Once, there was Andalusian Muwashahat - we do not know for shure their structure - although there are speculations, todays Muwashah (plural
muwashahat) was part of wasla.
It is written in high Arabic, (goosh, how do you say it in English "Aravit sifrutit?")
Has usualy 5 stropas, each 4 rows.
Sung usualy by choir.
You surely know some muwashah : LAma Beada or Ya Gusna Naqa
From Britanica:
The muwashshaḥ is written in Classical Arabic, and its subjects are those of Classical Arabic poetry—love, wine, court figures. It sharply
differs in form, however, from classical poetry, in which each verse is divided into two metric halves and a single rhyme recurs at the end of each
verse. The muwashshaḥ is usually divided into five strophes, or stanzas, each numbering four, five, or six lines. A master rhyme appears at the
beginning of the poem and at the end of the strophes, somewhat like a refrain; it is interrupted by subordinate rhymes. A possible scheme is
ABcdcdABefefABghghABijijABklklAB. The last AB, called kharjah, or markaz, is usually written in vernacular Arabic or in the Spanish Mozarabic dialect;
it is normally rendered in the voice of a girl and expresses her longing for her absent lover. Such verses make it probable that the muwashshaḥ
was influenced by some kind of European Romance oral poetry or song. Jewish poets of Spain also wrote muwashshaḥs in Hebrew, with kharjahs in
Arabic and Spanish.Edward Powell - 2-7-2009 at 08:13 AM
...but is OUM KALSOUM A form of this?
...and, is there a Turkish equivalent?
THANKS!Marina - 2-7-2009 at 08:36 AM
Here is a list of the songs of Um Kultum, and none is refered as Muwashah, but, maybe somebody has other information...
Musically, the ensemble consists of oud, kamanja (violin) qanun, darabukkah and daf ,all of which often perform as the choir. The soloist performs
only a few chosen lines of the selected text. In Syria multiple maqam rows and up to three rhythm are used and modulation to neighboring maqamat was
possible.
Examples of muwashah start to appear as early as the ninth or tenth century. The full sense of the word is not clear, but it appears to be related to
the word "washaha" in arabic meaning ornamentation since multiple forms of rhythms and music are included.
OM kalthom sung some of them but her music is not considered a muwashah form.
Here are 2 examples of Muwashahaat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ5oounu_Ps http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeDZ8qdmmdkEdward Powell - 2-7-2009 at 10:42 AM
Great!
That second one sounds kinda modern also...
Who is this Suaad Mohammed?? Sound so much like OUM. Great music - Great voice!katakofka - 2-7-2009 at 10:54 AM
yep..great voice, similar voice to OUM but she doesn't have the same repertoire as OUM. She did recording for many "adwaar" and "muwashahaat". she
used to live in Egypt, get married from this great composer, Mhammad soltan. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDcRJHFrLLE&feature=related
you might like his oud tooEdward Powell - 2-7-2009 at 12:09 PM
I LOVE IT!Mike - 2-8-2009 at 10:49 AM
What"s up Edward....listen to this voice...legendary...and sadly died too young.
Originally posted by Edward Powell
...but is OUM KALSOUM A form of this?
No, she never/rarely sang muwashshahat, but rather, music composed specifically for her. Muwashshahat performance is prominent today in Syria and
Morocco, less so in Egypt, and has more recently become popular in Israel.
Quote:
...and, is there a Turkish equivalent?
muwashshahat is sometimes defined not as an individual piece but as the suite of music containing individual songs, some old and of allegedly
"Andalucian" origin, others more recently composed. This makes it similar, though not the same, as the fasıl suite of Turkey.
Jonathan Shannon has an article on muwashshahat that's quite good:
Shannon, Jonathan. 2007. "Performing al-Andalus, remembering
al-Andalus: mediterranean Soundings from mashriq to maghrib " in the Journal of American Folklore.
you also need to read Virginia Danielson's book The Voice of Egypt - it provides a lot of information about the emergence of complex composed
music forms in modern Egypt.Edward Powell - 2-8-2009 at 02:11 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Mike
What"s up Edward....listen to this voice...legendary...and sadly died too young.
yes!! she is amazing!! I actually just discovered her recently (all her albums lurking hidden in my MP3 collection )
...I guess this is an example of MUWASHAHAT?Edward Powell - 2-8-2009 at 02:21 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by eliot
you also need to read Virginia Danielson's book The Voice of Egypt - it provides a lot of information about the emergence of complex composed
music forms in modern Egypt.
...yeah I was just going to ask if it is anything like FASIL (not the restaurant kind).
So when you are listening to muwashahat, what do you listen for which lets you know THIS is a muwash.... ?
This is interesting what you touch on about complex composed music in Egypt. Did you read that book? Can you give a few hints on that topic... how
did this idiom come about etc??
I mean, OUM's music, although modal and linear, is damb complex. . . . . very very long single lines with beautiful modulations. Surely music was not
always like this in Egypt (and certainly is not anymore). I know some folk call OUM a kind of pop music, but in my opinion she represents one of
Humankind's greatest golden peaks. Enormously inspiring.Brian Prunka - 2-8-2009 at 02:34 PM
It's hard to hear something and know "this is a muwashshah" unless you know the piece. If you speak Arabic, the fact that it's classical Arabic would
be a clue.
It usually has a chorus and a soloist, and traditionally is with a small group of instruments (though it has been done with larger groups, e.g.,
Fairuz).
It generally uses more complex rhythmic cycles (compared to say, Oum Kulthum, which is mostly in 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8).
If it's a vocal piece in 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 20, 32, etc. that's usually a clue as well.Edward Powell - 2-8-2009 at 03:17 PM
7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 20, 32....
REALLY??
...are these patterns notated or even demonstrated anywhere handy???
)