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Translation and origin of maqam names, in arabic

suz_i_dil - 2-19-2009 at 10:33 AM

Regarding a message from Katakofka wondering about the translation and origin of maqam names, here is 2 pages from a work of Abd el Rahman el Jabkaji.
I decided to open a new thread for this issue as this may interest some others people.

The whole is in arabic, maybe someone may upload it direct in the thread, I don't succeed to compress one of the page under 1 Mo.

http://rapidshare.com/files/200068097/maqamat.zip.html

Regards

katakofka - 2-19-2009 at 02:01 PM

Interesting !
a rapid count says:
on page 1 we count 36 word of makam or a degree in which 1 is tukrish, and 35 of Persian orgins
page 2, 31 word, 3 turkish, 28 Persian
none of them has an arabic orgin and most of the makams and degrees are of Persan origin
Thanks suz for sharing this info

katakofka - 2-19-2009 at 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by katakofka
Interesting !
a rapid count says:
on page 1 we count 36 word of makam or a degree in which 1 is tukrish, and 35 of Persian orgins
page 2, 31 word, 3 turkish, 28 Persian
none of them has an arabic orgin and most of the makams and degrees are of Persan origin
Thanks suz for sharing this info

katakofka - 2-19-2009 at 02:15 PM

Quote:

suz_i_dil - 2-19-2009 at 02:32 PM

Thank you for the attachment, I noticed , as a common maqam, that ajam was not listed...arabic name but coming back to Iran...it is the name of ancient Iran in arabic isn't it ?

katakofka - 2-19-2009 at 03:13 PM

ajam i guess it's a city in iran too...not sure

Peyman - 2-19-2009 at 03:37 PM

This is a nice list.
Ajam is an Arabic word for non-arab: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajam

suz_i_dil - 2-20-2009 at 11:27 AM

Thank you for this link Peyman, I didn't know this word may be used in a very depreciative way.

Masel - 2-22-2009 at 04:34 AM

this is great thank you, the file is no longer available for download, are these two pages all it contained?

suz_i_dil - 2-22-2009 at 05:33 AM

Yes it is Masel, the 2 pages which have been upload by Katakofka in the thread.

Masel - 2-22-2009 at 06:29 AM

Many maqams have "ism barda" written in the third column, what does barda mean?

Peyman - 2-22-2009 at 09:07 AM

Literally, it means "fret," since the positions were described with fret positions, as the old time ouds which had frets.

nayoud - 2-23-2009 at 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Peyman
Literally, it means "fret," since the positions were described with fret positions, as the old time ouds which had frets.

Yes, its called perde in turkish as well

http://www.musicstudies.org/Abjad_JIMS_071203.pdf
Cheers

Edward Powell - 2-24-2009 at 08:24 AM

is anybody willing to take the time to transcribe those makam names into Roman script?
...or at least tell what were the Turkish origin names?

Donjis3 - 2-25-2009 at 05:16 AM

Very intéresting and helpfull,Gratitude,don! :applause:

katakofka - 2-25-2009 at 06:30 AM

Buslik
Naz
Muhayyar
Yakah
are of turkish origin. All others are of Persian orign
Farhfaza, mustaaar, dugah, siga, hisaar..etc

Edward Powell - 2-25-2009 at 06:41 AM

naz???

what is THAT? :cool:

katakofka - 2-25-2009 at 06:43 AM

Naz is "snow" in turkish. That's what page 2 in arabic says. In music I have no idea tho, probably a note or a makam.
Actually, looking back to the paper, naz is a makam and fret name.

katakofka - 2-25-2009 at 06:48 AM

It seems that the Persian language was a dominant one in music and arts at that time.
check that. Very interesting.
http://www.iranianoud.com/english/home.html
check the History section

katakofka - 2-25-2009 at 06:54 AM

From the website above
Mansoor Zalzal

He is a famous Iranian musician of the Abbasid period. His name has also been spelt as Zalzal Razi, Zolzol or Zilzil. He was specialized in playing Tombak and because of this he was known as a Tombak player.

Zalzal was the teacher and also the uncle of Es'haq, the son of Ebrahim Mouseli. Zalzal was one of the senior musicians of Haroon-al-Rashid and Mahdi-al-Hadi period.
At that time it was very common that each musician or singer should cooperate with other musicians from the same level.
Zalzal cooperated with his sister's husband, Ebrahim Mouseli, because he was at the same level of Zalzal. Mansour Zalzal was an expert musician and professional in playing musical instruments. He wrote new notes and put them between the notes of a song .Also he changed some of the notes.

He invented a third note and added it to the notes of the famous Iranian notes. This third note is known among other musicians as Zalzal's note. Doctor Barkeshly in a research article writes that Zalzal did not believe in the division of tones in terms of smaller and greater notes. He also made a type of oud that because of it `s similarity to Shabbut (a kind of fish), is known as Shabbut oud . Instead of the word, Persian oud , the word Shabbut oud became very common.
Commenting about Zalzal's skill in playing music, Jahez writes that Zalzal had highly expert fingers for playing music, fingers that were created by God. Whenever he began to play oud, Ahnaf who was a symbol of meek in Arabic literature, would stand up and start to dance.
So, Zalzal was one of the famous musicians of his time. He was a great genus in playing musical instruments. Mansour was a generous person, too. He would give all his money to poor people. He spent most of his money for charity purposes. He built a well in Baghdad that was named after him.

This great musician was imprisoned upon orders of Harron-al-Rashid. After ten years he was released from prison while he was very weak and his hair had been turned white. So was not a healthy person anymore. Doctor Taqi Binesh puts his death in the year 175 A.H and 791 A.D. But in the book, the history of Iran 's music, Mr. Hassan Mashhoon has mentioned his death in the year 200 A.H. Abu Es'haq Ebrahim ibn Mahan, known as Nadim was the most popular singer and musician of the Abbasid dynasty. Also, he was one of the great singers of Arabs. His father, Mahan, was from a great Iranian family. He was born in Arrajan, a region in Shiraz . But because of cruelty of the Ommiads, he migrated to Kufa and his son, Ebrahim was born there in the year 125 A.H. Ebrahim`s mother was an Iranian. Ebrahim was a little child when his father died and he grew up in Kufa among the Tamim family. Because of this he was called as the lord of Tamim family.

Ebrahim migrated from Kufa to Mosul . He was there for about one year. He learnt the art of playing oud and because he lived in Mosul , he was called the Moosely. Later he learnt how to sing and play in Rey, Khoozestan, Basra and other areas in Iran and Iraq . He learnt the arts from Iranian music instructors. He was one of the best lyrists. So he composed several songs that ere accompanied by his lyrics. In other words, he was a musician, singer, poet and also a music player. He is one of the founders of Arabic music. He mixed the Persian and the Arabic poems and made a new form of Arabic music. He composed songs and poems which soon became popular in the Arab word. He changed the form of Arabic lyrics. After the death of Ebrahim, his son Es'haq continued his father's way and promoted his masterly profession. Es'haq's student, Ali Zaryab, promulgated his teacher's style prevalent in Andalusia ( Spain ) and Morocco .

Ebrahim Mooseli migrated from Basra to Baghdad . His migration was during the reign of Mehdi of the Abbasid dynsty. Mehdi invited him to Baghdad but, Ebrahim did not like the ruler of the royal court. He used to drink wine and spent most of his time in debauchery which was strictly forbidden upon the Caliph's orders. The Caliph imprisoned him and it was in prison where he learnt how to read and write.
At the time of Hadi's caliphate, Ebrahim's situation improved to a great extent and he became an intimate from of the caliph who used to give him a lot of gifts.
In Harron-al-Rahid period, Ebrahim's situation further improved and he was promoted to the rank of the court singer, poet and musician. He was also the caliph's intimate friend. The caliph liked him very much.
He made a huge wealth out of the gifts he received from other caliphs of the Abbasid as well as Yahya Barmaki and his sons (Fazl, Jaafar and Mohammad). Ebrahim then made a trip to Damascus . He went there with Harron-al-Rashid but became sick there and Haroon took him back to Baghdad . His sickness was colic. He died in Baghdad in the year 188 A.H. When he was sick, Haroon met him at his house and after his death asked his son, Mamoon, to perform the prayer for the dead and bury him. Harron delegated all of Ebrahim's titles to his son, Es'haq. Also, he gifted some money to his family. Many books have been written about Ebrahim's extraordinary skill in music such as “Laylatah- wa-Layla” and also “Alaghani”.

Ebrahim Mooseli had established an art school in his house. He taught playing oud to the girls. The rich families of Baghdad would send their girls for learning how to play oud . Furthermore, he would buy many slave girls and would teach them different fields of art. Then, he would sell them to the caliph and other rich people.
Abu Mohammad ibn al-Nadim Es'haq ibn Ebrahim Mooseli was one of the most famous friends of Haroon-al-Rashid. He was one of the Haroon's intimate friends. After Haroon, he served as a close friend for Amin, Ma'moon, Moatasem, Vasegh and Motavakel. He was born in Rey in the year 155 A.H. His mother was Iranian and her name was Shahak. He died in the Motavakel period in Baghdad in the year 235 A. H. because of his father's relation to the Bani Tamim tribe, he was also known as Tamimi.

Es'haq had a good and perfect education. His teachers were people like Malek ibn Anas, Sofyan ibn Oyayna, Abu Moaviyeh Zarir, Hoshaym ibn Boshayr and Asaad ibn Ibrahim.
He learnt recitation of the holy Quran from Kasaei and Farra and Arabic literature and poetry from teachers such as Asmaei and Abu Obaydeh. But, his teachers for learning how to sing and playing musical instruments were his uncle Zalzal as well as Atekeh bint Shohda and his father. According to Abulfaraj Isfahani, his knowledge in science, literature and poetry was so deep that could be explained. He was very talented in playing musical instruments, too. Although his skill in signing was in a lower degree as compared to his vast knowledge in science and literature, however, he was more famous for playing music and singing. His songs were even more popular than the Arab song.
His first promoter and supporter was Haroon-al-Rashid and his government, especially Yahya ibn Khalid Barmaki and his sons. They greatly supported Es'haq to the extent that he became richer than his father.
After the death of his father, Es'haq became famous for being the best musician and governors and the caliphs admired him a lot. In return, Es'haq would compose songs in their praise that would convey their fame throughout the Islamic world. His poems and songs were source of grandeur and magnificence of their ceremonies and feasts.

There were many singers who were at the same level of Es'haq but none of them could play oud as perfect as him. He compared himself with Pahlbod Moghanni and believed that he had inherited the art from him.
Although he had no knowledge of science of music and translation of Greek books, however, his compilations in these fields were as outstanding as the ancient works. He had perfect knowledge about all the details of the science of music and compiled some new musical styles. He believed in division of the songs. He started to sing with a l oud voice and because of his style of singing, he was called as “snake bitten”. Abulfaraj Isfahani termed him as a high level artist and said he was one of the best musicians who completed all styles of musical science. His famous students were Ibn Khardazbe, Obydullah ibn Ahmad, Zaryab, Ali ibn Nafe, Amr ibn Soleyman and his son Hammad ibn Es'haq.

Hammad was the first person who wrote Esh'aq's biography. In fact, he wrote a book about Es'haq `s biography. Zaryab: Abulhasan Ali ibn Nafe, known as Zaryab was among great Iranian musicians. (Ibn Khaldoon writes about him: “The people of Mosul had a servant whose name was Zaryab”. By referring to the people of Mosul he meant Ebrahim Mosuli and his sons.) He was entitled Zaryab and known as Basri. He learnt the art of music in Baghdad from his teacher Es'haq Mosuli. He improved greatly in this art and became so famous that could enter the court of Haroon-al-Rashid. He had profound knowledge in some fields like science and literature and especially in the art of music. He was one of the rivals of Es'haq Mosuli. Zaryab had a deep knowledge of information about geography, astronomy and literature. He had reached a masterly degree in playing oud and composing songs. He had made innovations in the said fields. So he became the successor of Es'haq at the caliph's court. One of his innovations was that he added a string to oud. The ouds of that time had four strings and Zaryab changed it to five. Also, he changed the plectrum of oud which used to be made of wood. Instead, Zaryab made a plectrum with the eagle's nail. Such a change resulted in producing a better sound. The second, third and the fourth strings of oud were made from the intestine of a baby lion. He believed that since the intestine of lion would be stronger than that of other animals, it would produce a better sound.

When for the first time Zaryab went to Haroon-al-Rashid's court, he took his own oud that was made and completed by himself. The caliph admired him greatly.
Before Zaryab, Es'haq was the best musician of the court. Therefore, he became jealous of Zaryab. Es'haq was a rich man and had an influence on the caliph. Es'haq did not like to be forgotten. He liked to have the same position he enjoyed before.
He tried to convince Zaryab that he should leave Baghdad . Zaryab could not resist because he did not have enough poower to oppose him. As a result, he preferred to leave Baghdad and went to Tunisia , in the north, which was under the domination of Muslims. He lived in Qirwan (the capital city of Tunisia ) and later he went to Spain . Hosham, the Islamic ruler of Spain had heard a lot about Zaryab and his art so that he invited the musician to Cordova, the centre of his rule. He ordered that house be made for him and gave him forty thousand gold coins per year. While Zaryab was in Cordova, Hosham paid him due attention and Zaryab had enough free time to correct the rules for teaching music.

He founded the school of Iranian music in Spain . While styles of Ebrahim and his son, Es'haq,and the Mosuli family were very famous in Baghdad , Zaryab's method became very famous in Spain and was later transferred to littoral countries in Africa and also in Europe .
Zaryab wrote some main principles for teaching music. After Zaryab most of the artists who taught the art used his method of teaching. Zaryab divided the teaching of his students into three stages. At the first stage, he taught them the rhythm of songs. Then at the second stage he taught the flows and finally at the third stage he taught them how to sing the songs. At the third stage, first the students would learn how to sing the main song and then they would add additional songs to it. Therefore, they gradually become perfect in this art. Some believed that first Zaryab tested the talent of the student and then asked them to sit on a special pillow called ”mesvari” and start to sing at the top of their voice. If the singer's voice was not l oud enough, Zaryab would ask him to tie his turban around his waist. If the student could not open his mouth wide enough, Zaryab would ask him to put a little wood into his mouth for 24 hours to keep his jaws open. Then he would ask the student to repeat some words like “ya Hajjam”, “ya Es'haq” and “ya Ah” loudly. If after all such practices the student's voice proved to be loud and powerful enough, Zaryab would admit him as his student and would teach him the art of music. Otherwise, he would not be accepted.

These methods are still common in music academies in the West where the student who cannot open his mouth wide enough at the time of singing, would be asked to put a small bone in his mouth. The bone is two or two-and-a-half cm and has some grooves which help the student to put it in his mouth in a vertical position. Because of these grooves, the student can keep the bone in his mouth up to the end of singing. This method was invented by Zaryab in Spain . Nowadays most of the music institutes of the West practice the method.