CONGRÈS DE MUSIQUE ARABE DU CAIRE 1932 - THE CAIRO CONGRESS OF ARAB MUSIC 1932

Here an importent release which might have gone unnoticed by many music lovers. It contains, amongst other jewels, two and half CDs by the great master of Iraqi Maqam Muhammad al-Qubbanji.

CONGRÈS DE MUSIQUE ARABE DU CAIRE 1932 - THE CAIRO CONGRESS OF ARAB MUSIC 1932 - Coffret 18 CD avec livret trilingue français, anglais et arabe de 256 pages - Box of 18 CDs with a book of 256 pages in French, English and Arabic - Sous la direction de Jean Lambert et de Pascal Cordereix, Texte original de Bernard Moussali, Restauration sonore par Luc Verrier, CDs 1 to 10: Egypt, CDs 11 to 13: Mashriq (Near East), CDs 14 to 18: Maghreb (North Africa), LA BIBLIOTHÈQUE NATIONALE DE FRANCE

This box can be obtained from info@raga-maqam-dastgah.com for € 199,00 including postage.

"Le Congrès du Caire de 1932 est un mythe pour tous les chercheurs et les amateurs de la musique arabe en particulier et de la musique en général. Rares étaient ceux qui avaient, jusqu’à cette édition, accès à ces enregistrements. Après un important travail de restauration du son effectué dans ses studios, la BnF, en collaboration avec l’émirat d’Abou Dhabi, et sous la direction scientifique de Jean Lambert (Centre de recherche en ethnomusicologie), publie l’intégralité des enregistrements du Congrès du Caire, authentique document d’archives sonores de plus de dix-huit heures de musique, soit 18 disques compacts accompagnés d’un livret descriptif de 256 pages. 

Le Congrès de musique arabe qui s’est tenu au Caire en mars-avril 1932 a fait date dans l’histoire de la musique au XXe siècle. Première manifestation scientifique d’envergure consacrée à des musiques non occidentales, il a permis la rencontre entre musicologues occidentaux et orientaux. Il est le premier congrès de musicologie à consacrer une part importante de ses travaux à l’enregistrement sonore d’interprétations de référence. C’est dans ce cadre que la filiale égyptienne de la firme His Master’s Voice de la Gramophone anglaise enregistre 334 faces de disques 78 tours, enregistrements non destinés à l'époque à une diffusion commerciale. Quatre-vingt-deux ans plus tard, l’art et le savoir de grands musiciens du monde arabe deviennent accessibles.

Il s’agit de la première manifestation scientifique d’envergure consacrée à des musique savantes non occidentales. Le Roi Farouck d’Egypte avait confié l’organisation au musicologue Franco-Britannique Le Baron Rodolphe François d’Erlanger. Ce congrès du Caire 1932 à fait date dans l’histoire de la musiques du XX siècle."

It is for the first time that the complete recordings of this historical event are published. In the 1990s there existed 5 CDs (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia & Iraq) published by Club du Disque Arabe and a double CD published by Institut du Monde Arabe. These are no longer available for more than 10 or 15 years. This is truly an outstanding publication for lovers of classical Arab music.

Iraq - Makamat par l'Ensemble Al Tchālghī Al Baghdādī et Yusuf Omar (1918-1987) – LP published in France in 1972

Yusuf Omar was, next to Muhammad al-Qubbanji, the greatest Maqam singer of the past century in Iraq. This singer and especially this recording is the crown of Iraqi Maqam music and Maqam music in general. I discovered this great singer and this great musical tradition with this LP shortly after it was released. It was amongst the very first LPs - I think the second - of Arabic music I have. This LP was later released as a CD with an additional track, unfortunately no longer available for many years.

The scans of the booklet inside this gatefold LP I took from an earlier post of this LP somewhere in the internet. I don't remember anymore where that was.

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mp3

In 1995 a fantastic double CD was published by Inédit - Maison des Cultures du Monde in Paris. It can be obtained from their website: 

http://www.maisondesculturesdumonde.org/irak-maqam-irakien

In the booklet to this double CD one can find good information about this tradition and the singer and his musicians. This booklet can be downloaded here.

Maqam-Al-Iraqi - Three concerts in Bonn, Cologne and Baghdad broadcast in 1977, 1978 & 1979 by WDR, Cologne, Germany

Here our second post in our series of recordings of the Maqam music of Iraq. Here we have longer Maqam suites which give a much better impression of this great musical tradition.

Many thanks to our friend KF who recorded these broadcasts, made a double CD out of them and created the covers. Many thanks for sharing them generously.

CD 1 - wave + Scans

CD 2 - wave

CD 1 - mp3 + Scans

CD 2 - mp3

Arabian Music in Baghdad - LP published in Japan in 1980

With this LP we start a series of three posts of the Maqam Music of Iraq - Maqam al-Iraqi. In 2011 we posted already an LP having a recording by the same singer as on this LP here. See here.

Iraqi Maqam is one of the great Maqam traditions. In some respects it has some affinities to the Mugham music of Azerbaijan and to Dastgah music of Iran, but it is for sure through and through Arabic. I discovered this music in the first half of the 1970s with the legendary LP "Iraq - Makamat - L'Ensemble Al Tchalghi Al Baghdadi et Yusuf Omar" which we will post here as the third post in this series. For a long time there were hardly any other recordings available.

Here on this LP - which to my knowledge was never distributed in Europe or the US - we have mainly the lighter and more vivid and shorter pieces which in a performance are played usually towards the end. In the next two posts we will have the serious longer Maqam performances. Here the singer is also accompanied by a Takht ensemble as it is used normally in Maqam music in Egypt and other Near Eastern countries. In Iraq this a more recent development. Normally the Maqam music is accompanied by the Chalghi Al Baghdadi ensemble consistung of a Santour player, a Djoze player and two or three percussionists, as we will have it in the next two posts.

The singer on this LP is Salah Abdel Ghafour (1952-2012). In the 1970s he toured quite frequently also outside of Iraq. In our next post we will have three broadcasts with him from 1977, 1978 and 1979 done by the WDR in Cologne, Germany. 

Later he seems to have turned more into a singer of popular music.

"Iraqi artist Salah Abdel Ghafour was killed in a road accident in the Iraqi city of Irbil on Sunday evening, April 7, 2012. A medical source said the late singer was injured and hospitalized following a road accident, and passed away at the hospital. Salah Abdul Ghafour was born in 1952 in Al Saadiya district in Diyala Province in Iraq. He was of Kurdish origin. Abdul Ghafour applied to the TV and Radio auditions in 1961 via the program "Rukn Al Huwaa" (Amateurs' Corner), he was only 8 years old at the time. He rose to fame by singing the songs of renowned Iraqi artist Nathem Al Ghazali. In 1973, he joined the National Troupe for Folklore Arts, and later became a member of the Iraqi Inshad Troupe. For the next four years, he participated in a number of festivals and celebrations in Iraq and abroad. In 1977, he joined the Institute of Musical Studies as a student, where he specialized in the Iraqi Maqam and in playing the violin. Six years later, he graduated from the institute and joined the Iraqi Musical Heritage Troupe, founded by the late Mounir Bashir, whereby he took part in many Arab and international festivals and concerts. The song he is most famous for is "Helwa Yal Baghdadiya" (Pretty Baghdadi Girl), the music of which was composed by Nathem Naeem. Some of his most popular hits include "Mou Beedaya" (Out of My Hands), music by composer Mohamed Noushi; "Ridt Ansak" (I Wanted to Forget You), music by composer Farouq Hilal; "Kulman Yahin Lahla" (Whoever Yearns for their Family) and "Khasartak Habibi" ( I Lost You My Darling), music by composer Jaafar Al Khafaf. Song artist Salah Abdul Ghafour made more than 30 albums and 300 songs, including the Iraqi Maqam and Iraqi heritage songs. In addition, he had many national and love songs. Many artists performed his songs, the most famous of which is veteran Turkish singer Ibrahim Tatlises, who performed the song "Shlonak Ainy Shlonak" (How are you my love?). Abdul Ghafour's most famous hits include "Helwa Yal Baghdadiya" (Pretty Baghdadi Girl), "Khasartak Habibi" ( I Lost You My Darling), "La Tulomony" ( Do Not Blame Me), "Anta Al Ghaltan" (You Are Mistaken), "Kul Yom Lak Mee'ad" ( You Have a Time Every Day) and "Il'ab Yal Asmar" ( Play You Dark-toned One)." 

From: http://www.alowaisnet.org/en/news/slahairaq.aspx

About Iraqi Maqam music see:

http://iraqimaqam.blogspot.de/2012/10/iraqi-maqam.html

http://www.amirelsaffar.com/2012/01/08/about-the-iraqi-maqam/

https://web.archive.org/web/20120313035422/http://www.taqasim.net/en/a/6.html

http://www.qdl.qa/en/dusty-streets-and-hot-music-baghdad-iraqi-maqam-music-and-chalgi-ensembles

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maqam_al-iraqi

A blog devoted to Iraqi Maqam with many many historical recordings:

http://iraqimaqam.blogspot.de/

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Music of Iraq - Seven Seas GXC 5013 (1978) - LP from Japan

Side 1:

1. Qanun Solo

2. Pasta

3. Iraqi Maqam

4. Folksongs of Bedouins:

a) Ataaba

b) Mohammedawi

5. Naqqare Solo

6. Matbudj Solo

7. Zurna-Tabl-Naqqare

8. A song with Matbudj "Sweheri"

Side 2:

1. Drum Ensemble

2. Zikr of Sufi



Download

We are very very grateful to Morihide Sawada from Japan, 

who was so kind to send us this LP.

See his blogs:

http://folksorasa.tumblr.com/

http://www015.upp.so-net.ne.jp/YOZIGENN/