Muwashah
Muwashah
Muwashshhaat
Muwashshah or muwaššah (Arabic: , “girdled”; plural Muwashshhaat or tawashih ) is an Arabic poetic form, as well as a secular musical genre in the eastern part of the Arab world using muwaššah texts as lyrics. The poetic form is also used in Andalusi Nawbah which similarly originates in Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain). It is a multi-lined strophic verse poem written in classical Arabic, usually consisting of five stanzas. It was customary to open with one or two lines which matched the second part of the poem in rhyme and meter. In North Africa poets ignore the strict rules of Arabic meter while the poets in the East follow them.
Musical genre
Musically, the ensemble consists of Oud (lute), kamenjah (spike fiddle), Qanoon (box zither), darabukkah (goblet drum), and daf (tambourine), all of which often perform as the choir. The soloist performs only a few chosen lines of the selected text. In Aleppo multiple Maqam rows and up to three awzan are used and modulation to neighboring Maqamat was possible during the B section [clarify]. Until modernization it was typical to present a complete Wasla, or up to eight successive muwaššah including an instrumental introduction (Sama’i or Bashraf).[2] It may end with a Longa.
History
Examples of muwaššah start to appear as early as the ninth or tenth century CE. The full sense of the word is not clear, though it appears to be related to the word for a type of double-banded ornamental belt, the wišah. Interpretations differ, and according to one authority [who?], “Since it was held together by the concluding line as by a belt, and written down the visual effect was of a chain belt, it was called muwaššah ‘girdled’ poem.
Ghada Shbier muwashah podcast: al-fann.com
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Known by Al Muwashshah in Spain, the Arabic Traditional Andalusian music style appeared in Andalusia in the beginning of the 11th century. The muwashah is often composed using a complex rhythm, ranging from 2/4 to 48/4 and greater. A muwashah may use more than one rhythm, although the norm is a single rhythm throughout. Lyrics in a muwashah are poetry in classical Arabic, and must neatly fit the rhythm (every syllable must fall on a beat).
It was called AlMuwashshah for 2 major reasons:
1) It does not follow the Khalilian measure (16 measures)
2) It uses the various musical rhythm which were considered the fundamental elements of the melody structure, such as the Medawar, the Aqsaq, the Muraba’, the Nawakht and others…
AlMuwashshah is based on different modes. The words are a mixture of spoken and classical Arabic. AlMuwashshah is divided into three segments: The Dawr, the Khana, the Ghata or the Qafla.
In general, AlMuwashshah is accompanied by the Takht Sharqi that is made of a group of old oriental Middle Eastern instruments: the lute (Al’Oud), the zither (AlQanoun), the tambourine (AlDuf), and the flute (AlNay).
These instruments play an accompanying role in AlMuwashshah and are given free rein for improvisation and creation, but respect the initial and traditional form of the given piece.
A longa is a genre in Turkish music that was adapted from the Gypsy music of Eastern Europe in the late 1800s. It was later adopted in Arabic music and is often performed at the end of a muwashshah.
It generally uses an iqa’ equivalent to 2/4, with several sections called khanat (singular khana), each followed by a taslim (refrain). The last khana is generally in 3/4.
A common form of longa is longa Nahawand in the maqam Nahawand.
