Mike's Oud Forums

Raqsat Tahiyat - Ajam or Zanjiran?

Chris-Stephens - 7-6-2022 at 06:45 AM

So I learned this tune on my Oud to perform it with the Brooklyn Maqam hang (awesome NYC Arabic music folks), they have a spreadsheet of well known songs and it lists which maqam they are set to. Theirs says Raqsat Tahiyat is set to Zanjiran, but chatting with violinist Sami Abu Shumays at the gig he said it is set to Ajam.

Beyond knowing what the difference would be just for my own curiousity, it led me to wonder if there even is a more correct answer or if they are both right because my understanding of how maqamat/jins work is not fully developed. Or maybe because this tune is so short it's not possible to say for sure its Ajam or Zanjiran. Or maybe labeling pieces with the maqam they are set to can only be done by the artist. Or maybe saying which maqam a piece is set to is somewhat arbitrary when there is overlap between the jins used.

This tune is for sure a combination of jins ajam and jins hijaz on the 5th, but what would be the difference between it being set to maqam Ajam or maqam Zanjiran?

The version I learned from opened with a very Hijaz sounding taqasim, and another version features a very Ajam sounding taqasim in the middle. Any insights?

I uploaded our jam session as well, if anyone would like to see. Raqsat Tahiyat starts at 33:00 you can clearly hear Sami say its "Ajam Do" before starting to play. https://youtu.be/cKhsOrb0xkw

Brian Prunka - 7-6-2022 at 09:17 AM

Interesting question.

The main difference would really be whether (in this key) C or G is perceived as the tonic.
So Zanjiran is Hijaz with Ajam on 4 (G Ab B C D E F G), Shawq Afza is Ajam with Hijaz on 5 (C D E F G Ab B C).

I'd be curious to hear Sami's reasoning, but I'll note the resolutions of phrases in the piece tend to be to G and the taqsim that introduces it seems pretty solidly G Zanjiran/Hijaz. Additionally the pieces before in the Bil Afrah suite and after it are also both in G (Hijaz and Bayati, respectively).

I don't think Raqsat Tahiyyat has even a single phrase that resolves to C. It obviously expresses a great deal of Ajam character though.

However, it doesn't resolve to the low Hijaz jins either - it always resolves up (unless you count the upright bass, which does resolve down to the low G). So this would be a strike against Zanjiran as traditionally expressed (which does have a downward resolution to the low Hijaz jins).

Perhaps this is a case where a 'modern' composition doesn't quite meet the traditional definitions of either maqam. Based on the tonic, I'd rate it closer to Zanjiran as the Hijaz jins is the point of resolution and there are no resolutions in Ajam. But perhaps Ziad was intentionally seeking to create an ambiguous case rather than a clear-cut example.

Chris-Stephens - 7-6-2022 at 11:20 AM

Fascinating take, Brian. I'd not considered the pieces before/after it on Bil Afrah, the tonic, or resolution to be clues. To my ear the tonic 'feels like' C, even though yes G does get more emphasis, but that may just be because my reference is the Oud with the highest and lowest open strings being C. That major 3rd E in the first part forms a clear open C chord to me, but then the next section really uses the D Eb D pattern to give it a hijaz flavor. The opening taqasim on Hijaz G kind of primes the ear to hear the B note as the major 3rd that creates tension that is then resolved with the Ajam on C melodies with the E as major 3rd. Its a beautiful interplay, and yes Mr. Rahbani packed a lot into a very small piece. I like the idea of keeping it vague, leave your audience guessing!

If you play this piece on Oud, do you use an Ab in the first section during the descent to the natural 3rd, right after the C-B-C part? The notes as I hear them are C-B-C, G-Ab-G F E but that Ab could be A natural, its played very fast like a hammer on. Shawq Afza seems like a good fit for this piece, but i'll leave it to the experts. I hadn't even heard of that one!

Brian Prunka - 7-6-2022 at 01:23 PM

It's an interesting detail, in that first section, I would propose that the 'main' version of the melody has no A of any kind - it is
C B C G
GF G FE E

You can add in an A as an ornament or variation in a couple of spots and in both I'd be inclined to use A natural (and I've heard many others do this as well). One is 'filling in' the descent to G from C with a scale run. I'd expect C B A G to be the run here if you did that. The other is in the G-F-E part, where it could be a quick ornament (GF GAG FE E - something like this is mostly what I hear on the recording) or a more obvious variation (GA GF FE E). In all cases I hear A natural as the logical choice.

In the next phrase going to the D Eb D part, I clearly hear some musicians on the recording inserting an Ab in the descending part C B C (Ab) G or C B C (B Ab) G.

Also in the main "C major" phrase, note that the bass descends C B Ab G where the melody ascends CD ED EF G. So is a clear Hijaz resolution even in the Ajam part. If you listen closely to the accordion accompaniment, Ziad himself is frequently filling in Hijaz resolutions here as well.

So the Ajam phrases are treated mostly as fully Ajam with the normal 'baggage' that entails (to use Sami and Johnny's apt term). But the phrases overall are continually resolving to Hijaz.

For comparisons in Zanjiran to listen to, there are taqasim in Zanjiran by Abdel Wahab on oud and one by Abraham Salman on qanun, as well as the famous song Ya Helawit El Dounya by Sayed Makawi. There's also a Sama'i Zanjiran by Jabakji.

Sayed Makawi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfwD_0okIzI

Here's a whole wasla, gives a pretty clear sense of the classic seyir of Zanjiran.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc_Z4DO4MWI

Chris-Stephens - 7-7-2022 at 10:21 AM

Very nice info, heres the only other version of Raqsat Tahiyat i could find online https://youtu.be/NXNR4yf8DGk Oud and Buzuq duet, its a sweet and quiet sound quite different from the blazing accordian and lively percussion from Bil Afrah! I'd love to hear that samai in zanjiran, know where I could find it? I couldn't quite locate the Alwahab Oud taqasim in Zanjiran either.

Now i'm curious why this maqam is named after a village in Iran, like Nahawand :)

Brian Prunka - 7-7-2022 at 11:31 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Chris-Stephens  
Very nice info, heres the only other version of Raqsat Tahiyat i could find online https://youtu.be/NXNR4yf8DGk Oud and Buzuq duet, its a sweet and quiet sound quite different from the blazing accordian and lively percussion from Bil Afrah! I'd love to hear that samai in zanjiran, know where I could find it? I couldn't quite locate the Alwahab Oud taqasim in Zanjiran either.

Now i'm curious why this maqam is named after a village in Iran, like Nahawand :)


That's a nice version - it's trio though :) 2 ouds + buzuq


I'll see if I can dig up those recordings

Chris-Stephens - 7-7-2022 at 01:13 PM

So it is! My cheap little headphones hid the other oud playing the low end, but now I can hear it filling in the bottom side!

Brian Prunka - 7-7-2022 at 01:42 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Chris-Stephens  
So it is! My cheap little headphones hid the other oud playing the low end, but now I can hear it filling in the bottom side!


there are actually two separate oud solos, as well - more apparent on headphones. The harmony parts of the second oud are actually quite interesting

Chris-Stephens - 7-8-2022 at 08:01 AM

Yea I wish there was more info about this album. It may be that both ouds and the buzuq are recorded by Mr. Rami Gabriel himself

https://audiopostcards.bandcamp.com/album/arabic-xhaman

https://ramigabriel.wordpress.com/music/

Its a great album

Khalil_Oud - 7-8-2022 at 12:05 PM

In this case, we should consider also the other option : The Suznal Maqam (the transposition of Shawq-Afza to the tonic C1).

Brian Prunka - 7-8-2022 at 02:39 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Khalil_Oud  
In this case, we should consider also the other option : The Suznal Maqam (the transposition of Shawq-Afza to the tonic C1).


Interesting! I've never heard of a Maqam named Suznal, can you point to a reference about it? I couldnt find anything in Turkish either. Did you mean Suznak? If so, the two are not really transpositions as Shawq Afza has an Ajam jins at its base while Suznak has Rast. But perhaps you're referring to something else.

Shawq Afza is commonly considered to be in Bb relative to standard modern Arabic tuning, but I've seen it presented in C pretty frequently and never encountered a different name for that transposition. In the conversation above, Chris and I were both referring to Shawq Afza on C.

Two sources:

On C: http://www.maqamworld.com/en/maqam/shawq_afza.php
On Bb: http://www.alsiadi.com/Maqam_Shawq_Afza.html
(Note this one incorporates the common use of Saba on 3).

From what I can tell, Arabic "Shawq Afza" is only vaguely related to the Turkish makam Shevk-efzâ - certainly it is derived from it but missing much of its characteristic seyir and modulations.

The dispute here seems to be whether the primary tonic is heard as C or as G.

Khalil_Oud - 7-8-2022 at 04:15 PM

Yes, it's mentionned in David Muallem : The Maqam Book (2010), pages 117-118. It's in this book where I found this name, not on others (Turkish Music Makam guide, Makam and Beyond either). But, you know, regardeless the name, the two references that you gave come to the samething. As you said, it's shawq afza, but on C. And I think this music is on this maqam, not Zanjaran (you should finish on G), us it was well explained.