New article/Dossier: MAT for the VIAMAP – Maqām Analysis Tools for the Video-Animated Music Analysis Project

English

[French translation below]

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).

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.

Français

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.

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.

Richard Dumbrill invited by CERMAA/FOREDOFICO at CNSM

Richard Dumbrill is an English archaeomusicologist. He will speak about ancient Middle-Eastern musical systems at the Lebanese Conservatory in Sinn-el-Fil (Beirut-Lebanon), from 16:30 to 18:00 on Thursday the 23rd of April 2015, venue “S”. Dumbrill’s paper to be translated by Rosy Azar Beyhom during the event.

Richard Dumbrill will show that the earliest form of music theory sprouted in the Ancient Middle East some 4000 years ago, long before Pythagoras. Unlike with Greek music theory, where there is no contemporary textual evidence, (the earliest copies dating from the Western Dark Ages, around 1000 AD) Mesopotamian evidence rests with cuneiform clay tablets. The oldest dates from 2300 BC and the most recent from the first millennium BC. These texts are unequivocally about music theory and explain the formation of systems the nature of which being the source of the later maqam system. It is also very likely, that they used more than one musical system and this would be comparable to their metrology which also used a variety of systems.

Free admission; below: the text of the official invitation.

دعوة عامّة

“بداية التنظير الموسيقي في الشرق الأوسط القديم”

محاضرة للبروفيسور ريشارد دمبريل

في الثلاثاء 21 نيسان 2015 في القاعة “س” سن الفيل الساعة 4:30

 

يدعو المعهد الوطني العالي للموسيقى بالتعاون مع مركز الأبحاث حول الموسيقى العربية وقريباتها إلى محاضرة للبروفيسور ريشارد دمبريل حول أقدم ما وجده الإنسان حول التنظير الموسيقي في الشرق الأوسط القديم

يتناول المُحاضر حقبة تعود إلى 4.000 عام أي إلى ما قبل فيتاغورس، ترتكز على النقوش المسمارية من بلاد ما بين النهرين. تتميّز هذه النصوص المنقوشة بالتفسيرات حول الأنظمة الموسيقية وتكوينها وتطورّها (من المرجح) إلى ما يُعرف حاليًا بالمقام

يعود أقدم نقش مسماري إلى 2.300 ق.م. والأحدث إلى الألفية الأولى ق.م

أظهرت الدراسات حتى الآن أنّ الأقدمين كانوا يستعملون عدّة أنطمة موسيقية وذلك يتطابق مع تعدّد أنظمة القياس التي وُجدت في تلك الحقبة

 Figures from RD Beirut presentation 2015_Page_4 Figures from RD Beirut presentation 2015_Page_5 Figures from RD Beirut presentation 2015_Page_1 Figures from RD Beirut presentation 2015_Page_2 Figures from RD Beirut presentation 2015_Page_3

Call for papers for/ Appel à contributions pour/ NEMO-Online No. 2

English

NEMO-Online No. 2 : Call for papers

Research groups CERMAA, ICONEA and PLM are seeking papers for the second issue of NEMO on the theme of ‘Modality in all its forms’. All papers welcome including Occidental forms of modality and subject to editorial rules. Papers to be sent before the end of July 2013 to Richard Dumbrill, or Amine Beyhom.

Français

Appel à contributions pour NEMO-Online N° 2

Les centres et groupes de recherches CERMAA, ICONEA et PLM ont le plaisir de confirmer que le deuxième numéro de NEMO sera consacré à “La modalité dans tous ses états” et acceptera les articles concernant tous les aspects de la modalité, y compris dans toutes ses déclinaisons occidentales, sous réserves de conformité aux normes de la revue et de suivi du protocole d’édition.

Les articles doivent être envoyés avant fin juillet 2013 à Richard Dumbrill ou Amine Beyhom.

Perma/link/lien : http://nemo-online.org/archives/1196

FOREDOFICO, CERMAA and ICONEA with the “Friends of the National Museum” foundation to produce a documentary film on the Making of Hurrian Song H.6.

Lyre-reconstructed-by-R.-Dumbrill
A lyre reconstructed by Richard Dumbrill for the Hurrian song H.6. project in Lebanon

In October 2012, ICONEA Director Richard Dumbrill visited Lebanon, initially to attend a conference in Beirut on Rituals in the Ancient Levant. The conference was cancelled following a bombing in the metropolis. Dumbrill seeked help from CERMAA/FOREDOFICO to produce a documentary film on the subject he had intended to give at the National Museum. The documentary, funded by the Friends of the National Museum and CERMAA/FOREDOFICO is about the research work Dumbrill has undertaken for the past 25 years on the translation of the oldest known musical text, written in the Hurrian language, dating from about 1400 years BC, and found at Ugarit in North East Syria in the 1950s. The documentary was shot by Paul Mattar, Founding member of FOREDOFICO, in a renowned archaeological site, and at the headquarters of CERMAA, in the suburbs of Beirut.

Rosy Azar Beyhom and Amine Beyhom, CERMAA founding members contributed to the Orientalisation of Dumbrill’s original rendition of the Hurrian material. The song was recorded at the CALA recording studios, a subdivision of FOREDOFICO specialised in archival recordings. Saad SAAB, President of FOREDOFICO made improvisastions on the Ꜥūd on the theme of the original music. The singing of the melody, and the acting on site was entrusted to a young and promising Lebanese singer, Lara Jokhadar Al-Aro. There, Lara played the role of a young woman afflicted with the curse of being childless, and sang her sorrow to the moon goddess NIKKAL so that she may bear child.

 

Lara Jokhadar al-Aro

 

 

The original score for the Hurrian H.6. song has been published in Richard Dumbrill’s article for NEMO N°1 :

  • Dumbrill, Richard : “Modus Vivendi,” Near Eastern Musicology Online 1 1 |2012-11| p. 89–116.

Theme for/Thème de NEMO-Online N° 2

English

NEMO-Online No 2 : Contribution theme.

Research groups CERMAA, ICONEA and PLM have the pleasure of calling for papers for the second issue of NEMO on the theme of ‘Modality in all its forms’. All papers welcome including Occidental forms of modality and should respect editorial terms and conditions.
Papers to be sent to either Richard Dumbrill or Amine Beyhom.

Français

Thème de NEMO-Online N° 2

Les centres et groupes de recherches CERMAA, ICONEA et PLM ont le plaisir d’annoncer que le deuxième numéro de NEMO sera consacré à “La modalité dans tous ses états” et acceptera les articles concernant tous les aspects de la modalité, y compris dans toutes ses déclinaisons occidentales, sous réserves de conformité aux normes de la revue et de suivi du  protocole d’édition.

Les articles doivent être envoyés à Richard Dumbrill et/ou Amine Beyhom.

The first issue of NEMO-Online Vol. 1 No. 1 is now available / Sortie de NEMO-Online Vol. 1 No. 1

English

NEMO-Online Vol. 1 No. 1 is available

CERMAA is delighted to inform you that the first issue, of Vol. 1 No. 1 (November 2012) is now available. It includes contributions of François Picard (France), Erik Marchand (France), Jacob Olley (Great Britain), Rosy Azar Beyhom (Lebanon), Markos Skoulios (Greece), Richard Dumbrill (Great Britain) et Amine Beyhom (Lebanon ; France).
The editorial and the summary page are available online. The hard copy (Price = 40 €) is distributed by Geuthner, France and downloadable from December 2013.

Français

Sortie de NEMO-Online Vol. 1 No. 1

Le CERMAA a l’immense plaisir d’annoncer la sortie du Volume 1, Numéro 1 de NEMO (Novembre 2012) avec des contributions de François Picard (France), Erik Marchand (France), Jacob Olley (Grande-Bretagne), Rosy Azar Beyhom (Liban), Markos Skoulios (Grèce), Richard Dumbrill (Grande-Bretagne) et Amine Beyhom (Liban ; France).

L’Éditorial et le Sommaire sont accessibles en ligne. La version imprimée (Prix = 40 €) est distribuée par Geuthner ; la version numérique (payante) sera mise en ligne à partir de décembre 2013.

(shortlink=http://foredofico.org/CERMAA/?p=394)

 

 

CERMAA and ICONEA at USEK

Amine Beyhom of CERMAA and Richard Dumbrill of ICONEA presented papers on July 12-14 2012 Conference at the University of the Holy Spirit (USEK) at Kaslik Lebanon.

Amine Beyhom spoke about the need for accurate definition in specific terms.

Richard Dumbrill spoke of possible Near-Eastern origins of both maqam and Pythagorean systems in Bronze Age archeomusicology.

Research on Aesthetics in music with Jean During (CNRS – France)

CERMAA welcomed recently Jean During, a senior researcher at CNRS – France. Jean During led three interviews on June 03 2012 with renowned Lebanese music teachers and musicians Imane Homsy (qanun), Joseph Loueizeh (teacher of singing and numerous other activities – member of CERMAA and founding member of FOREDOFICO) and Saad Saab (`ud teacher and performer – President of FOREDOFICO and member of CERMAA). He was accompanied by Amine Beyhom for CERMAA.

The subject of the interviews was “Music Aesthetics”.

Jean During is also a member of the Academic Board of NEMO-Online, the Musicological Journal co-founded by CERMAA, ICONEA (British Museum and University of London) and PLM (Université de la Sorbonne – France).

ICONEA 2011 Conference on “`ūd through the centuries”

Amine Beyhom will be reading a paper on `ūd making in the Middle-Age (Arabian “Golden Age”) at the “ICONEA 2011” Conference to be held in London in December 2011.

Launching of NEMO Online

Launching of NEMO Online (Near-Eastern Musicology Online)

The Research Groups ICONEA and CERMAA are delighted to announce the launch of NEMO Online (Near-Eastern Musicology Online), a new periodical dedicated to Near and Middle Eastern musicology.

NEMO is dedicated to researches into ancient and present Near and Middle-Eastern music. It also addresses all other musical expressions which may contribute to the enlightenment of its initial aims. Disciplines for this field of research extend from archaeomusicology to analytical musicology and include historical, systematic, cognitive and anthropological musicology, as well as ethnomusicology.

NEMO will devote particular attention to modality as a possible important link between musical styles within an area that spreads from Occidental Europe to the Arabian Peninsula, from Iran to Central Africa and beyond.

NEMO incorporates ARANE which it replaces. Richard Dumbrill and Amine Beyhom are editors of the review which is administered by ICONEA. Amine Beyhom is the Editor in Chief, assisted by Rosy Azar Beyhom.

NEMO aims at being the medium of living Near and Middle-Eastern musicology and in related lands. It will not compromise on the quality and relevance of articles published. NEMO will promote this music from a better structural understanding of its diffusion and extinction.

The Academic Board includes senior musicologists aiming at excellence.

 

Academic board (in alphabetical order) :

  • Amine Beyhom (CERMAA research centre – FOREDOFICO ; Lebanon)
  • Philippe Brunet (University of Rouen ; France)
  • Jérôme Cler (PLM research group – Sorbonne-Paris IV University ; France)
  • Richard Dumbrill (ICONEA, Institute of Musical Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London ; Great-Britain)
  • Jean During (CNRS ; France)
  • Bruno de Florence (ICONEA, Institute of Musical Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London ; Great-Britain)
  • Paul Mattar (CERMAA research centre, IESAV – St-Joseph University ; Lebanon)
  • Nicolas Meeùs (PLM research group – Sorbonne-Paris IV University ; France)
  • Mourad Sakli (ISM of Tunis / CMAM ; Tunisia)

 

Editing Guidelines

Contributors are informed that they are solely responsible for the content of their own papers. Papers are welcome in English, German, French and Arabic. Contributions are to be sent to Amine Beyhom, as *.doc or *.rtf compatible as well as in *.pdf.  Notes will be numbered continuously throughout the document. Illustrations to be submitted either in BW or in colour at 300 dpi or more in *.jpg or *. tif,  and appropriately numbered (“see Fig. X, Pl. Y”). They must be copyright free, or authorized. Papers may not exceed 30 pages with an average of 1800 characters per page including inter spaces. Quotations must be clearly distinct from the corpus end and typed in italics for any language other than the main language of the article. Please write your name and title(s). Papers must be given along with an abstract of no more than 10 to 20 lines written in English (Abstract of 30 to 40 lines must be produced for contributions in the Arabic language).

Bibliographic references will be given at the end of the contribution. Please use the following guidelines for Modality Bibliography. Transliteration guidelines will be posted soon on NEMO-Online.org. Click here for direct access.

Papers are initially assessed by the editorial board then anonymously evaluated by two independent scholars. After approval, a draft version will be sent to you for your perusal.

 

Call for papers:

The first theme will be on  “Questioning Modality”.

A bibliography, as well as a discussion of the theme and complementary indications are available on NEMO’s website.

 

(CERMAA, the research centre of FOREDOFICO, the Lebanese foundation for Music and Arts, collaborates with CETEP, the Publishing and Editing Center of the foundation)