turkish music was inspired by Middle East, Europe, and Asia.
Improvisation in Arabic Classical Music: Taqasim
- Films on Demand This link opens in a new windowClassical Arabic music genres include composed repertoire and improvisation. Improvised music is melodic and consists of maqam. Taqasim means improvisation in Arabic.
Modern Music in the Middle East
- Films on Demand This link opens in a new windowYasmine Hamdan is adding a modern sound to Arab music. Her music is inspired by the post-war identity of Beirut.
Israeli Music
- Films on Demand This link opens in a new windowThe diversity of Israeli culture is reflected in its music. Jacob Edgar travels to Jerusalem to learn about its music scene. He meets with Hadag Nahash, a popular band that combines hip-hop and Israeli rhythms.