Difference between revisions of "Islamic performance genres"

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Notes by Michael Frishkopf.
 
Notes by Michael Frishkopf.
  
 +
[[Qur'anic recitation (tilawa)]]
 +
 +
[[Call to prayer (adhan)]]
  
 
[[The dawn prayer rite (salat al-fajr)]]
 
[[The dawn prayer rite (salat al-fajr)]]
 
[[Qur'anic recitation (tilawa)]]
 
  
 
[[Inshad dini]]
 
[[Inshad dini]]
  
 
+
[[Inshad sufi]]
 
 
 
 
----
 
 
 
''Sufi performance''
 
 
 
 
 
* [http://www.fwalive.ualberta.ca/~michaelf/MR/Chanting%20devotion/Islamic/Cue%2010.mp3 Sufi dhikr with inshad]. Recorded during the 1932 Arabic music conference by the celebrated Laythi
 
order (Egyptian), led by Shaykh Basatini. The dhikr consists of chanting the Names of God (here,
 
“Allah”); inshad (singing of religious poetry) is often superimposed, either solo or group. Early recordings
 
such as these are not field recordings, but took place in studio-like conditions, and under limitations of
 
length (due to the length of a phonograph disc).
 
 
 
* [http://www.fwalive.ualberta.ca/~michaelf/MR/Chanting%20devotion/Islamic/Cue%2011.mp3 Sufi dhikr with inshad]. Field recording made in 1998 of a contemporary Egyptian Sufi order, the
 
Hamidiyya Shadhiliyya. The group chants “Allah” while a soloist and chorus performs inshad. Note how
 
emotional power is generated by inshad, and how it is timed to move with dhikr. The Sufi orders tend not
 
to use instruments.
 
 
 
* [http://www.fwalive.ualberta.ca/~michaelf/MR/Chanting%20devotion/Islamic/Cue%2012.mp3 Ad‘iyya (prayers of request) following Ramadan tarawih prayers]. Performed by Shaykh Muhammad Jabril. During Ramadan
 
lengthy ad‘iyya are performed at the conclusion of the late-night tarawih prayers. These are particularly
 
important during the last 10 nights, since one of these is the “laylat al-qadr” or “night of power”, during
 
which channels between heaven and earth are open. Shaykh Muhammad Jabril has become the most
 
famous reciter of this type. The style is similar to that of the morning prayer, but with much greater
 
emotional intensity and buildup, partly due to the size of the congregation (exceeding 50,000). This is a
 
recent phenomenon due to the rise of interest in religion, together with technical innovations such as the
 
amplifier, allowing the voice to be projected over an expansive area.
 
 
 
* [http://www.fwalive.ualberta.ca/~michaelf/MR/Chanting%20devotion/Islamic/Cue%2013.mp3 Orchestral inshad (religious song)]. Performed by Shaykh Sayyid al-Naqshabandi with chorus and
 
orchestra. Here is an example of transformation of the older ibtihalat and tawashih traditions. Shaykh
 
Naqshabandi became famous through media appearances. Formerly he performed in the traditional vocal
 
style, which was later augmented with orchestra and fixed arrangements. Note the focus on nay (reed
 
flute), whose sound is a symbol of Islamic mysticism and contemplation, as well as the duff (frame drum),
 
which is specially sanctioned by Prophetic traditions in Islamic music.
 
 
 
* [http://www.fwalive.ualberta.ca/~michaelf/MR/Chanting%20devotion/Islamic/Cue%2014.mp3 Aghani diniyya] (religious songs performed by ordinary singers=mutribin). Performed by ‘Abd al-Halim
 
Hafez. ‘Abd al-Halim was Egypt’s Elvis, an extremely popular singer of romantic songs; he did not train
 
in the religious tradition and has no status as “shaykh”. However during religious holidays he might sing
 
religious material; this tape is an example. It cannot be considered pure inshad dini, since the context,
 
style, and performer do not certify the performance as a true devotional act. The nay is used to mark the
 
performance as religious, and the mood is subdued, with little meter; but vocal style is similar to ‘Abd al-
 
Halim’s standard popular fare.
 
 
 
* [http://www.fwalive.ualberta.ca/~michaelf/MR/Chanting%20devotion/Islamic/Cue%2015.mp3 Sufi inshad in the public hadra]. Performed by Shaykh Yasin al-Tuhami, from Assiut, in Upper Egypt; live performance
 
from Mahalla, in the Egyptian Delta. Over the last 20 years Sufi munshidin have started to emerge as
 
major singing stars, recorded on commercial tapes and singing professionally in a wide variety of social
 
settings. The most famous of these is Shaykh Yasin al-Tuhami. He typically performs with a small takht
 
(here including violin, kawala (another reed flute), and percussion), draws heavily on secular music
 
(especially Umm Kulthum) for melodic material, instrumentation, and style, while performing classical
 
Sufi poetry in a Sufi setting. Performance includes development of maqamat, taqasim, vocal
 
improvisation, lawazim (melodic fills), qafla and many other features of the tarab style. As for Shaykh
 
Muhammad Jabril, the advent of the PA system was important to the development of this genre of
 
performance. Melodic material is improvised, but draws on standard phrases. His performances are
 
generally attended by hundreds or even thousands (especially in the larger saint festivals, called mawlids);
 
some listen, while others form lines in order to perform the dhikr while listening to his performance (you
 
can hear the chantin this recording), and generate a powerful ecstatic mood. Here he sings a poem of the
 
great 13th c mystical poet Ibn al-Farid, in his 18th commercial tape, of which there are approximately 30
 
total, nearly all recorded in the field.  [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG-K6W8ZadM Video example]
 

Revision as of 11:35, 27 September 2007

Islamic religious performance traditions of Egypt: Tilawa, ibtihalat, adhan, ad`iyya, tawashih, dhikr, aghani diniyya, inshad

Notes by Michael Frishkopf.

Qur'anic recitation (tilawa)

Call to prayer (adhan)

The dawn prayer rite (salat al-fajr)

Inshad dini

Inshad sufi