Danielo
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Sunbati..
I'm listening to Sunbati's Hijaz Kar Taqsim for (at least) the thousandth time... I never cease to be amazed 
The way it unfolds gradually in the beginning is just incredible 
How can a taqsim be so perfect, haunting and deeply emotional ? How is it possible to have such a perfectly well-balanced construction in an
improvisation?
For sure Sunbati is a musical genius, but... here is my question:
did he just sat down with his oud, thinking 'let's play something in Hijaz Kar', or did he had already more or less planned his musical piece
(besides his deep knowledge of maqamat)?
please don't misunderstand me, by no means I try to lessen his achievement !
Dan
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Segura
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I believe it is a state of mind that money can't buy.
It also escapes to technical matters.
You have to see how the fingers of the left hand are just 'walking by' on the neck.
The mood is insides the notes, without added effects.
It is a travel in the mind.
One has to remain humble, not asking, wishing to be 'visited'.
And helped.
Alain
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bibo10
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He is brilliant. in my very humble opinion he is the best ever. and that is because of the reasons you mention...his music is very deep and rich. I
also love el qasabji alot and farid, but el sunbati is just brilliant when it comes to the emotion.
+++++++++++
Michael-GOD BLESS EGYPT
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Reda Aouad
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Is there any youtube video or link to a recording?
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mrkmni
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I believe it is a combination of these :
1- he is very talented oud player he started playing very young with his father.
2- he has a very good knoledge of maquamat
but for the taqassim it is obvious that they were well prepared in advance as any song even.
I found many phrases that were repeated at different taqassims.
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Segura
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Yes, you are right about phrases that come from other taqassims. It is never an "ex nihilo" creation. Music wanders.
And it wanders with wanderers... For instance thanks to the gypsies from India.
Alain
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mrkmni
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Hi Reda, the whole CD of sombati is here:
http://www.mikeouds.com/messageboard/viewthread.php?tid=8300
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Danielo
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Thanks guys for your input.. Indeed it is not easy to understand where does genius come from... especially in music.
Reda, I was looking for this thread but was not able to find it, thanks mrkmni
Dan
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suz_i_dil
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And here is a few links for videos Reda:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtM52MfsL-k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRu3tWoiZXY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QPHBRTXFmQ&feature=related
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fernandraynaud
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Daniel,
Based on my own experience as a composer and improviser in other "styles", I doubt Sunbati himself could answer your questions precisely. Composition
and improvisation are parallel activities, and Sunbati was indeed also a songwriter.
There's a pool of ideas and phrases that simmer beneath the conscious mind, with some access granted at sleep-waking boundaries, or e.g. when taking a
shower (each composer is different). During these access periods, there's a more or less conscious process that takes place, where the head tries to
assemble and "cut and try" atoms of melody or chord progressions together to meet some deeper call from the heart. After that relatively short access
time, it's mostly forgotten unless you have access to and make use of a dictaphone and paper and an instrument.
But then it does come back later in a more digested form, either when sitting down to compose, or when just playing improv. So The process is never
either completely conscious or completely spontaneous, because the raw matter of improvisation is not random single notes, it's "atoms" that might be
chord progressions, or entire phrases, or just a couple of bars of melody. Such an "atom" will keep reappearing in different forms, with part of it
being conscious, and other parts disappearing beneath the threshhold of consciousness, until the composer makes use of it, sometimes in more than one
context. At some point it's considered "taken" or "used", and will stop being considered available atoms.
The same process is used in composition and in serious improv like Taqasim. In Western music, the atoms are different than in Taqsim, because we use
harmony and counterpoint that sometimes are even more important than melody. For instance a bass line might be the core hook in a pop song that
animates it and makes it unique and loaded with Tarab.
The best music comes directly from "the heart", or "outside", or "above", in a moment of intense mental focus such that old atoms can't overwhelm the
more original stream and seriously get in the way.
Mediocre music is just recycling old recycled atoms.
But Old atoms per se can range from quite original melodies with brilliant lyrics, to say the Louie-Louie progression in A or a commonplace 12 bar
blues that to the composer seems to think is quite unique at the moment! The composer is also at times deaf to his own re-use of melodies, such that
he/she will put in considerable effort into developing a theme that to others sounds trite, because it was already used in one or more tunes. This
temporary blindness/deafness protects the composer in such cases from discouragement.
Completely 100% original composition is never possible, and several compositional atoms might have similar layout internally. And there are degrees.
The beauty of the Taqsim as a format is that the composer doesn't have to deal with a very complex "form" in which to assemble atoms, the "rules of
the game" are simple, a lot like Haiku, and the composer thus has a better chance of directly connecting the heart to his fingers, at least making
that connection for listeners who appreciate that particular musical form. A good taqsim composer like Sunbati can bypass more of the redundant old
atoms, for a good moment now and then anyway. A good Taqsim can arise at that time and some new (re-usable) atoms will emerge, and maybe come to be
accepted as part of the "traditional" Seyir for a given Maqam.
It's improbable that Sunbati would NOT explore some of the previous atoms that come to mind, when playing between Taqsim concerts. Who knows? He might
go as far as to exactly decide on which atoms to apply next time, and prepare detailed modulation pathways and "exit strategies" that he will try to
develop e.g. on the next Nihawand taqsim. Because the creation of Taqasim is a distinct process, different from say Blues, the idea of consciously
preparing a whole taqsim ahead of time does not seem to me like the most efficient use of its specific mental states, and I cannot be certain how far
Sunbati typically went in preparation. That's the best I can state it right now, as there are aspects to Taqsim that are unique, and I'm not yet
experienced enough in that genre.
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Reda Aouad
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Thank you all for the links.
And thank you Fernand for the great contributions to the forums It's always a
pleasure to read your comments.
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charlie oud
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Hey Fernand,
Well put, a fine philosophical and musicological discourse, from the heart and mind. Thank you   
Best Wishes, Charlie
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FLIPAX
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Thanks for your thoughts Tony!
I just want say about sunbati is he is a really talented and gifted musician and composer. I like his composition because it sounded dark and
melacholic definetely "haunting" as danielo stated.
What I want to add is if you hear closely all his compositions there are a lot of times he kind of mumble or say "hhmm" "hhmm" on the recording. for
me I think this is the part that he definetely feels the tarab here in these precised moments. Cool don't you think?
cheers
Philip
Sunbati Rules!
Live in Peace......
Every time I Hear The Oud, I fall into a Deep Long Trance of Perpetual Bliss!
"Naseem Al Rooh"
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