When I first heard that musical performer Simon Shaheen, singer Cheb Mami and various other Arab musicians were going to perform live at the Grammy awards show in February in Los Angeles, I immediately thought what many others were probably thinking: Is Arabic music finally going to be fully recognized and appreciated outside of the Arab world? As an Arab-American I have sometimes wondered: Will Arabic music ever become part of mainstream music like Latin and other music has? Okay, so maybe we won't see an Arabic version of Ricky Martin dancing and singing to the beat of a
tableh (Arabic drum) on MTV any time soon. Still, Arabic music is just too good to remain undiscovered by lovers of music.
For those of us who grew up listening to it, we know of its wonderful ability to stir the senses. You don't need to understand Arabic to feel the emotion of songs from the greats like Umm Kalthoum, Fairouz, or Farid Alatrache. You don't need to be Arab to appreciate the sounds of any of the traditional Arabic musical instruments that create that distinct sound in Arabic music from Morocco to the Red Sea and on up to Iraq and Syria. The gentle and mellow tone of the
oud (guitar like instrument), the yearning and joyful expressions of the
shababa or
nay (ancient flute), and the rythmic beating of the
tableh (drum) are sure to take any one back to an ancient time, and move even the most unmoving of people.
Brief History of Arabic Music
Regardless of what country the music originates from, there is a distinct sound to Arabic music. Differences in language dialect considered, Arabic music is still remarkably similar in emotive power, tonal range and rhythmic drive. Throughout the Arab world, Arabic music is overwhelmingly the music of one people.
However, the historical origins of Arabic music is very diverse. Early Arab musicians borrowed from the Eyptians, Assyrians, and Sumerians. Many of the instruments used today by Arab performers are direct descendents of those depicted in the wall paintings and carvings of those past civilizations. (From www.arabica-musica.com).
Arabic music first became influential when Byzantium ceased to be the center of the intellectual world. From the mid 7th to the beginning of the 9th centuries, the Eastern Roman Empire suffered from cultural stagnation. At this time, the spread of Islam occured, and an Arab empire was established that claimed domination from the Chinese borders to Spain, from the Caspian Sea and the Pyrenees, to the Indies and the Sudan. The Arabs showed a wonderful capacity and mobility in their conquest of learning. Helping to revive an interest in Greek music and literature through Arabic translations, they filled the cultural void after the fall of Byzantium and had directly contributed to the later European Renaissance (Dabh, 1984, p.37).
