charlie oud
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Studying Sunbati's taqsim
On listening and studying Riad el-Sunbati's taqsim I have made the following observation and would welcome others to respond with their
findings/comments.
To begin with his "tarab" is outstanding and thats another story.
I have discovered that for the most part the flow and phrasing of his passages nearly always consists of moving directly through the
order of notes in the maqam in either direction. Rarely does he not include an intervening note. i.e. in nahawand if he goes from 'g' to 'c' then 'a
flat' and 'b flat' wil be included along the way either in the form of rapid ornamentation, bouncing off each other by way of 'pull offs' or 'hammer
ons', or more deliberately struck. At any moment and on any note he will apply a felt accent thus creating an illusion and avoiding what could easily
sound like a series of scale runs. I am experimenting with applying this approach to my own playing and have been delighted with the sense of freedom
to be felt by way of always moving through the maqam and not jumping around in it. Of course there are phrases Sunbati plays where he jumps a 3rd or
4th in the scale but these are less common in his style. Moreover, its his tasteful selection of accents and ornamention during his motion "through"
the maqam which, for me, makes this player a genius of the oud.
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MatthewW
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Hi Charlie- your observations of Sunbati's playing is very interesting. I have listened closely to his taqasims (as most of us have at one point or
another) and also have been impressed at how he could say so much with a masterful economy of notes, intention and focus of playing, no frills or
fancy flash, and with bags of tarab. Whatever Sunbati was doing, he was a genius and master at it, and observing his playing is a real education.
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Owain-Hawk
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Interesting thoughts Charlie, what I've noticed about his playing is that it's very almost straight forward, when he goes from a note for example
middle D to C and then deeper and deeper with a smooth jump, the actual sound is deeper, not just the note. I think this is achieved by Risha
technique and also not pressing as hard on the notes. Then again, it could just be his awesome Oud! I've also noticed he begins playing with a fast
risha strike and then smoothly slows down just before he goes for a 'run' through the maqam.
As you can guess, I've used the word "Smooth" a few times, so I'd describe his playing as Smooth and straight forward (not in a bad way of course!).
It's a pity there isn't more of his taqsim around. Don't forget though, he's also an amazing singer,
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=XtM52MfsL-k
^If anyone has the music sheet for this one, I'd love it! All I know is apparantly the peom is written by the same guy who wrote the poem for
"Al-Atal".
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Ararat66
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Smooth and straightforward is the most difficult - it's like a carpenter planing a piece of wood perfectly, any bumps show up like mountains.
Leon
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Owain-Hawk
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Leon, you hit the nail on the... Oud. 
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oudmad
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| Quote: | | Originally posted by charlie oudMoreover, its his tasteful selection of accents and ornamention during his motion "through" the maqam which,
for me, makes this player a genius of the oud. |
Even as a lay admirer of oud music with little understanding of the formalisms described here (which is not to demean these fine interpretations),
there is little doubt in my mind (and my response to this great composer) that Sumbati's genious for the oud must stem from his pure genious as a
musical creator. From nothing he creates, sounds that will last forever. This man's modesty (see some of his interviews on youtube) left him time
and space to dedicate his life to a musical style and quality so unique. For me as a keen listener of Arabic music, so much of Sumbati's composing so
utterly defies prediction, with a beauty that leaves you listening to his music over and over -- and always for the first time. His oud playing is an
extension and culmination of the man on his own -- no frills, no other instrumental distractions, just pure genious. Which is why in my humble
opinion, he leaves the field quite far behind. May he rest in peace.
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Kelly
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Sounds like we'll have to arrange a Sunbati Seminar at next UK gathering ! Keep playing guys and lets meet up again soon.
Kelly
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Owain-Hawk
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Looking forward to it, Kelly. 
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oudmad
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Kelly
Sounds like we'll have to arrange a Sunbati Seminar at next UK gathering ! Keep playing guys and lets meet up again soon. |
Sounds great, if from a selfish view point on my part. If such a seminar does indeed take place, and should any observations on the biographic
aspects of Sumbati and the evolution of his music emerge, kindly share them with us. Thanks in advance.
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charlie oud
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Thanks to all for joining in this thread, Owain mate, you make a crucial point regarding risha technique. Sunbati also defies the school of playing
which recommends equal volume on up and down strokes, if you listen carefully his upstrokes are far quieter than his downstrokes, Hamza el Din also
plays this way, I think this way gives a more rhythmic feel, upstrokes very lightly struck, nothing more than a reflex action to the stronger
downstroke. C.
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Owain-Hawk
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Another thing Charlie, which I think you covered in your first post actually, is that Sunbati seems to play around a Pivot note. He often Desends one
or two notes down a scale quickly, BEFORE, he does a long ascend up the scale... For example, he starts by Playing D and hitting the 6th string too to
create a nice atmosphere. Then he will hit E flat quickly, before ascending, D, C, B... etc. Also for example, when he is playing Hijaz, he will play
a note that sounds a bit off, like B, before quickly passing A, G, to F flat, then down to G again... I hope this makes sense... I've tried to put it
into a file, played by myself from his Taqsim, but I played it a lot slower so it's easier to hear.
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Owain-Hawk
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By the way, I forgot to post this. We can learn a lot from this guy . It's a
renidition of Sunbati's Hijaz taqsim...
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jZXRnCIxN7c
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