Ziryab
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Abu l-Hasan ‘Ali Ibn Nafi‘ (Arabic: أبو الحسن علي ابن نافع )(c. 789-857), nicknamed Ziryab (زرياب, Arabic for blackbird), supposedly because of his dark complexion, the clarity of his voice and "the sweetness of his character (Ibn Hayyan)," was one of the most famous gourmands, musicians and singers at the Umayyad court in Córdoba in Spain. Historians differ over whether Ziryab was Kurdish, African or Persian. [link]. According to some sources, he was a former slave, possibly a Zanj of Tanzanian descent. He first achieved notoriety at the Abbasid court in Baghdad, Iraq as a performer and student of the great musician and composer, Ishaq al-Mawsili.
Ziryb left Baghdad some time after the death of the Caliph al-Amîn in 813 and traveled first to Sham (Syria), then to Ifriqiyya (Tunisia), where he lived at the Aghlabid court of Ziyadat Allah (ruled 816-837). Ziryab fell out with Ziyadat Allah but was invited to Al-Andalus by the Umayyad prince, al-Hakam I. He found on arrival in 822 that the prince had died, but the prince's son, Abd ar-Rahman II, renewed his father's invitation. Ziryab settled in Córdoba, where he soon became even more celebrated as the court's aficionado of food, fashion, singing and music. He introduced standards of excellence in all these fields as well as setting new norms for elegant and noble manners. He was an intimate companion of the prince and established a school of music that trained singers and musicians which influenced musical performance for at least two generations after him.
Ziryab is said to have improved the technique of playing the 'ud, created a unique and influential style of musical performance, and written songs that were performed in Spain for generations. He was a great influence on Spanish music, and is considered the founder of the Andalusian music traditions of North Africa and the Middle East.
References
- [Ziryab, the musician, astronomer, fashion designer and gastronome] FSTC Limited, Fri 13 June, 2003.
- [Flight of the Blackbird] Robert W. Lebling Jr., Saudi Aramco World July/August 2003.
- Encyclopedia of Islam
- al-Muqtabis by Ibn Hayyan
- The Muqaddima of Ibn Khaldoun, [Chapter V, part 31, "The craft of singing."]
- Ta'rikh fath al-Andalus by Ibn al-Qutiyya
- al-'Iqd al-farid by Ibn 'Abd Rabbih
- Ta'rikh Baghdad by Ibn Tayfur
- Kitab al-Aghani by Abu l-Faraj al-Isfahani
- Tawq al-hamama by Ibn Hazm
- Jawdhat al-Muqtabis by al-Humaydî
- Mughrib fi hula l-Maghrib by Ibn Sa'id
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