Levantine-Egyptian wasla

Ensemble: takht

Voices:

• mutrib or mutriba (vocal soloist)
• madhhabgiyya (chorus)
• qanun (plucked zither)
• nay (reed flute)
• kamanja (spike fiddle; later violin)
• riqq (tambourine)

Genres:

(see http://www.maqamworld.com/forms.html for more details on the following)

Instrumental:

• taqsim, Instrumental improvisation in maqam bayati, performed on the oud by Gomâa Muhammad Ali

• Sama`i el-Aryan, in maqam Bayati. Note the "rondo" form: a taslim (refrain) in the home maqam alternates with khanat (variable melodic sections), each in a different maqam. The sama`i iqa` (rhythmic cycle) is sama`i thaqil in 10/8, except for the last khana, which is often in triple meter. The sama`i was introduced by the Ottomans, probably in the 19th century.

• Bashraf. Another Ottoman form, using a long rhythmic cycle of 48 beats.

• Longa. A fast instrumental composition in 2/4

• Tahmila. A composition featuring improvisations on various instruments, in turn.

Vocal:

• layali and mawwal, performed in maqam Bayati, by Ibrahim el-Haggar & Sami Nussair, Cairo (1991). From UNESCO AUVIDIS.
  Mawwal text: "I try to smile, though my heart weeps. How could I but weep under such tribulations? but I smile to conceal my tears."
  

• muwashshah
  • example #1: Lamma Bada
  • example #2: Fika kullima ara hasan
• qasida
• dawr