Sometime in the 1960s I obtained a 45 rpm recording of an oud player whose name I think is Zakareya Sulaiman. There is a taqsim on each side, Rast and
Hijaz. Does anyone know anything about this player? Here are photos of the label on each side and of the cardboard sleeve. Thank you!
[file]31187[/file] [file]31189[/file] [file]31191[/file]ameer - 4-21-2014 at 06:32 PM
I've never heard of him. He must be pretty obscure. Do you have a digital copy of the record?Jody Stecher - 4-21-2014 at 06:52 PM
I've never heard of him. He must be pretty obscure. Do you have a digital copy of the record?
I made a digital copy yesterday. I'll see if I can post it somewhere. It might take me a day. Let me see what I can do. It's worth hearing. Back when
I first got the recording I thought the player was a bit of a show-off because the playing is very fast with not much space. But when I listened
recently I decided that the recording was sped up. When I slowed it down a bit it sounded much nicer. Alfaraby - 4-22-2014 at 06:43 AM
Happy Easter. Good to be back again.
Not a word in Arabic about Mr. Suliman.
Never heard of him, neither his playing, but I count on "Sawt Al Qahirah" (sono Cairo) of the 1960's they'd not record just anything.
Waiting to listen
Yours indeed
AlfarabyJody Stecher - 4-22-2014 at 08:49 AM
I have posted the sound files on youtube as unlisted videos. You need the URL to view.
the Hijaz will be ready soon. I'll post the URL when it's ready.
Hijaz is ready
Jody Stecher - 4-22-2014 at 09:07 AM
Somehow I managed to create a youtube posting of 10 minutes for a recording that is 2 minutes and 44 seconds long. No wonder it took so long to
upload.
Well Jody, I pretty sure it is running too fast.
It's written 45rpm as the 7inch are most of the time 45rpm.
I've made a quick simulation of the 33rpm speed with Adobe audition and it sounds more correct.
Thank you for posting.
Well Jody, I pretty sure it is running too fast.
It's written 45rpm as the 7inch are most of the time 45rpm.
I've made a quick simulation of the 33rpm speed with Adobe audition and it sounds more correct.
Thank you for posting.
Robert
You're welcome. It's an intriguing disc as he does not stray far from Rast, and plays Hijaz from Nawa (second course).
I think that the disc was intended to be played at 45rpm. There is no reason to think that ZS was tuned to A 440 but I am pretty sure he was tuned no
more than a step below that. The tone of the oud sounds about right to me when the pitch is adjusted down only one half step.
By the time these recordings got to the digital realm they had been through a turntable, and two cassette machines, none of which were calibrated to
each other.ameer - 4-22-2014 at 01:07 PM
Interesting. There's a version of the rast recording floating around that's about a halfstep faster and improperly identified as Farid El Atrash. The
playing styles are not at all similar. As for which is the correct speed, an oud can often sound authentic when the recording is actually up or down
as much as a wholestep.bulerias1981 - 4-22-2014 at 04:00 PM
Has anyone slowed this down? I can do it, but wondering to what percentage I should do that at.Jody Stecher - 4-22-2014 at 04:46 PM
Has anyone slowed this down? I can do it, but wondering to what percentage I should do that at.
Yes I've slowed it down every which way. In the digital realm, as we know, speed and pitch are independent variables, which was not the case when
the this analog recording was made, and copied, and copied once more. To my ears lowering the pitch a half step produces a convincing sound. To my
ears a playback speed of 90% of what I put on youtube sounds about right. I doubt these two variables would match in the analog world.
What sounds right to you, John? Brian Prunka - 4-22-2014 at 05:14 PM
I think a lot of the old instrumentals are sped up . . . the playing time of a 78 or 45 was very limited and the the recording had to fit in the
allotted time. Jody Stecher - 4-25-2014 at 10:34 AM
One semi-tone flat and 88% speed playback sounds pretty good to me. So far no one has come forth with an idea about the player's identity. He sounds
to me like he developed his style and technique playing without microphones. His sound on the upper stings in the upper positions is huge and
bell-like. His right hand is aggressive but not noisy.
Only 18 views for the Hijaz and 36 for the Rast. I'd have expected more curiosity about an old oud disc by a mysterious oudist. ameer - 1-9-2016 at 09:40 AM
I wonder if ZS might not actually be Ibrahim Hbeika. Compare to this video: [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp4NhdhALDY&feature=youtu.be
[/url]
Ameer, I'm pleased and impressed that you remembered about ZS. The playing of Ibrahim Hbeika is certainly the same style and could well be ZS. Great
discovery. thank you. Is that Mattar Mohammed on buzuk at the start of the recording?ilnokaly - 1-9-2016 at 04:09 PM
What a great discovery i really liked the taqsims , and thanks for sharing these jewels
