Chapter 8: The Middle East

About

Chapter 8 introduces the music and associated cultural activities from the Middle East. In addition to music traditions from Turkey, Iran, and Egypt, three prominent religions, including Islam, Sufism, and Judaism, are discussed to introduce spiritual and social perspectives on music. Important instruments, such as the 'udbuzuq, and santur, are introduced, along with religious vocal production from the Islamic and Jewish faiths.

Key Terms

  • Adhan (also Azan)
  • Arabian Peninsula
  • Avaz
  • Ayatollah
  • Bandir
  • Bar Mitzvah
  • Bashraf
  • Daramad
  • Darabuka
  • Dastgah
  • Dervish
  • Dhikr (also Zikr)
  • Dombak
  • Duff
  • Dulab
  • Firqa
  • Ghawazi
  • Gusheh
  • Hajj
  • Halile
  • Ilahi
  • Iq'a
  • Ist
  • Jamaca
  • Janizary (also Janissary or Yeniceri)
  • Kaside
  • Kemence (also Kemancheh or Kemanja)
  • Kereshmeh
  • Khanegah
  • Klezmer
  • Koran (also Qu'ran)
  • Kudum
  • Layali
  • Maghrib
  • Makam (also Maqam)
  • Masjid
  • Mehter
  • Mihrab
  • Minaret
  • Mosque
  • Mullah
  • Ney (also Nay)
  • Ottoman Empire
  • Qanun (also Kanun)
  • Radif
  • Raqs sharqi
  • Riqq
  • Saz
  • Shah
  • Sham'idan
  • Shiah
  • Shofar
  • Sufi
  • Sunni
  • Synagogue
  • Tabla
  • Tahmala
  • Tahrir
  • Takht
  • Tanbur
  • Taqsim
  • Tarab
  • Taslam
  • Tekke
  • Torah (also Pentateuch)
  • Ud (also Al'ud)
  • Zakirler
  • Chahar-mezrab
  • Muezzin
  • Mawwal
  • Zarb

Flashcards

Practice Quiz

Audio Examples

8.1

Islamic Call to Prayer: "Azan" by Saifullajan Musaev from the recording entitled Bukhara: Musical Crossroads of Asia, SFW40050, courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. (p) (c) 1991. Used by permission.

8.2

Arabic Taqsim for Ud and Buzuq. “Maqam Kurd” performed by Ali Jihad Racy, buzuq, and Simon Shaheen, ud, from Taqasim: Improvisation in Arab Music, Lyrichord LYRCD 7374., n.d. Used by permission, Multicultural Media Inc.

8.3

Iran: "Dastgah of Shour" by Khatereh Parvaneh from the recording entitled Classical Music of Iran, Vol. 1: The Dastgah Systems, FW08831, courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. (p) (c) 1966. Used by permission.

8.4

Egypt: Takht instrumental ensemble suite, recorded by the Middle Eastern Ensemble of the University of California, Santa Barbara, directed by Dr. Scott Marcus, 2011. Used by permission.

8.5

Turkey: Sufi Dhikr ceremony. "Sufi Hymn" by Jarrahi Dervishes and others from the recording entitled The Silk Road: A Musical Caravan, SFW40438, courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. (p) (c) 2002. Used by permission.

8.6

Israel: Jewish shofar blowing and liturgical cantillation. "Cycle of 10 Calls During Additional Service" by David Hausdorff from the recording entitled Kol Ha'shofar (Call of the Shofar), FW08922, courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. (p) (c) 1957. Used by permission; and “L’dor vador” sung by Dr. Peter Laki, recorded by Terry E. Miller, Kent, Ohio, 2005. Used by permission.

Audio Book

Coming soon...

On Your Own Time

Links and further resources

DVD/Website:
Empire of Faith. Dir. Robert H. Gardner. PBS Documentary, 2005.
http://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/
Book:
Regev, Motti, and Edwin Seroussi. Popular Music and National Culture in Israel. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004.
http://www.ucpress.edu/ebook.php?isbn=9780520936881

Iran


Book:
Farhat, Hormoz. The Dastgah Concept in Persian Music. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
http://www.cambridge.org/gb/knowledge/isbn/item1151289/?site_locale=en_GB

Arabic Music


Book:
Touma, Habib Hassan. The Music of the Arabs. Milwaukee, WI: Amadeus Press, 2003.
http://www.halleonardbooks.com/product/viewproduct.do
Book:
Racy, A.J. Making Music in the Arab World: The Culture and Artistry of Tarab. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
http://www.cambridge.org/gb/knowledge/isbn/item1132943/?site_locale=en_GB
DVD:
Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt. Dir. Goldman, Michal. Arab Film Distribution, 1996.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90326836

Sufism


Book:
Shah, Idries. The Sufis. New York: Anchor Books, 1964.
Website:
The Threshold Society
http://www.sufism.org/
DVD:
Sufi Soul: The Mystic Music of Islam. Dir. Simon Broughton. Riverboat, 2008.
http://www.filmsufi.com/2015/05/sufi-soul-mystic-music-of-islam-simon.html
Book:
Anders Hammarlund, Olsson, Tord, and Elisabeth Ozdalga eds. Sufism, Music and Society in Turkey and the Middle East. New York: Routledge, 2001.
https://www.routledge.com/Sufism-Music-and-Society-in-Turkey-and-the-Middle-East/Hammarlund-Olsson-Ozdalga/p/book/9780700711482

Judaism


Website:
Jewish Music Research Center
http://www.jewish-music.huji.ac.il/
Book:
Horowitz, Amy. Mediterranean Israeli Music and the Politics of the Aesthetic. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 2010.
http://wsupress.wayne.edu/books/1149/Mediterranean-Israeli-Music-and-the-Politics-of-the-Aesthetic
Website:
Jewish Music.com
http://www.jewishmusic.com/
Popular Artists from the Middle East:
Umm Kulthum
Googoosh
Khaled
Cheb Mami
Ofra Haza
Amr Diab
Soap Kills