In the same way western music is catagorized, Middle Eastern music is separated into many genres and subgenres. The main genres of Middle Eastern music are:
- Classical
- Egyptian Classical
- Folk
- Pop
These are four of the main umbrella categories of Middle Eastern music most other music from the area can fall under. Each Region in the Middle East will have it’s own style and subgenre of each musical type, even each town will have it’s own specific sound within the same genre. It would be impossible to cover all aspects of the music from this area so for the sake of time I will be briefly covering a few types of music that fall under these categories. This list can be used as a reference to study deeper into these categories and where to look for other styles of Middle Eastern music of you find yourself inspired.
First Muwashshaḥ is an Arabic word which translated to english means “ode”. Muwashshaḥ is an Arabic genre of poetry set to music in strophic form developed in Muslim Spain in the 11th and 12th centuries. From the 12th century onward, its use spread to North Africa and the Muslim Middle East.
The muwashshaḥ is written in Classical Arabic, and its subjects are those of Classical Arabic poetry—love, wine, and court figures. It differs strongly in form, however, from classical poetry. Typically each verse is divided into two metric halves and a single rhyme recurs at the end of each verse. Themuwashshaḥ is usually divided into five strophes, or stanzas, each numbering four, five, or six lines. A master rhyme appears at the beginning of the poem and at the end of the strophes, somewhat like a refrain; it is interrupted by subordinate rhymes. An example of a possible scheme is:
ABcdcd
ABefef
ABghgh
ABijij
ABklkl
AB.
The last AB, called kharjah, or markaz, is usually written in vernacular Arabic or in the Spanish Mozarabic dialect; it is often rendered in the voice of a girl and expresses her longing for her absent lover. Such verses make it probable that the muwashshaḥ was influenced by European Romance, oral poetry, or song. Jewish poets of Spain also wrote muwashshaḥs in Hebrew, with kharjahs in Arabic and Spanish.
Below is an excellent example of classical muwashshaḥ music by The Morkos Ensemble.The Morkos Ensemble was founded by Kamâl Morkos, a musician trained in classical Arabic music. One of the goals of the Morkos Ensemble is to perform according to the tradition to create an appealingauthentic music.
Scholarly Arabic music ensembles generally comprise a voice accompanied by few instruments. Improvisation plays a very important role in this type of music. The singer must memorize a wide variety of songs upon which to base his or her improvisation. The inspiration of the singer is dependent upon the synergy happening between the musicians and the audience during the performance. The “muwashshah” is a multi-rhyming and multi-metric poem that can be either in Arabic or in a dialect. These poems become songs for solo voice accompanied by a choir.
Second, we’ll look at Egyptian classical music. Egyptian music has been an important part of Egyptian culture since ancient time. The ancient Egyptians credited the god Thod with the invention of music. The earliest material and representational evidence of Egyptian musical instruments dates back to the pre-dynastic period. In the Old Kingdom, harps, flutes and double clarinets were played. Percussion instruments, lyres and lutes were added by the time of the Middle Kingdom. Cymbals frequently accompanied music and dance, as they still do in Egypt today.
The prevalent style of dance attributed to this style of music is Egyptian raqs sharqi (Oriental dance) which is known in western cultures as “belly-dancing”. Raqs sharqi often accompanies a new style of Egyptian classical music which came about in the 20th century.
Some of Egypt’s famous composers of this era included:
- Mohammed Abdel Wahab. His compositions included “Enta Omri”, “Zeina”, and “Cleopatra”.
- Baligh Hamdi whose compositions included “El Hob Kulu” and “Alf Leyla wa Leyla”.
- Farid al-Atrache whose compositions included “Gamil Gamal”, “Habena”, and “Me Alli we Oltelu”.
Egyptian classical music typically follows this format:
- Instrumental overture at the beginning
- Vocal segment to a different melody
- Instrumental interlude, which is often different from the melody of the opening overture
- Vocal segment
- Repeat iterations of the above, which can last from 15 minutes to an hour
Next is Arabic Dabke, a modern Levantine Arab folk dance of possible Canaanite or Phoenician origin.
It is popular in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, and Turkey. It is a form of both circle dancing and line dancing and is widely performed at weddings and joyous occasions. The line forms from right to left. The leader of the dabke heads the line, alternating between facing the audience and the other dancers.
Lastly, I would like to bring you a modern “Pop” band that blends modern dance, Dabke, Raqs sharqi, and electronic music to create a fusion like none other called Ethnotronica. This style is getting more popular every day and could be a staple in Middle Eastern music in the future. I present to you, a trio who arose out of western music as well versed, educated performers who adopted Middle Eastern styles to create their own spin on Oriental Ethnic music to create Beats Antique.
Works Cited
Adra, Najwa. “Middle East” The International Encyclopedia of Dance. Ed. Selma Jeanne Cohen and the Dance Perspectives
Foundation. Oxford University Press, 2003. Georgetown University. 3 December 2010
Cohen, Dalia; Katz, Ruth (2006). Palestinian Arab music: a Maqām tradition in practice (Illustrated, annotated ed.). University of
Chicago Press.
Kaschl, Elke. Dance and Authenticity in Israel and Palestine: Performing the Nation. Leiden & Boston, MA: Brill; 2003.
Ladkani, Jennifer. “Dabke Music and Dance and the Palestinian Refugee Experience: On the Outside looking in.” Ph.D.
dissertation, Florida State University, 2001.
Smyers, Darryll (October 20, 2011). “Tommy Cappel of Beats Antique Talks Tribal Belly Dancing Music, Being Scared in Serbia.”.
Dallas Observer. Retrieved October 26, 2011.
Horne, Jacklynne (October 24, 2011). “Beats Antique brings unusual show to TMT”. The University Star. Retrieved
October 26, 2011.
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