naf - 9-23-2021 at 08:17 AM
Hello all,
does anyone know anything about an Egyptian composer called Mohammed Abdulrahim al-Masloub?
Some arabic newspapers along with Arabic Wikipedia claim that he might be the composer of the Mowashah: "Lamma Bada Yatathana".
The Arabic Wikipedia article claims that he was born in 1793 and died in 1928. Which is really not a typical life span of an Egyptian living at that
era.
I would appreciate it if anyone who knows this composer could share with us some information about him.
Eric Stern Music - 9-23-2021 at 04:18 PM
Well from what I know about that song (and please forum members, correct me if I'm wrong), that song is much much older than the 19th century. Sorry I
don't know anything about that composer.
Eric Stern Music - 9-23-2021 at 04:21 PM
Although now I curiously just looked it up and on a concert website it said:
"Lamma Bada Yathanna (When I saw my Beloved Sway) Composer: Attributed to Sheikh Muhammad 'Abd al-Rahim al-Maslub (1786 - 1895). Author: Unknown."
So maybe I'm correcting myself. 
naf - 9-23-2021 at 04:33 PM
Dear Eric,
The poetry is old, it comes from the Ummayads time in Spain. Mostly the style of the poem is very close to the style of the poet Lisan al-Din
al-Khatib who lived between 1313-1374 AD. But the current melody is later, it uses some Turkish elements, so most probably it was composed in the late
ottoman era. The first recording in the current melody that we have was done in Egypt in 1910.
Eric Stern Music - 9-24-2021 at 07:20 AM
Of course, that makes sense. hence the semai rhythm. He is mentioned in a book on google books (see the footnote, the bio is of someone who studied
with him so the mention is brief). It wouldn't let me copy and paste the actual text.. It's from an article from NEMO (Near Eastern Musicology online)
November 2018, so you might be able to get full online access to it through a library. Other forum members might know more about the composer as well,
of course.
The dates given by University of Penn Arabic ensemble are 1786 - 1895
Here is the link to the brief mention:
https://books.google.com/books?id=3XaIDwAAQBAJ&lpg=PA195&ots...