katakofka - 9-5-2008 at 08:42 PM
Matar mhammad performing live in 1972, Beirut westhall theater.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNF7QNHSi4c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajsiQUVvO7M
Enoy these great traditional takasim
dubai244 - 9-5-2008 at 11:17 PM
Hi Kata...,
Thanks for the beautiful taqsim for one of most important buzuqi player in lebanon and middle east.
Thanks
katakofka - 9-6-2008 at 12:06 AM
From the same concert, Ibrahim hbayka and matar are doing a dialogue. Ibrahim begins with the Oud followed by Matar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQEy7zirvf4
katakofka - 2-8-2009 at 05:44 PM
The art of makam changing. I put notes with the makam name on all Matar's videos I uploaded to show how magical was Matar mhammad. Hope you enjoy this
essence of Arabic takasims
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PPpwJJ9dzY
suz_i_dil - 2-9-2009 at 11:59 AM
Hi Katakofka, thank you for those files.
His taqsim are amazing, great art.
DaveH - 2-9-2009 at 12:31 PM
Great job with the annotation for the modulations, Souheil, that's a really useful addition and it would do me good to give it some serious study.
When you get real artists like this, apart from the feeling of the music, I really enjoy trying to follow the intellectual side of the modulation.
It's like musical sudoku.
I don't know if anyone's read the Glass Bead Game, by Herman Hesse. It's a bit heavy on the wandering mysticism, but its based around this game where
people try to make connections between all sorts of intellectual processes - musical fugues, mathematical proofs etc. This reminds me of it.
katakofka - 2-10-2009 at 08:55 AM
Hey guys, glad you're liking it.
Dave: Matar mhammad was not educated, meaning no school and no musical studies. What we hear from him is what he had learned from other musicians and
by hearing (he used to live at 5km from our house in LB, bad economical situation too). It' s magical how could he developed a new way on the bouzouk
not reassembling any player. Also, his takasims are the fruits of many years of hearing the music of his environment. Matar for me is a case study to
know why these takasims are so perfects (at least to me). What makes them so magical?
Is makam changing (modulations) plays a role in the beauty of his method? I put the modulations on those video to try to understand the magic of
Matar
Probably more that one factor make these takasims great to hear. Still on the quest.
I would be interested if you figure out anything and love to discuss it with you. It applies to others as well
Best
Souheil
DaveH - 2-12-2009 at 04:35 AM
Thanks Souheil. Yeah, I do really like the style. Very individual and angular. I like the way he plays in bursts. A lot of passion. But still pretty
cerebral, I think, no?
katakofka - 2-12-2009 at 07:44 AM
Byy cerebral you mean he thinks, or he prepares what he's playing? I doubt.
In 88 i was watching him playing live and it happened that I was sitting next to his son (very good bouzouk player too). After couples of minutes I
asked if he prepared what he's playing tonight, you should see the eyes of his son when looking at me. I felt I insulted his father by asking this
question. He goes:my father needs to prepare before he plays?? (kind of, are you dump?). But when you hear him playing at different circumstances you
feel he is repeating himself meaning that he knows what to play because I guess he prepared something a while ago and he repeated it over and over.