Chapter 8 - The Middle East

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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

Interactive Listening Guides

On Your Own Time Links

Links and Further Resources

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
DVD/Website:
Empire of Faith. Dir. Robert H. Gardner. PBS Documentary, 2005.
http://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/

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:
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:
Hammarlund, Anders, Tord Olsson, and Elisabeth Ozdalga, eds. Sufism, Music and Society in Turkey and the Middle East. New York: Routledge, 2001.
http://www.routledge.com/9780700711482/
Book:
Shah, Idries. The Sufis. New York: Anchor Books, 1964.
DVD:
Sufi Soul: The Mystic Music of Islam. Dir. Simon Broughton. Riverboat, 2008.
http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Sufi_Soul_The_Mystic_Music_of_Islam/70105236?trkid=2361637#height1547
Website:
The Threshold Society
http://www.sufism.org/

Judaism


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/
Website:
Jewish Music Research Center
http://www.jewish-music.huji.ac.il/
Popular Artists from the Middle East:
Umm Kulthum
Googoosh
Khaled
Cheb Mami
Ofra Haza
Amr Diab
Soap Kills