Music of Egypt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
As early as 4000 BC, ancient Egyptians were playing harps and flutes, as well as two indigenous instruments: the ney and the oud. Double clarinets and lyres were played from around 3500 BC, while percussion instruments were added to orchestras by 2000 BC. However, there is little notation of Egyptian music before the 7th century AD, when Egypt became part of the Muslim world.
From the 1970s onwards, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, particularly among the large youth population of Egypt. Egyptian folk music, a direct descendant of ancient Egyptian music, is also popular. It is played during weddings and other traditional festivities. In the last quarter of the 20th century, Egyptian music was a way to communicate social and class issues. Among the most popular Egyptian pop singers today are Mohamed Mounir and Amr Diab
Modern Egyptian music blends musical traditions encompassing indigenous Egyptian varieties as well as Turkish, Arabic, and Western elements. Arabic musical tradition is usually said to have begun in the 7th century in Syria during the Umayyad dynasty. Early Arabic music was influenced by Byzantine, Indian and Persian forms, which were themselves heavily influenced by earlier Greek, Semitic, and ancient Egyptian music. The tonal structure of Arabic music is defined by the maqamat, loosely similar to Western modes, while the rhythm of Arabic music is governed by the awzan (wazn, sing.), formed by combinations of accented and unaccented beats and rests.
In Egypt, religious music is frowned upon, but still common in both Muslim and Coptic celebrations called mulids. Mulids are held in Egypt to celebrate the saint of a particular mosque or church, and are related to the Sufi zikr ritual. A type of Egyptian flute called the ney is commonly played at mulids. The liturgical music of the Coptic Church also constitutes an important element of Egyptian music and is said to have preserved many features of ancient Egyptian music.
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[edit] Modern pop and folk traditions
Contemporary Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of luminaries such as Abdu-l Hamuli, Almaz and Mahmud Osman, who were all patronized by Khedive Ismail, and who influenced the later work of Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Abdel Halim Hafez, Zakariyya Ahmad and other Egyptian music giants.
Egyptian music began its recorded history in the 1910s, around the time composers such as Sayed Darwish were incorporating western musical forms into their work. Some of the Middle East's biggest musical stars have been Egyptian. Umm Kulthum was especially popular, and is considered the most successful Egyptian recording artist in history. Most of these stars, including Kulthum, were part of the classical Egyptian and Arabic music tradition. Some, like Abd el-Halim Hafez, were associated with the Egyptian nationalist movement in 1952.
[edit] Folk and roots revival
The 20th century has seen Cairo become associated with a roots revival. Musicians from across Egypt are keeping folk traditions alive, such as those of rural Egyptians (fellahin), the Nubians, and the Arab and Berber Bedouins. Mixtures of folk and pop have also risen from the Cairo hit factory.
Sawahii music is a type of popular music from the northern coast, and is based around the simsimaya, an indigenous stringed instrument. Well-known singers include Abdo'l Iskandrani and Aid el-Gannirni.
[edit] Bedouin
Bedouin music is found in the deserts of the west, near Libya, and the eastern Sinai area. The mizmar, a twin-pipe clarinet, is the most popular folk instrument, and popular singers include Awad e'Medic.
[edit] Saidi (Upper Egyptian)
Egyptian musicians from Upper Egypt play a form of folk music called saidi (Upper Egyptian). Metqal Qenawi's Les Musiciens du Nil are the most popular saidi group, and were chosen by the government to represent Egyptian folk music abroad. Other performers include Shoukoukou, Ahmad Ismail, Omar Gharzawi, Sohar Magdy and Ahmed Mougahid.
[edit] Nubian
Nubians are native to the south of Egypt and northern Sudan, though many live in Cairo and other cities. Nubian folk music can still be heard, but migration and intercultural contact with Egyptian and other musical genres have produced new innovations. Ali Hassan Kuban's jazz fusions have made him a regular on the world music scene, while Mohamed Mounir's social criticism and sophisticated pop have made him a star among Nubians, Egyptians, and other people worldwide. Ahmed Mounib, Mohamed Mounir's mentor, was by far the most notable Nubian singer to hit the Egyptian music scene, singing in both Egyptian Arabic and his native Nobiin. Hamza El Din is another popular Nubian artist, well-known on the world music scene and has collaborared with the Kronos Quartet.
[edit] Popular music
Until the late 1980s, classical singers like Umm Kulthum were Egypt's biggest pop stars. By the middle of the 1990s, though, el gil and shaabi music had taken over, especially among young audiences.
Starting in the late 1960s, light song emerged as the first modern Egyptian pop tradition. Often nationalist in tone, light songs were humorous and sometimes risqué. It was dominated by singers like Aida el-Shah and Layla Nazmy, who were popular in middle-class communities. The working class youth of Egypt reacted against light songs and shaabi music evolved out of Cairo's poorest districts. Shaabi began entering the mainstream of Egyptian society in 1971, with the breakthrough success of Ahmed Adaweyah.
[edit] Shaabi
Adaweyah, by far the most popular Egyptian shaabi singer in the history of Egyptian music, initially gained controversy for his lyrics, which were often humorous, salacious and highly critical of social rules and respectable society. By the 1980s, shaabi was being influenced by music from the United Kingdom and United States, as well as other Egyptian pop stars. Electric guitars, synthesizers, and later beat boxes, were integrated into the music, which is now highly-polished and meant for mainstream consumption. Today, the most popular shaabi stars are Hakeem and Shaaban Abdel Rahim.
[edit] el Gil
el gil music genre arose in the 70s. It was dance-pop modelled after foreign rock and roll and pop music, and it included distinctively Egyptian characteristics. Hamid el Shaery, a Libyan living in Egypt, was the most influential of el-Gil''s early performers.
[edit] External links
- Coptic Orthodox Music of Egypt at Saint Takla Haymanout Church
- Ghostly Echoes: an essay on Egypt and its contemporary music!
[edit] References
- Lodge, David and Bill Badley. "Partner of Poetry". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 323-331. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
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