NEMO-Online is delighted to announce the publication of issue No. 10, with three articles by Amine Beyhom (English), Jean During (English) and Hanene Gharbi (حنان الغربي – Arabic).
The article is a sequel to two already published articles, “MAT for the VIAMAP” and “The Lost Art of Maqām”, with 4 new video analyses and two explicative videos.
“[With this article and analyses, the author has] opened a completely novel way of scientific enquiry in musicology.”
The Tebb-e Dārā Shokuhi is a medical treatise written by a Persian scholar of the Mughal court. It includes a chapter on the art of music considered in particular for its therapeutic properties. The article highlights principal points of this text and identifies its many borrowings from earlier music treaties. The author, who was born in India, had the opportunity to compile these sources, which attest of the wide diffusion in Northern India of the Persian musical culture and of the Greater Khorasan.
The author proposes a stylistic study of the song “Anta ʿUmrī” composed par Muḥammad ʿAbd-al-Wahhāb and sung by Umm Kulthūm. Through techniques used by the composer along with Kulthūm’s interpretation, she demonstrates the coexistence within the song of traditional and modern elements. Additionally, she proposes the complete score of a performance of this song which is accessible on the web.
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Français
Nemo-Online a le plaisir d’annoncer la publication du n°10 de la revue, avec trois articles par Amine Beyhom (en Anglais), Jean During (en Anglais) et Hanene Gharbi (حنان الغربي – en Arabe).
L’article est la continuation de deux précédents articles par l’auteur, “MAT for the VIAMAP” et “The Lost Art of Maqām”, avec 4 nouvelles analyses vidéo et deux vidéos explicatives.
“[Avec cet article et ces analyses, l’auteur] a initié une méthode complètement nouvelle d’investigation scientifique en musicologie.”
Le Tebb-e Dārā Shokuhi est un traité de médecine d’un Persan de la cour moghole. Il comporte un chapitre sur l’art musical envisagé notamment pour ses propriétés thérapeutiques. L’article fait ressortir les points originaux de ce texte et relève ses nombreux emprunts à des traités de musique antérieurs. L’auteur, qui était né en Inde, avait eu la possibilité de compiler ces sources, ce qui témoigne de la large diffusion en Inde du Nord de la culture musicale de Perse et du Grand Khorasan.
L’auteure propose une étude de style sur la chanson “Anta ʿUmrī” composée par Muḥammad ʿAbd-al-Wahhāb et chantée par Umm Kulthūm. Elle démontre, à travers les techniques employées par le compositeur – alliées à l’interprétation de la chanteuse –, une coexistence au sein de la chanson entre phrasés traditionnels et modernes. Elle propose également la partition complète d’une interprétation de cette chanson accessible sur internet.
This 46th video-analysis of the VIAMAP series (but the 47th to be made public – see http://foredofico.org/CERMAA/archives/1433) features 3D graphic techniques as well as a short introduction explaining the scale used in the analysis. It is a demonstration of some of the possibilities offered by 3D handling of graphic analysis of melodies, on the example of a Huseynî Taksim performed by Neyzen Tevfik Kolayli, corresponding to track 11 on the CD 199 Kalan Müzik entitled Hiç’in Azâb-ı Mukaddes’i – Neyzen Tevfik (2000-2001).
Note that a preliminary version was published privately February 8, 2019 on the YouTube channel of the CERMAA.
Neyzen Tevfik performing on ney: from CD 199 Kalan Müzik p. 55
The last sequence preceding the end credits proposes the following text:
now imagine what it would be if we could… apply 3D graphic analysis and animation to all aspects and characteristics of sound stop, rewind, slow down the music and animation at will zoom in, zoom out, keep selected characteristics and look up each and all details from the desired point of view and, finally, apply all these to the analysis of multi-part music with each part shown separately, or together with other parts…
Amine Beyhom – “Imagine, a scientific fantasy”
A CERMAA production
Analysis, graphic design and editing: Amine Beyhom
Notes for the graphic representation
The pitch contour is shown as a black broken line in the 2D analysis, and in blueish color in the 3D analysis, with the relative intensity shown as a reddish (maroonish) line. In the 3D analysis, the pitch and intensity contours are showed in two parallel planes with a corresponding cursor for each of them. The graphic scale (see figure below) is based on on the conventional quarter-tone division (half-flat and half-sharp accidentals) and features to the left (and in the intermediate column) the names of the degrees of the scale: these follow Amine Beyhom’s proposed solmization (available as FHT 57 p. 245 in the article “MAT for the VIAMAP” by the author/editor – downloadable here, and below), namely, for the main degrees of the scale of maqām Rāst: rā = RĀST = c, dū = DŪKĀ = d, sī = SĪKĀ = e–, ja = JAHĀRKĀ = f, na = NAWĀ = g, ḥu = ḤUSAYNĪ = a, aw = AWJ = b– and Rā = KIRDĀN = c’ (C). The tonic (here dū) is relative with note names undergoing a change of the case of the initial letter with the change of octaves. Intermediate notes (ʿarabāt) are likewise given corresponding solmization syllables.
Explanations about the graphic scale used in the video
Copy of FHT 57 p. 245 in the article “MAT for the VIAMAP” by the author/editor: Extended solmization of the scale of maqām music. Columns from left to right: (1) Original (7 notes per octave) solmization proposed in 2012; (2) Names of the main notes of the scale (the burdāt of maqām RĀST); (3) Names of the intermediate notes between the burdāt (ʿarabāt); (4) Names of the intermediate notes between the ʿarabāt (tīk = raised, nīm = lowered); (5) number of the note in the scale of al-Ḥijāzī; (6) Extended solmization as proposed by the author; (7) Corresponding numbers of the notes in the “Modern” scale (Western-inspired on the base of the division of the half-tone in two equal parts). Note that RĀST equates with c while however not indicating a fixed (but a relative) pitch. Degrees tīk-KURDĪ, nīm-BŪSALĪK, tīk-ʿAJAM and nīm-NAHAFT figure on a gray background to underline the fact that the “Modern” theory of the scale does not acknowledge them: consequently, the intervals between adjacent notes in column (7) – the last to the right – differ one from another by one quarter-tone (theoretical). Lastly: the solmization of note NAHAFT was modified as to avoid creating a duplicate with the (main) note NAWĀ: KAWASHT is the equivalent of NAHAFT in the lower octave (below the RĀST). See also the tables in FHT 54 of the aforementioned article for a complete review of the degrees of the two-octavial scale of maqām music
Excerpt from the liner notes: [p. 51, 53]
Neyzen Tevfik Kolayli was one of the most interesting and unusual personalities of Turkish Music, and is remembered as one of its “legendary heroes”. He was born in Bodrum on March 28, 1879, and died on January 28, 1953 in Istanbul, at the age of 74. His life was a series of adventures that might seem startling or at least incongruous to the common person. He might be found playing his ney one day in the Grand Vizier’s mansions with the repose of a king, and the next day on the street, a handkerchief spread out in front of him, playing for drinking money. […]
He was smitten at the early age of 7 by the voice of the ney, and was so bound by his passion for this voice that it was the most basic element of his existence. From surviving recordings, as well as awe-filled testimonies of those writers who heard him play, we can gain some idea of how that passionate bond moved him.
Mehmet Ergün – Translated by Bob Beer
Video Analysis
Literal description of the performance
Note in the analysis below that s_a = “Analysis time in seconds”; s_v = “Video time in seconds”; “tpps” = “Theoretical Position of the Pitch on the Scale”; furthermore, the upper and lower cases lettering differentiates (the scale of) for example maqām Rāst (initial uppercase) from the (pitch) tonic RĀST (uppercase) and the polychord (or genos) rāst (lowercase). Further explanations can be found at http://foredofico.org/CERMAA/archives/1238 and http://foredofico.org/CERMAA/archives/1273.
Note also that, due to two factors which are the accompanying cello and the bad condition of the recording, all details of the analysis could not be reproduced and that the reproduction of the tonic of the scale performed by the neyist may – among other characteristics – be slightly influenced by the (lower) tonic performed with the cello (see figure below in which the tonic is too low around 70 s_a).
Frame showing the reproduction of the tonic of the maqām as performed by the ney (beg. 70 s_a), here influenced by the lower tonic of the cello
General analysis
On the general ascending scale of maqām Ḥusaynī
dū (d) 3344334 (in multiples of the quarter-tone –
concatenated) the performer begins with a jump of fourth from dū (d) to na (g) then to the fifth ḥu
(a) and ascends to the upper Ja (F)then exposes the
descending scale till lower Rā (C) (thus defining the span of the performance,
i.e. one octave + fifth, with exceptional rises to the upper Na
– G – at 130 and 137 s_a) while returning to the central ḥu
(a) and stabilizing around it with various developments until the return (at 51
s_a) to the tonic. Follows a display of the different subdivisions of the maqām scale and a display of virtuoso techniques, including an
extended (in time) portamento from (below) the upper Ja (F) to the upper dū (d) [111-119 s_a] followed by
developments on rā (c) (c. 130 s_a – probably a jins
rāst 433[4] leading to the upper Na – G), while returning to the main development of the scale
from 152 to 162 s_a (with modulations) followed by the conclusion of the performance
(164-188 s_a) on the tonic dū (d).
Parts I and II are balanced (about 80
seconds each) with a shorter (25 seconds) conclusive part.
A (more) Detailed analysis:
Part I from 0 to 79 s_a (77 to 156 s_v): The initial sub-part (I.I) of Part I of the performance consists in a development of the scale of maqāmḤusaynī with an initial jump of fourth from dū (d) to na (g) then a call from fourth to the fifth ḥu (a – 1-2 s_a) followed by a modified bayāt genos [ḥu – a – 33–4 + 33] resulting in a low rā in portamento to the “tpps” (“Theoretical Position of the Pitch on the Scale”) around 7 s_a (see also at 9 s_a), then a descending development of the scale from the octave tonic Dū (D) suggesting a būsalīk aspect of the descending na to dū (g to d) part [424 on dū=d] – because of the low na (g), ja (f) and dū (dū=d is frequently, if not systematically, lower than the tpps which confirms the handling of the maqām as a plagal maqām Bayāt centered on ḥu=a). Rise beg. 11 s_a at DŪKĀ– (t-zi=d–) in būsalīk [424] with always low ja (t-bū=f–) and na (t-ḥij=g–) – note also the low nā (g–) at 15 s_a. Then comes a descending development of the upper genos bayāt (beg. 16 s_a) with beautiful descending portamentos from aw+ (b) to ḥu (a) around 18 and 20 s_a, with a concluding first part (21-30 s_a) with a confirmation of the lower būsalīk on t-zi (=d–) closing on ḥu (26-28 s_a). Note: sī (e–) and ḥu (a) are here pivotal notes which remain stable throughout this first part.
The second sub-part (I.II) starts with a similar initial call from fourth to fifth while it however hints a lower na (“n-na”=t-ḥij=g– at 29.5 s_a) with a similar also hint of low rā (“n-rā”=t-ka=c–) rising to rā (c) at around 35 s_a – repeated around 37 s_a – during the development of the upper bayāt (ḥu=a 334). In the descending development of this genos undertaken by the performer beg. 37 s_a, a ʿaj=bb (“n-aw” is first hinted, then confirmed at 41 s_a in what becomes a descending nahawand (or būsalik) genos on na [na=g 424] extended below to the ja=f [ja 4424] which transforms it in a ʿajam tetrachord on ja=f (43-44 s_a) and back (45-49 s_a) to bayāt [334] on dū=d and a confirmation of ḥu=a as pivotal degree of the scale, and closing (around 51 s_a) on t-bū (f–). In both upper and lower part of the scale, for these two initial sub-parts (from 0 to 50 s_a), subtle changes in pitches and the use of portamentos create constant variations between the use of lower (than ḥu=a) bayāt [dū=d 334] and būsalīk [dū–=d– – or t-zi 424] tetrachords with a definite tendency to shift from “minor” (nahawand or būsalik) to “zalzalian” (bayāt tetrachord) with occasional hints of “major” (ʿajam tetrachord) aspects, the latter being underlined by the change in the accompaniment by the cello (from predominant ḥu=a to ja–=f–=t-bū) at c. 50 s_a.
While the third sub-part (I.III) starts like the first two with a na-ḥu (g-a) call, it concentrates at first (around 60 s_a) on the upper part of the scale with a development of rāst [433] on rā (c), immediately followed by a reaffirmation of the Ḥusaynī character of the maqām with a hint of rāst [433] on na=g (63 s_a) centered on ḥu=a and with a closing bayāt [334] on dū=d reaffirming the (lower, around 71 s_a) tonic of the maqām, followed (73 s_a) by a reversed jump from ḥu to na (a to g) and a brisk display of the ascending (from aw to Ja – b– to F) then (complete) descending scale, closing (78 s_a) with the dū (d).
Part II from 83 to 162 s_a (160 to 239 s_v): The different feeling of the second part (beg. 83 s_a) is announced by a jump of fourth from na to rā (g to c) with a development of the (upper) rāst [rā=c 433] and a rapid display of the (descending till lower Rā=C) scale stabilizing on (the upper) rā=c (93-94 s_a), then a variation stabilizing on the (upper) Dū=D with a pentachordal rāst [na=g 4334] closing (108 s_a) the first sub-part II.I. Follows (beg. 110 s_a) the second (II.II) sub-part which consists in an approach of the upper rāst [rā=c 433] from below the tpps with a beautiful rising then descending portamento from t-Bū=F– to Ku=Eb stabilizing on Dū=D after tackling the lower two degrees, and variations in the upper bayāt [Dū=D 33] beg. 120 s_a and a virtuoso display of the (descending then ascending) lower octave + 1 (reaching the lower Rā=C) scale insisting (around 127 s_a) on the unresolved (upper) rā=c and upper rāst [rā=c 4334] with a nearly continuous descending portamento from (upper) Ḥu+(A+) to (lower) ḥu–=a– (137-140 s_a) which shifts (140 s_a) to a trill between aw=b– and rā=c followed by a very short (in time) ascending bayāt [ḥu=a 334] stabilizing on Dū=D (142 s_a), and a modulation to kurd on ḥu=a [ḥu 244] from 143 to 148 s_a, suddenly modulating (with a change in the accompaniment) to rāst [433] on na stabilizing (149 s_a) on rā=c, followed (152 s_a) after a short silence by a būsalīk [424] on dū=d beginning (and insisting) on the central bū=eb, and closing with a double ascending call of fifth from (lower) Rā to na (C to g) then na=g to (upper) Dū=D (155-158 s_a) followed by a descending call of octave and a closing ascending call of fifth (159 s_a) from dū=d to the stabilized ḥu=a.
Part III: Conclusion from 164 to 188 s_a (241 to 265 s_v): The closing part is initiated by a jump of third (165 s_a) from na–(g–) to aw+(≈b) ascending to Dū=D followed by the display in portamento (167-170 s_a) of the descending scale of the maqām till the central (“plagal”) tonic ḥu=a then an ascending pentacordal rāst [4334] on na=g, followed (170-173 s_a) by the descending scale featuring a bū=eb in place of the ja=f, followed (175-183 s_a) by variations between būsalīk [424] and bayāt [334] on dū=d with a (pre-) final (ascending) call of octave Ḥu-ḥu (A-a) and a final descent (184-187 s_a) from the ḥu=a to the tonic dū (d at 187-188 s_a).
This 45th video-analysis of the VIAMAP series features an introduction explaining the basics of video-analyses for maqām music. Note that this analysis is included under “maqām“and not under “Byzantine” analyses, due to the particular scale of the chant.
Video-analysis of the takhshefto (“supplication”): “Like the Merchants” Akh tagorye hʾachirye 4:50+ trimmed (caudal silence) to 4:48, performed by Evelyne Daoud (Evlīn Dāwūd), recorded in the town of Qamishli (North-east Syria)
Analysis and editing: Amine Beyhom
Special thanks to Hamdi Makhlouf and Saad Saab for their insight for the maqām analysis, and to Aboud Zino who kindly provided additional historical and descriptive material concerning this chant and the performer
A CERMAA production
Notes for the graphic representation
The pitch contour is shown as a black broken line, with the relative intensity shown as a reddish (maroonish) line. Score scales are based on the conventional quarter-tone division (half-flat and half-sharp accidentals). The graphic scales are based on the same intervallic division and feature to the left (and in the intermediate column) the names of the degrees of the scale: these follow Amine Beyhom’s proposed solmization (available as FHT 57 p. 245 in the article “MAT for the VIAMAP” by the author/editor – downloadable here), namely, for the main degrees of the scale of maqām Rāst: rā = RĀST = c, dū = DŪKĀ = d, sī = SĪKĀ = e–, ja = JAHĀRKĀ = f, na = NAWĀ = g, ḥu = ḤUSAYNĪ = a, aw = AWJ = b– and Rā = KIRDĀN = c’ (C). The tonic is relative with note names undergoing a change of the case of the initial letter with the change of octaves. Intermediate notes (ʿarabāt) are likewise given corresponding solmization syllables. The upper stripe features a division of the vertical space based on the tonic and its octave (red horizontal lines, plain for the tonic), the fourth (green dashed line) and the fifth (blue dashed line). Note also that s_a = “Analysis time”; s_v = “Video time”. The original tonic is dū = DŪKĀ, which corresponds to an unstopped string of the ʿūd.
Further notes
The upper and lower cases lettering differentiates (the scale of) for example maqām Rāst (initial uppercase) from the (pitch) tonic RĀST (uppercase) and the polychord (or jins) rāst (lowercase).In both literal analysis and annotations to the graphical analysis numbers between brackets are additional bordering intervals used (or not used) in performance; for example, a rāst tetrachordon NAWĀ = na will be noted na [3]433[4] if the performer uses one-interval extensions for the original tetrachord rāst 433 on RĀST. The rest note of the tetrachord is always na but the performer may use a lower interval of one tone (“4”) between f and g, and a higher one-tone interval between Rā = upper RĀST = KIRDĀN = c’ or (C) and Dū = upper DŪKĀ = d’ (or D). In a similar way, a ḥijāz tetrachordon DŪKĀ = dū will be noted dū 26[2] if the performer does not use the upper semi-tone of the original tetrachord ḥijāz dū 262 (the [2]) in the described performance.
Preliminary research and analysis
From the CD Syrian Orthodox Church – Antioch Liturgy (1983/1992) D 8039 Auvidis-Unesco (rights of the recording acquired to date by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings).
Track and liner notes courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Cover of the liner notes of the CD Syrian Orthodox Church – Antioch Liturgy (1983/1992) D 8039 Auvidis-Unesco (retrieved from https://www.allmusic.com/album/syrian-orthodox-church-antioch-liturgy-mw0000069908)
Back cover of the CD Syrian Orthodox Church – Antioch Liturgy (1983/1992) D 8039 Auvidis-Unesco (retrieved from https://www.allmusic.com/album/syrian-orthodox-church-antioch-liturgy-mw0000069908)
Excerpt from the liner notes: [p. 5]
This is another takhshefto (supplication) based on the sixth mode[1] according to the tradition of Tur ʿAbdin [Ṭūr ʿAbdīn, طور عَبْدِين] (the equivalent of the maqām ʿajam)[2] which, due to its melismatic character, does not function at all like a qinto [melodic style], but is rather in the spirit of the maqām.
Like the merchants, the martyrs entered into battle. They shed their blood in order to obtain spiritual wealth, in the manner of skilled merchants. They bartered their lives for death, preferring torment to rest. They chose death rather than a short life. They are in the kingdom, guests of the son of the King and we are invited to participate in the feast, proclaiming: Glory to thee, Ruler of the Universe
Note on the title (incipit): the word hʾachirye is pronounced “kashīrīh” by the singer as can be read in the “Karshuni” (translitteration of Syriac in Arabic) version “Akh tagorye hʾachirye” (below) listed as No. 419 in the book The Bread of Life published in 2002.
“Karshūnī” (transliteration of Syriac in Arabic) version of “Akh tagorye hʾachirye” from the Lahmo Dhayé (The Bread of Life) published in 2002 – Courtesy of Aboud Zino
Cover of the book Lahmo-Dhayé (The Bread of Life)
More about the chant (freely translated from a private communication by Aboud Zino – See also at the end of the post the Arabic translation and the original Syriac version) …
The takhshfotho (pl. of takhshefto) are a melismatic, non-measured type of chants which span a complete octave. This particular type of takhshfotho is attributed to Bishop Rābūlā a-r-Rahāwī (“Bishop Rabola of Raha”) who died 425 CE. These were gathered and classified by one of the fathers of the Syriac Church, Jacob the Rahawite (Yaʿqūb a-r-Rahāwī) who died in 708 CE.
… and about Evelyne Daoud (same source as above)
Malfonito Evelyne Daoud (1935-2002) was a respected Lebanese cantor of the Syriac Orthodox Church who lived in Qamishli in Syria. She was very active in Church life, including teaching and scout movement.
Video Analysis (updated 22/01/2019)
Literal Analysis
On the general ascending scale of what the analyst called maqām Syriac Bayāt (equivalent to the scale of maqām Ḥusaynī dū 3344334) the singer begins with a jump of third from dū to ja slightly lower than the theoretical pitches corresponding to the first (more or less) stabilized tonic measured around 7 s_a rising then to na to complete the jins bayāt 334 on dū and concludes this introductive section of the first part on the tonic [end at 11.5 s_a]. Follow then [14-38 s_a] in a very linear manner a jahārka trichord ja 44 with a brush of the aw, a rāst 433 on na with occasional brushes of the ja and a stop on ja for what may be understood as a transitory (and intricated) jahārka 44 in trichord (skimmed from the usual caudal semi-tone when tetrachordal) then by a conclusive bayāt 334 on dū. This first part is similarly concluded [40-53 s_a] by a jahārka trichord on ja intricated with however a bayāt trichord 33 on dū.
The second part [55-103 s_a] has a similar structure (as with the first part). The third part [105.5-142 s_a] is initiated with a (near) jump of fourth on the (upper) rā and features a jins rāst 433 on na with a rest on this secondary tonic, the whole repeated once, followed after a silence directly by [144.5-193 s_a] a jins bayāt which announces the remake (here by the same performer) of Part 1, 3, and 1 [Parts 4, 5 and 6]. (Note a clear tendency to raise the final na for jin rāst on na.)
Additional info
About the recording
The recording was made ca 1980 (or before – estimated). The original LP was released in 1983, and the CD version in 1992, but the liner notes (by Christian Poché, [p. 3]) say that the first track[3] was recorded in Damascus: the former “Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, who died suddenly on 25 June 1980, celebrates in this track the prayers of consecration”. However, the web page featuring the extract of this song on the Smithsonian Folkway Records website[4] says that the original album was released in 1971 under the title Ritual Chant and Music with the catalog number UNES08103_114, as Track 14 (the caudal number 114 seems to indicate the CD number “1” and track number “14”) with duration 3:58… However, the web page of the album[5] and the release tab[6] list August 10, 1996 as the first release.
Back cover of the CD Ritual Chant and Music (1996) D 8039 Auvidis-Unesco (retrieved from https://www.allmusic.com/album/ritual-chant-music-smithsonian-mw0000021870)
Track 14 in D 8103
was clearly picked up from D 8039 (Track 7), as the CD rank numbers indicate
(8039 comes before 8103). The back cover (last line) of D 8103 (above) also
states that recording copyrights (℗) for this compilation range from 1971 to
1996, which would explain the confusion on the track page.
[1] The sixth mode in the Greek-Orthodox tradition is a plagal mode the scale of which is equivalent to the scale of maqām Ḥijāz-Kār (d 2 6 2 4 2 6 2 in an ascending scale expressed in approximate multiples of the quarter-tone).
[2] The scale corresponds theoretically to (ascending) 4 4 2 4 4 4 2 on bb for maqām ʿAjam-ʿUshayrān in multiples of the quarter-tone, and to (ascending) 3 3 4 4 4 2 4 on d for maqām ʿAjam as such (without the caudal ʿUshayrān which points to bb as a tonic).
[3] “Sanctus” from the tradition of Mardin, Tagrit, Urfa.
About the Tur ʿAbdin tradition and the Syriac oktoechos (liner notes p. 3)
The tradition of Tur ʿAbdin, tenaciously upheld in the Syrian border town of El qamishli (Syria), is a reflection of the remarkable golden age of Syriac, from which it has assimilated the various tendencies.
The Syrian Church, as is the case for all the eastern Christian communities, groups its melodic styles (qinti) within an overall unit (oktoechos, or set of eight modes), also known as ikhadia, and indicates the mode to be used for each Sunday of the year, rising every week by one scale degree.
The Syriac word ikhadia was formed from the Greek ikhos, meaning “sound” and athos, meaning “chant”. It refers to simple melodic formulae which, by virtue of the historical developments, have begun to relate to the Arabic notion of maqām, without adopting all its aspects, however.
The bet-gazo, or treasure of melodies, also known as shimo, or ferial breviary, is a compilation of non-biblical texts used as reminders for the deacons.
In practice, it is impossible to generalize the use of the eight modes throughout the community. Experience shows that the oktoechos varies in terms of the nomenclature of its scales according to province. It is as though a practice, patterned after the musical dialects stemming from local customs and usage, corresponded […] to a universal theory of oktoechos.
The scale
At first sight (listening) the scale is composed of two sometimes slightly shrunk bayāt tetrachords with central disjunction – sometimes wide – and a steadily changing tonic. This is equivalent to the scale of maqām Ḥusaynī as explained for example under maqām Bayātī (no. 59 p. 118-119) in
Ḥilū (al-), Salīm سليم الحلو. الموسيقى النظرية Al-Mūsīqā a-n-Naẓariyya [La Musique Théorique]. 2nd ed. بيروت – لبنان Beyrouth – Liban: منشورات دار مكتبة الحياة Dār Maktabat al-Ḥayāt, 1972, p. 119
but also in
Erlanger, Rodolphe (d’). La Musique Arabe (5) – Essai de Codification Des Règles Usuelles de La Musique Arabe Moderne. Échelle Générale Des Sons, Système Modal. Vol. 5. 6 vols. Paris, France: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1949, scale under no. 57, p. 240
MaqāmʿAjam is frequently equated today with maqām ʿAjam-ʿUshayrān with the scale bb4 4 2 4 4 4 2; maqām ʿAjam per se (without the caudalʿUshayrān) may have an equivalent scale to maqām Bayāt (3 3 4 4 2 4 4 – see Erlanger no. 62 p. 250) but would be notably distinguished by the necessary use of aʿajam tetrachord (4 4 2) or trichord (4 4) on bb and of a jahārkā tetrachord (4 4 2) on f. However, the use of NAWĀ = na = g as a secondary (if not first) tonic and the rare use of the upper DŪKĀ (MUḤAYYAR) = Dū = d’ argue in favor of a tetrachord rāst (4 3 3) on na = g instead of a bayāt (3 3 4) on ḥu = a; while a few maqām(s) have such a configuration in the ascending lower octave, maqām Ṭāhir (aforementioned Erlanger, no. 72 p. 270) seems to be another maqām based on the tonic dū which has an identical ascending scale (in the lower octave) composed of tetrachords bayāt on dū and rāst on na=g, with an insistence on the central na. The descending scale contains however a būsalīk tetrachord, which makes it a poor candidate for this performance.
More important however is the inner structuring of the scale in Daoud’s performance, made up of (effectively) a lower bayāt tetrachord 3 3 4 on dū = DŪKĀ = d and of a joint rāst tetrachord 4 4 3 on na = NAWĀ = g, but with an intermediate, and sometimes intricated trichord jahārkā 4 4 on ja = JAHĀRKĀ = f. This seems to indicate that this maqām, that we shall call “Syriac Bayāt” (Bayātī-Siryānī), is specific to this particular tradition, or at least not of common use as I could not find an equivalent in the literature nor could specialists of Arabian music which I consulted do so.
Arabic version of “Akh tagorye hʾachirye” from the Lahmo Dhayé (The Bread of Life) published in 2002 – Courtesy of Aboud Zino
Original Syriac version of “Akh tagorye hʾachirye” from the Lahmo Dhayé (The Bread of Life) published in 2002 – Courtesy of Aboud Zino
A capella choir of deaconesses of the Church of the Virgin (Qamishli) and conductor Malfono Paul Mikhael (detail). Back cover of liner notes SOC Auvidis D 8029 – Photo credit: Jochen Wenzel
NEMO-Online Vol. 4 Nos. 6&7 is now available for downloading (download link below) / NEMO-Online Vol. 4 nos 6&7 est disponible pour téléchargement (lien ci-dessous).
All pdf articles in this volume are available individually at http://nemo-online.org/articles and bookmarked for titles, subtitles and figures / tous les articles au format pdf de ce volume sont téléchargeables individuellement à http://nemo-online.org/articles et contiennent des marque-pages correspondant aux titres, sous-titres et figures.
Note that minor changes in the layout may occur between individual articles and the binded volume, due to the harmonising of the layouts between No. 6 and No. 7 / Les changements mineurs de la mise en page entre articles individuels et volume collaté sont dûs à l’harmonisation entre les deux numéros 6 & 7 suite aux améliorations apportées à partir du n°7.
Hard and soft copy printed versions to follow shortly / Les versions imprimées seront disponibles prochainement.
NEMO-Online Vol. 4 contents / contenu / ملخّص :
Editor’s letter / Éditorial / كلمة الناشرين :Evolution, problems and alternate propositions for musicology and ethnomusicology / Évolution, problèmes et proposition alternatives pour musicologie et de l’ethnomusicologie / التطوّر، المشاكل والحلول البديلة لعلم الموسيقى (موسيقولوجيا) وعلم الموسيقى
الإثنية (الإتنوموسيقولوجيا)
NEMO-Online No. 6 :
Amine Beyhom : “A Hypothesis for the Elaboration of Heptatonic Scales,” Near Eastern Musicology Online 4 6 |2017-05| p. 5–88.
Richard Dumbrill : “The Truth about Babylonian Music,” Near Eastern Musicology Online 4 6 |2017-08| p. 91–121.
Bruno Deschênes : “A preliminary approach to the analysis of honkyoku, the solo repertoire of the Japanese shakuhachi,” Near Eastern Musicology Online 4 6 |2017-08| p. 123–143.
NEMO-Online No. 7 :
Amine Beyhom : “MAT for the VIAMAP – Maqām Analysis Tools for the Video-Animated Music Analysis Project,” Near Eastern Musicology Online 4 7 |2018-11| p. 145–256.
NEMO-Online is delighted to propose this new article by Amine Beyhom on notational tools and graphical analyses of melody and rythm.
Musical notation has been reputed as disqualified for the analysis of “Foreign” musics since – at least – the experiments of Charles Seeger with the Melograph. It is nevertheless still used as the main analytic – and teaching – tool for these musics in most researches in musicology, and today in the teaching of these musics in autochthonous conservatories. Seeger’s experiments brought at his time cutting-edge solutions – and alternatives – to score notation but, surprisingly enough, these solutions seem to have not worked out very well in the long run.
Beyhom proposes a voluminous dossier including three parts and relying on the pioneering works of Seeger – and other ethnomusicologists – as well as on the improvements of his method that we have witnessed in the last decades. The first part expounds the past, and on-going debates about the (mis-) use of score notation as applied to “Foreign” musics, while the second part offers a retrospective of Maqām music notation. The third part of the dossier describes different tools of pitch and spectrum analysis which help understand – and listen better to the analyzed music while exposing, in fine, the author’s work and propositions for the implementation of video-animated analyses in the teaching of ethnomusicology as one major basis for this teaching. The dossier is accompanied by a short power point show (PPS) and 41 video-animated analyses (total time = 2 h 13 m).
Nous avons le plaisir à NEMO-Online de publier ce nouvel article par Amine Beyhom sur les outils de notation et d’analyse graphique de la mélodie et du rythme.
La notation musicale est réputée être disqualifiée pour les analyses de musique “étrangères” et ce depuis, au moins, les expériences de Charles Seeger avec le mélographe. Il n’en reste pas moins que la notation classique reste l’outil principal d’analyse de ces musiques dans les recherches musicologiques, et de leur enseignement dans les conservatoires locaux. Les méthodes de Seeger étaient à l’avant-garde de la recherche pour une analyse – et une notation – alternative des musiques traditionnelles mais, de manière assez surprenante, ne semblent pas avoir pris racine dans l’enseignement de l’ethnomusicologie.
Beyhom propose un dossier volumineux en trois parties, basé sur l’oeuvre pionnière de Seeger – et d’autres ethnomusicologues – ainsi que sur les améliorations de cette méthode apportées au fil des recherches par ses successeurs. La première partie retrace les débats soulevés par l’utilisation (ou non) de la notation musicale classique pour les musique non occidentales – notamment non semi-tonales – tandis que la deuxième partie est consacrée à une courte rétrospective historique de la notation de la musique du maqām. La troisième partie décrit divers outils d’analyse des hauteurs et du spectre d’une mélodie qui sont une aide à l’analyse – et à la compréhension, sinon à une meilleure écoute – de ces musiques. En conclusion l’auteur appelle à implémenter l’enseignement des analyses vidéo-animées de hauteurs dans l’enseignement courant de l’ethnomusicologie, comme outil principal d’analyse des musiques “autres”.
Le dossier est accompagné d’un fichier Power Point contenant quelques exemples d’analyse avec curseur se déplaçant horizontalement sur l’écran, et de 41 analyses vidéo dont le temps total s’élève à 2 heures et 13 minutes.
