Reciting the sacred

Assigned viewings, listenings

Please listen to Surat al-Qadr (Qur'an 97). Click on the Arabic to start the recitation (prefixed by "Bismillahirrahmanirrahim", "in the Name of the Merciful and Compassionate God"). The Sura (chapter) of al-Qadr (Night of Decree) comprises 5 verses (ayas). You will hear the verse recited, while seeing synchronized Arabic script, transliteration, and translation. On Tuesday we will attempt to perform Surat al-Qadr together, so listen to the recitation as often as you can.

Surat al-Qadr

Surty audio material, to accompany your handout on tajwid (rules of Qur'anic recitation)

Here are some other sites containing Qur'an audio: [1]

Assigned readings

Judaism

Please read Jewish synagogue music from Grove Music Online. Focus primarily on the section entitled "Biblical cantillation; read other sections of the broader article, on liturgical and paraliturgical music as you wish.

Islam

Please read The Qur'an in Indonesian Daily Life. Optional readings: try at least to browse The Cantillation of the Qur'an (by Lois Ibsen al-Faruqi), for a more systematic treatment of Qur'anic recitation. If you have time, examine also Sound, Spirit, and Gender in Surat al-Qadr (by Michael Sells), for a deeper understanding of the musicality inherent in the Qur'anic text itself.

Hinduism and Vedas

Please read Mantras and Bird Song, by Frits Staal, director of the film, Altar of Fire that we watched in class. Optionally, read (or at least browse) An Analysis of Rg Vedic Recitation, for a more systematic treatment.

Your selected readings

Reciter and Listener: Some Factors Shaping the Mujawwad Style of Qur'anic Reciting, Kristina Nelson This article's interest lies in its focus on the interaction between the reciter and the audience. It investiages both the artist's and the audience's response to each other and well as the audience's perception of the reciter as an artist.--Lpauls 21:28, 24 January 2006 (MST)

The Exclusion of Musical Instruments from the Ancient Synagogue, James W. McKinnon This article discusses the recitation of liturgy in Jewish Synagogue. It also discusses the westernization of services, and how instruments are kept out of the synagogue in order to keep services from deviating from the religion's accepted norms. --Khaver 22:04, 24 January 2006 (MST)

Reciter and Listener: Some Factors Shaping the Mujawwad Style of Qur'anic Reciting I realized as I came here to write this, that Laura found this article first. I hope that's okay. In addition to her summary, Nelson also comments a bit about the line between the art of music and the art of reciting the Qur'an in the Egyptian community. I also found it interesting to look back at te Rasussen and see that she quotes from Nelson, although not from this article. ~Cari (the computers in the lab weren't letting my use my signature)