Al Dawr

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dawr, dour plural: adwar, is a vocal genre sung in colloquial or regional Arabic (‘ammiyyah), and was developed in 19th century Egypt. It includes 2 sections, madh’hab (chorus, or refrain) and ghusn (branch, or verse), the latter being characterized by choral responses to the soloist’s ornamented improvisation on the syllable “ah”. Only simple rhythmic modes are used in the dawr.

AlDawr usually starts with a doulab (an introductory short instrumental composition) that sets the mood of a maqam, and is intended to reveal its special character such as its intervallic structure and the emotions attached to it. The genre faded in popularity after the 1920s and often used the melismatic technique of ahaat. Dawr can also refer to the first section of a muwashshah.