Al Andalus
Al-AndalusOriginsMusic historians consider Arabic art music to have reached a high point in Baghdad and Damascus in the 8th century, after which a period of decay set in. Fortunately the music did not die, as it traveled to the Spanish peninsula, which was at that time ruled by the Moors, and the music thrived there, from the 9th to 15th centuries. Andalusian classical music was allegedly born in the Emirate of Cordoba (Al-Andalus) in the 9th century. The Persian musician, resident in Iraq Iraqi Ziryâb (d. 857), who later became court musician of Abd al-Rahman II in Cordoba, is sometimes credited with its invention. Later, the poet, composer and philosopher Ibn Bajjah (d. 1139) of Saragossa is said to have combined the style of Ziryâb with Western approaches to produce a wholly new style that spread across Iberia and North Africa. By the 11th century CE Moorish Spain and Portugal had become a center for the manufacture of instruments. These goods spread gradually to Provence, influencing French troubadours and trouveres and eventually reaching the rest of Europe. The English words lute, rebec, guitar, organ and naker are derived from Arabic oud, rabab, qitara, urghun and nagqara’, although some Arabic terms had been revived from the Greek and other cultures. The classical music of Andalusia, al-ala reached North Africa via centuries of cultural exchange, the Almohad dynasty and then the Marinid dynasty and the Abdalwadid being in power both in Al-Andalus and North Africa (the Maghreb). Mass resettlements of Muslims and Sephardi Jews from Cordoba, Sevilla, Valencia and Granada, fleeing the Reconquista, further expanded the reach of Andalusian music. Still later, during the Ottoman Empire, the music went through another golden period. Many compositions from this time exist to the current day. Andalusian classical musicMorocco is home to Andalusian classical music that is found throughout North Africa. It probably evolved under the Moors in Cordoba, and the Persian-born musician Ziryab is usually credited with its invention. Ziryab invented the Nawbah, a suite which forms the basis of al-âla, the primary form of Andalusian classical music today, along with Gharnati and Malhoun. There used to be twenty-four Nawbah linked to each hour of the day, but only four Nawbah have survived in their entirety, and seven in fragmentary form. An entire Nawbah can last six or seven hours and are divided into five parts called mizan, each with a corresponding rhythm. The rhythms occur in the following order in a complete Nawbah:
Each mizan begins with instrumental preludes called either tuashia, m’shaliya or bughya, followed by as many as twenty songs (sana’a) in the entire mizan. Andalusian classical schools are spread across Morocco, having left Spain when the Moors and Jews were driven out of the country. Valencia’s school is now in Fez, while Granada’s is located in Tetouan and Chefchaouen. Cities like Tangier and Meknes have their own orchestras as well. Jews in Morocco played an important role in the perpetuation of this oral tradition. In fact, the late Rabbi David Bouzaglo was known to have a conservatory of sorts in Casablanca where a number of Arab and Jewish musicians trained in al-Ala. Andalusian classical music uses instruments including Oud (lute), Rabab (fiddle), Darbouka (goblet drums), taarija (tambourine), Qanoon (zither) and kamenjah (violin). Other instruments have included pianos, banjos and clarinets, though none of these instruments lasted for long. Andalusian classical music orchestras are spread across the country, including the cities of Fez, Tetouan, Chaouen, Tangier, Meknes, Rabat and Casablanca. |
