In the third track (maqam bayyati) of Shaheen and Racy’s “Taqasim”, this is accomplished.

I got this CD almost 15 years ago. Since then, I have listened to it more than any other. We are blessed that we live in a time when recording is possible. When we read accounts of the beauty of someone’s music, we can try to imagine. But how can one imagine music that is unimaginably powerful.

In Taqasim, especially in the third, 7 minutes (and 5000 years) long track, a lot is packed. Simon’s, melodies, tone, and technique, even after 15 years of listening (and knowing the thing by heart), continue to be exciting. New details emerging with each listening. As if the performers secretly rerecord it anew every week or so.

So what makes it work so well? I have repeatedly dwelt on that. Over the years the answers change.

At first, I thought it was technique (isn’t that all we think about when we’re young?). Then it was the melodies. Then it was the recording quality and clarity combined with melodies and technique.

As, despite our best efforts to the contrary, we mature, our ears do too.

It is now clear to me, that he who wants to master the sounds, must also master the silences between them. The music of “Taqasim” stays alive and relevant, because the performers breathed their life into it. The variations in dynamics, pulse, pick technique are at times subtle and at others startling, but they are always natural. The melodies are at times lyrical and at others anxious, and pained. But they are always immediate.

Instrumental music is music where the listener gets to fill in the lyrics, silently, and then revise and re-revise. Millennia can thus be distilled into minutes, and countless stories find home in a jewel case.

Until you open the next book.. The cheap photocopies won’t bother you much. But the maqam information.. As if they’re talking about an entirely different civilization.

How can we make matters worse? As if we already had a true and well researched and documented way to teach maqams that is too complicated, now many music schools are going for simpler ways to teach maqams. In other words, if you are tired of learning Arabic music theory using the traditional “rigorous” and “complex” approach, you now have a choice. You can study diet-maqams. I have one book of diet-maqams.

I am venting because as I am working on my book, I had a few questions about a maqam. I opened six different theory books and got.. Four different answers. Two never really addressed the maqam in any serious detail. So I am referring to the repertoire. Analyzing 19th and early 20th century compositions trying to fish for details.

Also annoying is the fact that it is evident that these books were written by people who actually never read a music theory book. That’s fair enough. It’s an oral tradition. But if you’re going to write a text book, you’ve got to think pedagogy before cheap photocopies of palaces and ornaments.

How did music start? Why do we play music? What was the first music like? Was it invented by a child or an adult? Was it invented in daytime or nighttime? Was it improvised or composed? Why do we still improvise? Where is music going? Why are there so many different kinds of music?

I am not sure information is available for anyone to answer most, if any, of these questions. The process of thinking about the answers, however, is interesting. This is a mental exercise..

I suggest we call the birthday of music the day when someone decided to make a sound for the sake of hearing that sound. It is quite possible that sound may have been used before then for the purpose of repelling predators, or serve some other practical function. But I would like to consider that the moment that the switch was made to making sound without any practical end in mind as the birth moment of music.

Was it a child or a grownup that invented music? We can’t really tell, but we can take a guess. I would guess that it was a child. Perhaps it because grownups were too busy trying to hunt and gather, make and maintain shelter, and defend the group. More importantly, however. Children seem to have always had more of a license to play than adults. Was it invented in the daytime or nighttime? If we accept the guess that children invented it, then my guess for this question is daytime. Why? That’s probably when children played and grownups did grownup things like gather berries, and kill animals.

It may, on the face of it, seem simple to answer whether the first music was composed or improvised. One is tempted to answer that it was improvised because before there was music there certainly were no composers. Or were there? What if the child was imitating the sound of something else, like the rhythmic sound of someone crushing something. What if the first music wasn’t hitting wood against wood, but was dragging a branch on the ground. What if it was trying to imitate the sound of the wind or a creak. What if the first music was the creak? A child sat daily by the creak and listened to the sound of water against pebbles. It was music to his ears. What if the first musician was also a composer and it was water?

I now regret writing in my master’s thesis that the first music was improvised, because if there was no music before it then there certainly couldn’t have been composers. Did I leave that in the thesis or did I take it out? It could still be true. We’re only guessing.

If the first music was not played, but heard, and the first musician was not man but nature, and it was the second musician who was human. What was the first human music like? An imitation? How soon before the human musicians switched from trying to imitate to trying to produce new music? Was that some sort of a stone age avantgarde? Was it in the stone age or before? Or after? Was there a continuity in the musical heritage? When was the first musicologist born? Did people do concerts or was all music participatory in the beginning?

And what was the purpose of playing music? When and why did it turn from child’s play to something that eventually lead to Wagner, Umm Kulthoum and the Beatles?

Luckily, I have a guess here. At some point, a child or group of children were making sounds and some grownup was moved by it. That was the decisive moment. Someone was so moved by music, in fact, that they wanted to be able to experience it again.

But what happened next? Did the first music appreciator want to become a musician herself or did she just want to listen? Chopin etudes and two digit over two digit polyrhythms did not exist then, and it couldn’t have been that hard to get into conservatories. Everyone could have become a musician, but did they? Were there any music detractors? People who thought it a silly waste of time and perfectly good firewood. Was music invented before fire or after it?

When was the first orchestrator born. You know, the person who decided what the wood blocks would do, and what the branches would do, and what the shouters would do? Shouters? When did the human voice become an instrument and were the first singers difficult to deal with? When was the first diva born? When was the first time someone decided to stand before a performing crowd and waive his hand expecting that everyone would follow his directions? Did they follow his directions? Did they make fun of him? Did they hold rehearsals where he got mad and kicked people out of the his orchestra? Did he work with composers? Was he a composer himself? Did they all have fun? Who had more fun the musicians or the audience? Was there an audience or was everyone in the tribe performing?

These are serious questions. Useless. But serious. When was the first useless question about music asked? Was asked by a musicologist, a critic, or a philosopher? When was the first un-appreciated composer born? You know, the first one who was a genius but no body knew it? Did they know it after his death, or did he compose and die without anyone taking notice?

Before music paid enough, did all musicians have a day job?

Finally, a question I can answer. The answer, of course, is maybe. Maybe some of them where married to someone else who put the food on the table.

When was the first composition commissioned? What for? Who was the first person to become rich from music?

If we are to ever be able to tell the true and complete story of music we have to answer all those questions, and the questions that I haven’t thought of, and the questions that will arise from the answers, and the questions that will arise from those, etc..

But why is it important to know? Does it matter what music sounded like ten thousand years ago? Fifty?

What if it was great music? Better than anything we now know. Someone is going to roll their eyes at this one: Better than those magnificent orchestra hits? Better than the voice of Umm Kulthoum turning intervals into heartbeats. Better than the John Coltrane’s anguished saxophone prayers? Who knows? Maybe there was something better. It’s not as if the music of humanity only becomes better with time. One only needs to listen to Arabic pop music to exclaim that what was, arguably, the greatest century in the history of Arabic music was immediately followed by what is, arguably, the worst.

Was that really the greatest century in the history of Arabic music? And when was it that people started thinking of music against the passing of time? Time is always part of music. That’s rhythm. But does music have rhythm? Not within a composition, but bigger, higher rhythm. The rhythm of the life of music. Is music a living thing?

Matar’s exquisite virtuosity and the energy of his performance are captivating. His genius is most glaring in the perfection of his improvised phrases. It is a very fine balance between what is familiar and accessible on the level of tradition, what is familiar and accessible on a deeper human level, and what is unfamiliar. Our familiars make it easy for us to remain engaged, allowing him to pass his subversive musical messages.

Lebanese buzuq master, Matar Muhammad died at 56 in 1995. Is that an age in which to die?

The CD is called “Tribute to a Master of the Buzuq” and is under the Inedit label.

Matar in Arabic means rain.

By the way. I didn’t count prepositions, “or” or “and” and neither should you.

MUSIC THEORY TERMS

• Arabic Maqam: Tonalmode consisting of one or more scales and rules governing melodic progression and cadences
• Maqamat: Plural of Maqam
• Jins: A set of consecutive scale degrees notes, the building block of Maqamat
• Qarar: A note an octave lower than a given pitch
• Jawab: A note an octave higher than a given pitch
• Arabic Iqa’a: Rhythmic mode consisting of meter and a specific pattern of low and high pitched strokes
• Iqa’at: Plural of Iqa’ a
• Quarter Tones: Microtonalities resulting from dividing the whole step into several microsteps (compared to two semitones in western music)
  
• Ornaments: Adding notes, expressions, articulations, and/or modifying rhythms in a melody line, and/or during rests
• Embellishments: Typically in a percussion instrument context, playing an iqa’a with additional strokes than the basic pattern, to add spice

ARABIC MUSICAL FORMS

• Taqsim: Non-metric instrumental modal improvisation emphasizing modulation and lyrical melodic lines
• Samai: An A R B R C R D R musical form. All movements but D are in Samai Thaqil Rhythm
• Samai Thaqil: A 10 beat rhythmic pattern in 3, 2, 2, 3 subdivision, used frequently in classical Arabic music
• Mawwal: A pre-composed poem set to an improvised melody, musically a similar concept to taqasim
• Mawawil: Plural of Mawwal

OUD SPECIFIC TERMS

• Risha (aka risheh): Pick used to pluck oud strings. Historically made of feather or animal shell or bone, now mostly plastic
• Awtar: Plural of watar
• Watar: String, and/or double unison-tuned course. Oud has six Awtar
• Rash (oud): Tremolo, rapid bi-directional risha strokes
• Qars (pinching): Left hand pizzicato, plucking the strings with left hand fingers
• ‘Aqf: Qars

I was noticing that the post “As The Hard Times Hit” is quite popular. Another reason for listening to that CD. Music is flexing its muscles against the forces of nature and modern life, and it is winning. At least for now..

I continue to break the geographic and chronological order of the repertoire series and would like to recommend a few other CDs for a day like this:

Simon Shaheen’s “Taqasim”. This CD is so popular that it needs no introduction but I will introduce it anyway. Simon’s oud taqasim are absolutely fabulous. In them you hear the 6000 years history of taqasim, as well as perhaps their future. Simon’s technique is perfect, his tone is perfect. The CD features the contrasting sound of the buzuq played by Prof. Ali Jihad Raci, great buzuq and nay player, and musicologist. Simon has the ability to be both a traditionalist when playing in a traditional context, and a contemporary musician of the world blending jazz and Latin music in his compositions (as was demonstrated by the 11 grammy award nominated “Blue Flame”).

Then there is Abdu Dagher’s “King of Taqasim” album. A little harder to find, but a must seek out gem. The CD features Dagher’s most memorable compositions, all of which he uses as a vehicle to launch into improvisations at an orbit 80 miles above the atmosphere. In his extremely creative taqasim one hears Africa’s modes, rhythms, twentieth century Cairo’s life forces, as well as Dagher’s unique spirit.

Finally, when the going gets tough there is always Ziad Rahbani’s “Bil-Afrah”. Recorded in Beirout as the civil war was beginning, the CD featured eleven of Lebanon’s greatest artists who happened to belong to all the different sects and religions. As the artificial divisions become pronounced and violent again in Lebanon, one hopes that this time the spirit of “Bil-Afrah” will win, and the country will not fall into another senseless war.

Sheikh Zakariyya Ahmad

Although mostly survived by his compositions that were sung by Umm Kulthoum and other great singers, it is possible to find recordings of Sheikh Zakariyya performing his compositions. My favorites of his compositions are:

• Emta El-Hawa
• El-Amal
• Huwwa Sahih
• Habibi Yis’id Awqato
• Ana Fi-Intizarak
• Il-Ward Gamil
• La Ya Habibi

Other Egyptian Singers

This is hardly a complete list. Although I will pretend to be objective, I am probably choosing my favorites:

• Mohammad Abdel-Mattaleb
• Nagat
• Warda
• Fayza Ahmad
• Laila Murad
• Karem Mahmoud
• Sayyed Makkawi

In addition, one should also be exposed to the early twentieth century singers. Recordings of the following singers are hard to find (though they are out there).

• Moneera El-Mahdiyya
• Abu El-Ila Mohammad
• Nour El-Houda
• Saleh Abdel-Hayy

All those lists are being made from memory. Feel free to correct the omissions of my faulty memory.

For the oud player, Farid is someone who needs to be learned thoroughly. Listening to his recordings, watching videos of his playing, and, no less importantly, knowing his life.

He is one of the early and mid-twentieth century’s most important oud players not just technically, but also for re-defining the role of the oud in a large orchestra and as an accompanying instrument. Although his formal musical education was limited, he had a deep knowledge of the repertoire that he may have absorbed growing up to a musician (singer) mother, or, perhaps, living in the place and the time where Arabic music was thriving beyond anything it’s done in centuries, or, perhaps, because of a magnificent talent.

His compositions followed the traditional style. For example, his modulations were fairly standard compared to the strange tonalities that Abdel-Wahab introduced. There were none of the elaborate excursions covering vast musical territories as did Al-Sunbati. He did not experiment with the rhythmic and phrasing extravaganzas of Baligh Hamdi. He used little “foreign” instruments in his arrangements. In fact, his orchestral arrangements where fairly simple. Why, then, is he considered to be in the same league as the twentieth century greats such as Abdel-Wahab, Al-Sunbati, and Hamdi?

In my opinion the emotional content of the compositions and their delivery (Farid performed virtually all his songs and instrumental pieces) was one reason. Another reason is that, while not as sophisticated as some of his great contemporaries, his compositions were still beautiful music, captivating in their sweetness and accessibility. Furthermore, including a short, yet always dramatic, oud taqsim in every performance was a treat that the audience looked forward to.

F arid was also committed to instrumental music. In addition to recording taqasim, he has composed a respectable body of instrumental pieces (mostly dance pieces).

Farid lamented in several interviews that he didn’t succeed in having the great singers of the time perform his compositions. While he never explicitly explained why, one can speculate (but these are only speculations). One possible reason was perhaps that great singers wanted a more prominent touch of modernism in the compositions they sang. For some, for example, Abdel-Halim, Farid’s music was just too traditional. The fact that Farid was both a singer and a composer, and not just a composer, may also have played a role. It meant that he might have been perceived as competition by the very singers he was trying to work with: In his interviews, Farid referred on several occasions to “reasons that he doesn’t understand,” referring to non-musical, non-professional considerations.

Be that as it may, Farid is now a central part of the Arabic oud player world. Many of his recordings are issued on CD. In my opinion, a oud player needs to hear them all, repeatedly.

Abdul Halim Hafez

In addition to the recordings that will be listed below, it is worth checking out “Halim”, the feature film about the great singer’s life. I believe it is now available on DVD with English subtitles. Don’t know about other languages. The film is fairly well made and true to the facts, as far as I know them.

Halim’s voice is beautiful no matter which recording you listen to, but there are a few songs need to be in every Arabic musician’s library. Many songs are issued on multiple CDs, so you will need to check the track listings. And again, the spelling in the English alphabet may vary slightly..

Qariat Al-Fingan

Ya Malikan Qalbi

Hawil Tiftikirni

Sawwah

Gana El-Hawa

El-Toba (AKA ana kulli maoul el-toba)

Zayy El-Hawa

Toba (yes, it’s a different song)

Awwel Marrah

El-Hawa Hawaya

Ayy Dam’it Hozn

Habibaha

Risala Min Taht Almaa

Asmahan

The tragic death of Asmahan at a young age is only made more tragic when one hears her sing and realizes the greatness of her talent and its promise that was cut so short. Three or four albums of her recordings are available. They all belong to your library. Her brother, Farid al-Atrash will be the subject of the next post.

Abdel Wahab

The great composer and singer, arguably the greatest in the twentieth century, has composed and performed a lot. The necessary listening list should reflect a variety of his works. Some were already mentioned: the songs he composed for Umm Kulthoum, of which five were recommended. His vocal works written for other singers (for example Abdel-Halim Hafez) will be listed under the sections for those artists.

Instrumental works:

The belley dance music of Abdel-Wahab

Other works that are included on some of the vocal albums, especially the CDs of the Integrale Series most interestingly: Fantasia Nahwantd and Hubbi.

Vocal works:

1- The Integrale series “Les Archive De La Musique Arabe: Mohamed [sic.] Abdelwahab [sic.]” My favorites are disks III, IV, V, VII, and VIII. The series includes virtually all of the early works of Abdel-Wahab (jewels every one of them).

A very short list of some of the most memorable later works performed by him include:

2- Al-Nahr Al-Khaled

3- Min Gheir Leh

4- Fakkarouni

A masterful rendition (mostly instrumental but in some cases choral) of Abdel Wahab’s works is Simon Shaheen’s “The Music of Mohamed Abdel Wahab”

Sayyed Darwish

The composer who had changed Egyptian (and possibly music of many other Arab countries) around and after him, has few of his works recorded in his own voice. But they do exist and are available. They include songs like:

Ana Haweit,

Ana ‘Ishiqt

Dayya’t Mustaqbal Hayati

Shidd El-Hizam

and a few others.

In addition, the orchestra and chorus Firqat Al-Mousiqa Al-Arabiyyah issued very high quality interpretations of his works sung with chorus and soloists. All of those songs are a must for the musician specializing in Arabic music.

More Egyptian music to come. Suggestions, as always, are welcome.