Music of Egypt
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The region around the Nile is one of the oldest continually-inhabited areas in the world. Ancient Egyptian musicians are known to have played harps and flutes circa 4000 BC, and double clarinets and lyres from around 3500 BC. Percussion instruments were added to orchestras by 2000 BC. It is probable that no system of musical notation existed at the time, as none have survived. The music of ancient Egypt has not been documented, but some musicologists believe that the liturgical music of the Coptic Church is directly descended from ancient Egyptian music.
Modern Egyptian music blends musical traditions encompassing indigenous varieties as well as Turkish, Arabic, and Western elements. Arabic musical tradition is usually said to have begun in the 7th century in Syria during the Umayyad dynasty. Early Arab music was derived from Byzantine, Indian and Persian forms, which were themselves heavily influenced by earlier Greek, Semitic, and ancient Egyptian music. In the 10th century, Al-Farabi translated Aristotle's Problems (and Themistius' commentary on them), Euclid's Elements of Music and Ptolemy's Harmonics into Arabic. These works, foundations of Western music, became the basis for Arabic musical theory.
The tonal structure of Arabic music is defined by the maqamat, loosely similar to Western modes, while the rhythm of Arabic music is governed by the awzan (wazn, sing.), formed by combinations of accented and unaccented beats and rests.
In Egypt, religious music is frowned upon, but still common in Muslim celebrations called mulids. Mulids are held to celebrate the saint of a particular mosque, and is related to the Sufi zikr ritual. A type of flute called the ney is commonly played at mulids.
Modern pop and folk traditions
Egyptian music began its recorded history in the 1910s, around the time composers such as Sayed Darwish were incorporating western musical forms into their work. Some of the region's biggest musical stars have been Egyptian, including Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Umm Kulthum, Amr Diab, Mohamed el Asabgi and Zakariyya Ahmad. Kulthum was especially popular, and is considered the most successful Egyptian recording artist in history. Most of these stars, including Kulthum, were part of the classical Egyptian music tradition. Some, like Abd el-Halim Hafez, were associated with the nationalist movement in 1952.
Folk and roots revival
The 20th century has seen Cairo become associated with a roots revival. Musicians from across Egypt are keeping folk traditions alive, such as those of rural Egyptians (fellahin), the Nubians, and the Arab and Berber Bedouins. Mixtures of folk and pop have also risen from the Cairo hit factory.
Sawahii music is a type of popular music from the northern coast, and is based around the simsimaya, a stringed instrument. Singers include Abdo'l Iskandrani and Aid el-Gannirni.
Bedouin
Bedouin music comes the deserts of the west, near Libya, and the east Sinai area. The mizmar, a twin-pipe clarinet, is the most popular folk instrument, and popular singers include Awad e'Medic.
Saidi (Upper Egyptian)
Egyptian musicians from Upper Egypt play a form of folk music called saidi (Upper Egyptian). Metqal Qenawi's Les Musiciens du Nil are the most popular saidi group, and were chosen by the government to represent Egyptian folk music abroad. Other performers include Shoukoukou, Ahmad Ismail, Omar Gharzawi, Sohar Magdy and Ahmed Mougahid.
Nubian
Nubians are native to the south of Egypt and northern Sudan, though many live in Cairo and other cities. Nubian folk music can still be heard, but migration and intercultural contact with Egyptian and other musical genres have produced new innovations. Ali Hassan Kuban's jazz fusions have made him a regular on the world music scene, while Mohamed Mounir's social criticism and sophisticated pop have made him a star among Nubians, Egyptians, and other people worldwide. Ahmed Mounib, Mohamed Mounir's mentor, was by far the most notable Nubian singer to hit the Egyptian music scene, who sang in both Egyptian Arabic and his native Nobiin. Hamza El Din is another popular Nubian artist, well-known on the world music scene and has collaborared with the Kronos Quartet.
Popular music
Until the late 1980s, classical singers like Umm Kulthum were Egypt's biggest pop stars. By the middle of the 1990s, though, el gil and shaabi music had taken over, especially among young audiences.
Starting in the late 1960s, light song emerged as the first modern Egyptian pop tradition. Often nationalist in tone, light songs were humorous and sometimes risqué. It was dominated by singers like Aida al-Shah and Layla Nasmy, who were popular in middle-class communities. The working class youth of Egypt reacted against light songs and shaabi music evolved out of Cairo's poorest districts. Shaabi began entering the mainstream of Egyptian society in 1971, with the breakthrough success of Ahmed Adaweyah.
Shaabi
Adaweyah gained controversy for his lyrics, which were often humorous, salacious and highly critical of social rules and respectable society. By the 1980s, shaabi was being influenced by music from the United Kingdom and United States, as well as other Middle Eastern pop stars. Electric guitars, synthesizers, and later beat boxes, were integrated into the music, which is now highly-polished and meant for mainstream consumption. Today, the most popular shaabi stars are Hakeem and Shabaan abd el Raheem.
el Gil
el Gil music arose in the 70s. It was dance-pop modelled after foreign rock and roll and pop music, and it included distinctively Egyptian characteristics. Hamid el Shaery, a Libyan immigrant, was the most influential of el-Gil
External links
- [Egyptian Music: Seven Millennia of Performance]
- [Coptic Orthodox Music of Egypt at Saint Takla Haymanout Church]
References
- Lodge, David and Bill Badley. "Partner of Poetry". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 323-331. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
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