Iraqui tunes?

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Thu Apr 10, 2003 4:30 am

Anyone know of any written sources for Iraqui music, suitable for whistle? These might be fun, and serve as a reminder if any is needed, that the Iraqui people were never the enemy , only Saddam and gang...

blackhawk · Post by **blackhawk** » Thu Apr 10, 2003 5:09 am

I don't think I've ever heard any Iraqi music. How would we differentiate between that and say, Kuwaiti music? Or Syrian music? Or Lebanese? Hmmm....

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Thu Apr 10, 2003 5:30 am

The culture of Iraq, going back to ancient Mesopotamia has contributed greatly to world society. Here's what Encarta (which is really Funk & Wagnalls) says about Iraqi music (might at least give you some search terms).

Iraqi singers enjoy great popularity in the Arab world. Jewish singers and musicians made an important contribution to Baghdād’s culture from the 1920s to 1951, when most of them left the country. Among them were the brothers Saleh and Da’ud al-Kuwaiti. In the 1940s and 1950s the four most important types of music in Baghdād were Maqamat, Monologat, Pestat, and Budhiyat. Maqamat, a form of classical Arab music, is a kind of high-pitched, sophisticated Arab blues, accompanied by ‘ud, violins, and drums. Monologat consists of nonclassical songs that include elements of humor and cynicism. Pestat is popular poetry sung to music. Budhiyat is a hymnlike type of music reminiscent of Buddhist chanting.

From the late 1940s to the late 1970s tastes in music shifted from traditional Maqamat to a mix of Maqamat and songs based on lighter, more popular Arab music. Uniquely Iraqi styles blended gradually with other Arab styles, mainly under Egyptian influence. Nazim al-Ghazali, who was popular in the 1950s and 1960s, was the main representative of this trend, although most of his songs were in the classical Maqamat style. Beginning in the late 1970s a combination of Arab and European music was introduced, creating Arab pop music.

Important singers of the late 20th century include Ilham al-Madfa‘i, Kazim al-Sahir, Sa‘dun Jaber, Fu’ad Salem, and Haytham Yusuf. Ilham al-Madfa‘i, who lives in the United States, usually accompanies his singing with a Spanish guitar. His main contribution is in modernizing old Maqamat songs. Kazim al-Sahir, who lives in the Persian Gulf area but visits Iraq often, combines traditional Arab and modern Western singing styles. Most of his songs are personal, but some of them are political, notably “Jerusalem,” “Risala ila al-‘Alam” (“A Message to the World”), and “Baghdād.” The music of the late Nazim al-Ghazali is still popular, as are the songs of his wife, Salima Murad (or Salima Pasha).

Bedouin songs, accompanied by a simple string instrument, the rababah, are popular in the countryside. Since the late 20th century, Bedouin music, songs, and dance have also been popular in Baghdād, owing to the rural background of the ruling elite.

lilymaid · Post by **lilymaid** » Thu Apr 10, 2003 5:58 am

I don't know of any, but Middle Eastern music is ever so lovely. I'm sure it would be gorgeous.

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Thu Apr 10, 2003 6:09 am

http://www.iraqimusic.com/

I'm listening to a song right now, certainly not traditional... unless middle east disco can be considered trad.

http://www.iraq4u.com/

Paul, musically this is more what you're looking for... though I haven't found any sheet music.
http://www.iraqiart.com/music/music.htm

Tak_the_whistler · Post by **Tak_the_whistler** » Thu Apr 10, 2003 7:43 am

Paul, I've seen in HMV a CD which name was something like

"Arabic Chillout"

Now, the songs may not be preciesely 'Iraqui'-ish tunes, and I've not listened to it yet but...has anyone?

Wombat · Post by **Wombat** » Thu Apr 10, 2003 10:09 am

Walden wrote: Iraqi singers enjoy great popularity in the Arab world. Jewish singers and musicians made an important contribution to Baghd?d’s culture from the 1920s to 1951, when most of them left the country.

One of the saddest little known ethnic and cultural tragedies in the recent history of the middle east is the enforced dispersal of the ancient Jewish communities who had lived harmoniously with Arabs in both Damascus and Baghdad. I have a close friend from the Damascus community who will never see his birthplace again.

As for Iraqi music, I'm fairly sure I have some but, to confirm, I will have to wait until the bulk of my record collection comes out of storage when I move into my new home in a few weeks time.

AaronMalcomb · Post by **AaronMalcomb** » Thu Apr 10, 2003 10:16 am

On Lisa Gerrard's album "The Mirror Pool" she sings a song in Farsi called "Persian Love Song." It's a beautiful song and probably indicative of the singing tradition Walden brought up.
Cheers,
Aaron

TonyHiggins · Post by **TonyHiggins** » Thu Apr 10, 2003 11:12 am

I recently heard a thing on public radio about a guy from Iraq who teaches music in Cairo. He plays an Iraqi instrument related to the lute. He played a lament for the children who were killed in a bunker in Baghdad during the Gulf War. He saw the destruction and bodies and was deeply disturbed. He spent 11 days in the bunker composing the melody. It was as heartbreaking and beautiful as any Irish lament.
Tony

herbivore12 · Post by **herbivore12** » Thu Apr 10, 2003 11:46 am

There's some beautiful Arabic music out there -- to my mind, some of the most beautiful music in the world -- and some of the suggestions above will get you to it.

(One of the great things about being married to my wife, who spent most of her childhood in Saudi Arabia, is having been exposed to so much of the beauty of Middle Eastern culture, a beauty that's often now obscured by fiorces both within and without the Middle East.)

A fun and well-made item I bought last year -- and it was pretty cheap, too -- is Erik the Flutemaker's Arabian flute, which is tuned to one of the middle eastern scales and makes you feel immediately as if you're sitting outside a cafe in the desert somewhere, dates and mint tea on the table.

Or you could always make one of your own whistles with a modified tuning scheme, right? That might be fun; I've never heard a whistle tuned thus.

Best,

Aaron

burnsbyrne · Post by **burnsbyrne** » Thu Apr 10, 2003 11:49 am

TonyHiggins wrote:I recently heard a thing on public radio about a guy from Iraq who teaches music in Cairo. He plays an Iraqi instrument related to the lute. He played a lament for the children who were killed in a bunker in Baghdad during the Gulf War. He saw the destruction and bodies and was deeply disturbed. He spent 11 days in the bunker composing the melody. It was as heartbreaking and beautiful as any Irish lament.
Tony

Tony,
I heard that piece. It was very touching. The instrument he plays, the Oud or "al Oud" was, at one time, the same instrument as the European Lute. You can see the similarity of the names. But while the Lute gradually went out of use in Europe in favor of the guitar, the Oud has continued to be a popular instrument in N Africa, the middle east, Iran, and Pakistan. It is used for both "classical" and popular music. In Spain there has been a movement the last 10-20 yrs to recover their Arabic heritage and the Oud has been an important part of that revival. One of the main differences between the Oud and the Lute is that the Oud is fretless which makes possible the playing of the quarter tones that occur in some Arabic music. An excellent introduction to the Oud is the playing of Hamza ed-Din, an Egyptian player who has released a few albums on the Nonesuch label.
Mike

Post by **Nanohedron** » Thu Apr 10, 2003 1:03 pm

Al 'ud, which simply means 'the wood', is indeed the precursor in name and form to the European lute. I believe one of the lute's earlier names was Vihuela de Flandres as it was purported to have spread throughout Europe from there.

End of trivia contribution.

I love Arabic music, epecially of the Egyptian kind. This makes the present conflict additionally tough for me personally. I hope for peace and reconciliation.

N

allezlesbleus · Post by **allezlesbleus** » Thu Apr 10, 2003 1:27 pm

An excellent introduction to the Oud is the playing of Hamza ed-Din, an Egyptian player who has released a few albums on the Nonesuch label.
Mike

Mike,

I saw Hamsa al-Din (or however that's supposed to be spelled with the Roman alphabet) in concert a few years back and was completely mesmerized by his performance. It still makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up when I think of it...

FWIW: I got a verrrry good compilation of North African Traditional/Electronica fusion called "Arabesque" by GUT Records (ISBN 5 016556 210720). There is a group called Gnawa Diffusion with a track on this CD and the lead singer has a voice that is unreal. The great Ofra Haza (a Yemeni who moved to Jerusalem and unfortunately died a little while ago from AIDS) has a mind-blowing voice and fantastic control. Her album "Kirya" is top-notch. Soapkills out of Lebanon is also very good but I'm not sure if their first CD has come out yet.

If I could guess, I would imagine that a whistle (maybe needing to be tuned to the Middle Eastern scale...what are the intervals on that scale?) would lend itself very well to "Arab" music.

PC

Post by **Nanohedron** » Thu Apr 10, 2003 1:33 pm

Allez', Ofra Haza rocked! I liked "Kirya" to bits.

Daniel_Bingamon · Post by **Daniel_Bingamon** » Thu Apr 10, 2003 7:45 pm

If your gonna play Iraqi you gotta have an Oud player in the band.

Much of this type of music is played on a Ney, it uses the side of your lip to produce the block. Similar to the Quena but you have to tilt you head to play one of these. They are somewhat microtonal and Arabic scales are similar to Klezmer scales only a little more complicated.