Chapter 7: Introduction to the Region

2. Chapter 7: Introduction to the Region • Qur’an - the holy book of Islam

3. Chapter 7: Elements of Middle Eastern Music • Elaborate Melodies and Melismas • Melismas - sung melodies with many notes to a syllable • Improvisation Based on Basic Tones or Melodies • Heterophony • Rhythms Based on Beat Patterns • The Use of Quarter-Tones

4. Chapter 7: Elements of Middle Eastern Music • Judaism • Jewish diaspora - the scattering of Jews from their ancestral homeland in Palestine • Islam • Islam is a religion founded by Muhammad (c. 570– 632), who, unlike Jesus to the Christians, was a prophet, not a deity.

5. Chapter 7: Elements of Middle Eastern Music • Islam and Music • tension between the pious contemplation of the next world idealized by Islam and the celebration of life as found in Hafiz’s poetry • no such thing as Islamic religious music • music never found a patron in religious institutions in the Middle East as it did in Europe • at certain times and places under especially reactionary Islamic rule, non-religious music has been banned

6. Chapter 7: Elements of Middle Eastern Music • Islam and Music • qira’ah or tilawah - chanting of Qur’an verses, one of the most revered forms of Islamic religious music • Adhan - call to prayer • mu’adhdhin - the singers of the adhan • Sufism is a mystical form of Islam that is more accepting of music in a religious context

7. Chapter 7: The Instruments of the Region • ‘ud – a variety of plucked chordophones • tanbur - the long-necked variety of chordophones • kaman - European violin • zagharit - a ululation (high cry rapidly trilled with the tongue) • A distinctive folk practice associated with the women of North Africa • circular breathing - a difficult technique in which the player blows out while simultaneously breathing in through his nose in order to achieve an uninterrupted air stream

8. Chapter 7: Arabic Music Theory • Tarab - transcendent emotional experience • Vocal music, therefore, from art music to folk music is paramount in Arabic musical culture. • Responsorial - alternating leader/group singing • Antiphonal - two alternating groups singing • Echoi – modes of Byzantine chant • Maqam – Arabic mode/melodic basis

9. Chapter 7: Arabic Music Theory • The Maqam Scale • Tetrachords - segments of four notes • quarter-tones – intervals within the Arabic tuning system that are about half the size of the smallest European interval (the semitone) • Jins – scale fragments in Arabic music • the maqam nahawand scale is shown below

10. Chapter 7: Arabic Music Theory • The Maqam Scale • The maqam huzam scale is shown below

11. Chapter 7: Arabic Music Theory • Other Characteristics of a Maqam • Taqsim - non-pulsatile improvisations • Layali - vocal form which use melismas on the syllables “ya layl, ya ‘ayn” (“oh night, oh eyes”) with one or more instrumentalists following the singer’s improvisations • sayr (path) of the maqam - the performance of the taqsimis a journey through a sequence of emphasized pitches, the principal tones of the maqam scale

12. Chapter 7: Arabic Music Theory • Other Characteristics of a Maqam • schematic representation from a performance of a taqsim in maqam hijaz on the ‘ud • modulation – temporary shifts to a related maqam

13. Chapter 7: Arabic Music Theory • Rhythm in Arabic Music • iqa‘ - a characteristic rhythmic pattern • Maqsum - The iqa‘ rhythmic pattern, a simple quadruple pattern, is commonly used in Egyptian folk music, among other repertories • An example of this can be seen below

14. Chapter 7: Arabic Music Theory • Rhythm in Arabic Music • wahdah - the iqa’ pattern, while also contained in a simple quadruple meter like maqsum, has a very different sound • An example of this can be seen below

15. Chapter 7: Arabic Music Theory • Rhythm in Arabic Music • below is an example of one possible interpretation of the iqa‘ maqsum by a darrabukha drummer

16. Chapter 7: Arabic Music Theory • Rhythm in Arabic Music • below is the iqa‘ murassa‘ shami, which consists of nineteen beats divided into groups of 4+5+4+6 • These groups within the cycle are shown by darker dotted lines.

17. Chapter 7: Arabic Music Performance • Music Forms and Practice in Arabic Music • The classic expression of the traditional urban Arabic • performance is the suite • Suite - a series of songs and instrumental pieces unified by their reference to a single maqam • These suites have different forms and names in different countries • nuba in Morocco • fasil in Turkey and Syria, • waslah in Egypt • nawbah in some North African countries • maqam in Iraq

18. Chapter 7: Arabic Music Performance • Music Forms and Practice in Arabic Music • Takht - The most traditional medium for the Arabic suite, an ensemble of about five musicians • A takht might include a qanun (zither), ‘ud (lute), nay (flute), riqq (tambourine), violin, a solo singer and perhaps a chorus, or the instrumentalists may act as a chorus • Some of the other genres that may form movements of the suite or independent forms include the following: • mawwal • qasida • sama’i • tahmilah

19. Chapter 7: Arabic Music Performance • Music Forms and Practice in Arabic Music • Firqa - a large ensemble of twenty or more musicians in Egypt, which combined both Arabic and European instruments, including a large section of the violin family • sha‘bi - the working-class and often socially conscious music • al-jil – Middle Eastern popular music style • Nashid – Islamic popular music

20. Chapter 7: Arabic Music Performance • Waslah in Maqam Huzam • waslah - is a classical suite of songs and instrumental pieces played by a small ensemble (takht) in Egypt. • In the example below the movements are somewhat abbreviated; a full performance could easily last an hour. • This excerpt includes four short movements: bashraf, taqsim, dulab, and muwashshah

21. Chapter 7: Music in Iran • Iranian Classical Music • Dastgah – basis for Iranian modal improvisation • each dastgah has a characteristic heptatonic scale, called the maye, which may include steps of 3⁄4 of a tone and 11⁄4 tone • Gusheh – melodic basis of Iranian improvisation • Radif – collection of Iranian dastgah • chahar mezrab – metered section in Iranian classical music

22. Chapter 7: Music in Iran • Genres of Iranian Classical Music • pishdaramad—an introductory piece for ensemble in duple or triple meter • tasnif—a composed song in a fixed meter accompanied by a soloist or ensemble • reng—ensemble music in a dance rhythm

23. Chapter 7: Music in Iran • A PERFORMANCE OF AN IRANIAN DASTGAH • Mahur - A popular dastgah marked by a characteristic optimistic mood that is unusual for much of Iranian classical improvisation • this performance consists of a sequence of improvisations based on gusheh melodies of different character, but all having a unifying mahur sound

24. Chapter 7: Jewish Music • Religious Music • Levites - a hereditary caste of professional musicians • Shofar - a ram’s horn trumpet • still used as a ritual instrument in Jewish ceremonies • Cantillation – a standard method of chanting Biblical texts • ta’amim – signs to indicate Jewish cantillation formulas • Cantor – music leader in Jewish religious service • Hazzanut – Jewish sung prayer form • Shteygers – modes in Jewish cantoral singing • Nigun – Hasidic Jewish song form with only abstract syllables

25. Chapter 7: Jewish Music • Klezmer • Klezmorim - folk musicians who typically played vigorous dance music for weddings and other events in small Jewish communities • The music of these ensembles featured characteristic syncopation (shifting of metrical accents) and non-diatonic scales • ensembles typically included a pair of violins, a bass, a cimbalom (hammered dulcimer), and, later, a famously expressive clarinet

26. Chapter 7: Jewish Music • Modern Israeli Music • romance or romancero - one of the most popular genres among the Jews of the Sephardic (Mediterranean) tradition • These ballad-type folksongs were originally sung without accompaniment by women, although modern Ladino musicians often sing with guitar accompaniment