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Tradional/Classical Music: Arabian Music |
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| Arabian music refers to that of the Islamic peoples of Arabia and
also, in its broad sense, to that of Islamic peoples in North Africa, Persia, and Syria.
Although the major writings on Arabian music appeared after the dawn of Islam (AD 622),
music had already been cultivated for thousands of years. Origins and Influences The music of pre-Islamic Arabia was primarily vocal. It is alleged that singing originated with the caravan song (huda), from which developed a more sophisticated secular song (nasb). Instruments were generally used alone and served only to accompany the singer. The short lute ('ud), long lute (tunbur), flute (qussaba), tambourine (duff), and drum (tabl) were the most popular. With the coming of Islam and the Arab conquest of Syria, Egypt, and Persia, foreign musical influence began to be felt more strongly in Arabia. The tuning of the 'ud was altered to afford it the range of the Persian lute. Works began to be written on musical theory, which borrowed from Syrian and Persian practices. Ibn Misjah (d. c.715) described eight melodic modes (asabi) and six rhythmic patterns (iqaat); these were modified and expanded in the following centuries. During the Umayyad dynasty (661-750) and the first hundred years of the Abbasid dynasty (750-847), Damascus and Baghdad, respectively, were the centers of culture. The caliphs, or rulers, were noted music patrons, and the classical art flourished at their courts. Al-Farabi (d. c.950) was one of the greatest music theorists of all time. His Grand Book on Music describes in detail the musical instruments of the age and explains the rhythmic modes then in use. The last of the caliphs had Safi al-Din (d. 1294) as principal court musician. In his treatises he included an early example of Arabic musical notation and formulated a new theoretical system that consisted of 12 primary melodic modes. By the 14th century the term maqamat (plural of maqam) referred to the 12 scales. During subsequent centuries additional melodic modes were admitted, and different rhythmic patterns were established; but the development of Arabian music had already reached its zenith, and the music of this period was built mainly on past achievements. Musical Forms The two major features of present-day Arabian music are much the same as those of a thousand years ago: a single, unharmonized melodic line, based upon one of the maqamat, and a repetitive rhythmic cycle (iqa). Each maqam can be represented as a scale whose pitches result from different divisions of a vibrating string. The performer emphasizes particular pitches of the scale and sings or plays standard musical phrases associated with the maqam. All performers make use of elaboration, embellishment, and improvisation. Programs of Arabian classical music often feature the taqsim, a nonmetrical, improvisatory solo instrumental form in a particular maqam but without rhythmic accompaniment. The taqsim may be self-contained, or it may preface a metrical solo song or suite (nauba). Another improvisatory form is the layali, performed vocally but otherwise similar to the taqsim. It is often followed by a composed piece or by a mawwal, which includes melodic improvisation on a poetic text. The maqamat and iqaat are closely linked by the Arabs with their dogma of tathir (ethos) in music. The universality of the modes is underscored by their connection with moods or emotions, times of the day or year, colors, planets, the zodiac, and so on. Even the instruments have extramusical identifications. The four courses of the ud, for example, are related to the four elements and the four humors. The most important classical instrument is the ud, a pear-shaped lute with four or more pairs of strings and a wooden soundboard. The most popular flute is the end-blown variety, the nay (a Persian term). The qanun is a zither with 72 strings in 3-string courses stretched over a trapezoidal box; it is played by plectra worn on each index finger. The two most representative percussion instruments are the tambourine (duff) and the vase drum (darbuka). |
music is LIFE!
music soothes even the savage beast
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