|
Music of Algeria: Selected Recordings |
| Reprinted from the Middle East Studies Association Bulletin, July 1995 (with changes in orthography to HTML standards). Copyright 1995 by the Middle East Studies Association of North America |
|
ALGERIA HOLDS a singular place for Arab culture as a region in which the musical traditions of Islamic Spain, the Ottoman Empire, the eastern Arab countries (the Mashriq), Saharan and West Africa, Berbers, Bedouin and Europe have all interacted to various degrees. Morocco to the west was never as directly exposed to Ottoman and eastern Arab musical traditions; Tunisia and Libya to the east have had far less contact with sub-Saharan and West African musics and far more direct contact with the musics of their eastern neighbors. To simplify this complex musical landscape to some degree, the many distinct musical traditions of Algeria can be roughly divided into five groups: 1) Andalusian traditions, 2) Urban popular traditions, 3) Arabic-language folk traditions, 4) Berber and Saharan traditions, 5) the modern rai, or “pop-rai,” phenomenon. Recordings listed below have been selected for their representativeness and availability in the United States and Canada. Andalusian Musical Traditions Fostered by patrons and practitioners in both Spanish Muslim and Sephardic Jewish communities, the Andalusian musical tradition did establish itself in the urban centers of North Africa: Tetouan, Fez, Tlemcen, Algiers, Constantine, Tunis, Kairouan, Tripoli, Benghazi and elsewhere. In Libya, Tunisia, and Constantine (Algeria), this tradition is usually referred to as malouf (“customary”), in the central regions as san`a (“embellished” or “crafted”), in Tlemcen as gharnaatii (“Granadan”) and in Morocco simply as aala (“instrumental”). Although each center developed a style of its own and the different regions have organized the Andalusian repertory into different structures, the large number of shared characteristics make it possible to speak of a distinct pan-North African Andalusian musical tradition or al-muusiiqaa al-andalusiiyya. Algeria provides a fascinating case of both geographical regionalization and historical stratification in this musical tradition. The two oldest centers of Andalusian classical music are Constantine and Tlemcen; Algiers emerged as a third important site under the influence of the Tlemcenian school, but unlike Tlemcen it developed within a context that included strong Ottoman influences. The oldest elements of the Andalusian repertory are organized into large suites (nuuba, pl.nuubaat) consisting of different movements of vocal and instrumental music performed to a series of different tempi and percussive rhythms. These “grand nuubas” are understood by most practitioners to have been composed and organized in Islamic Spain. (The popular version is that Ziryaab himself, the famous 9th-century musician, organized the grand nuubas; the lyrics to these nuubas, however, consist almost entirely of zajals and muwashshahs which are forms that post-date Ziryaab’s lifetime by nearly two centuries.) In fact, it is not known when the formation of the “grand nuubas” took place. This older repertory was later expanded over the centuries by poets, musicians and composers in North Africa. There emerged in Algeria a series of traditions referred to as music “in the Andalusian style” which retained many of the older tradition’s basic musical features and poetic motifs as well as being similarly organized into “suites”. These suites are variously referred to in Algeria as inqilaab, silsila and nuuriyat al-tubuu`, each possessing a slightly different structure and drawing from a different body of melody and song. One commonly cited indication in Algeria that an orchestra has finished with its performance of the “grand nuuba” repertory and is preparing to perform these lesser genres, is that the leader will set down the North African rabaab (relative of the medieval European rebec and quite different from its Egyptian and Arabian counterparts of the same name) and pick up a violin or viola in its stead. When listening to Andalusian music, it is well worth trying to pick out the distinctive deep “growling” of the rabaab, symbol of the old repertoire, which provides a basso continuo foundation for the music. These later developments in the Andalusian tradition were then further supplemented by local traditions that were composed in increasingly colloquial language though utilizing meters and musical elements of the older tradition. The Hawzii tradition of Tlemcen, for example, is understood to be an Andalusian-style tradition sung in the regional dialect of northwest Algeria. The lyrics for Hawzii are drawn from the famous vernacular poets of the 16th-19th centuries such as Ben Triki, Ben M'Sayib and Ben Sahla. The region of Tlemcen is in fact quite rare in possessing a continuous written colloquial poetic tradition dating back several centuries. The Hawzii tradition is often referred to as lying halfway between the medieval Andalusian repertory and modern popular music. Several series of recordings have been produced from the Andalusian traditions of Algeria. On the French Ocora label, three CDs have now been released of the “Anthologie de la musique arabo-andalouse”: Vol. 3 is by the Nassim al-Andalous Ensemble of Oran. The musicians themselves are mostly of Tlemcenian origin and the style and repertory are entirely those of Tlemcen. The group traces its artistic lineage through its founding maestro Dr. Yahya Ghoul to Ridwan Bensari, son of the authoritative 20th-century master of Tlemcenian Andalusian music, Sheikh Larbi Bensari. The performances utilize the traditional (19th-20th century) instrumentation of rabaab, `uud, taar, darbuuka, kwitra (an indigenous four-course lute), violin and viola, and do not include the more recent but now seemingly ubiquitous fretted mandolins and mandool which were introduced as teaching instruments (meant to ease the teaching of `uud and violin which do not have frets) but which soon found themselves accepted additions to the traditional Andalusian ensemble. The CDs come with substantial notes in French, Arabic, and English. One of the great female artists of West Algerian Andalusian music in this century is the Jewish singer and lute-player, Reinette al-Wahraniyya ("l'Oranaise"), who has performed with many of the leading figures of Andalusian music since the 1920s. In her 1988 CD, a Michel Levy production, she sings Algerian Andalusian-style songs from the 16th to 19th centuries from the Inqilaab, Hawzii and `Aruubii traditions. Even in her eighties, her voice, which acquired so much fame in the early decades of this century, is still rich and vibrant on this recording, which is only marred by the unfortunate addition of piano accompaniment on some selections. The Andalusian tradition of the capital city Algiers can be found on a series of LPs entitled “Min turaathnaa al-thaqaafii” produced by the Entreprise nationale de radiodifusion (Unité de disques Eucalyptus). These feature a number of truly great singers such as `Abdelkrim Dali, Dahmane ben Achour and Fadhila Dziria, but are difficult to obtain. Another Algerois singer, Muhammad al-Khaznaji, has been releasing an entire series of LPs of the grand nuubas; though somewhat difficult to find, they are well worth the trouble and come with complete songs texts in Arabic. (See also Vol. 2 of the Ocora “Anthologie”.) The Constantinian style is, by contrast, more difficult to find in recent recordings, though it is represented in the series of LPs released from the First, Second and Third Andalusian Music Festivals (Algiers 1967-72) as well as Vol. 1 of the Ocora “Anthologie”. Finding recordings of Hawzii other than the recent CD by Reinnette al-Wahraniyya mentioned above is not easy; the best bet is to look for recordings by the most prominent commercial artist of the genre, Nuri Koufi. Though not always recognized as the best artist of the genre, he is certainly the most prominent and his recordings are becoming more and more widely available. Urban Popular Traditions Urban music influenced by Egyptian, Lebanese and Syrian traditions is termed sharqii. One interesting example of how these traditions mingled with Turkish influences in pre-independence Algeria can be found on an LP from the late 1950s entitled Arabian Nights (complete with cheesy portrayal of a scantily clad singing-girl on the cover) by two of the stars of the day, Anissa Toraia and Anissa Zouina, with Paul Turqin singing in Turkish. The recording includes Ottoman-style instrumental music and improvisations (taqaasiim), Turkish songs and Algerian popular tunes. The LP notes proudly proclaim that this is the final recording from Anissa Zouina, who recently gave up her singing and dancing career to marry an Egyptian Prince (one cannot help but wonder how that turned out). Arabic-language Folk Traditions One recording which does cover a lot of ground in the folk/popular area is the 1970s “Musique populaire d’Afrique du Nord”. Despite its title, all but one cut is from Algeria, that one being of the famous Tunisian singer, Saliha (and if you are not yet familiar with this “Umm Kulthum of Tunisia,” find a recording of her soon, she is a national figure there and had a truly remarkable voice.) This disc offers samples of the Bedouin Ay Ay and religious chant from Oran, Constantine and Kabylia. The slip notes are brief but informative. Berber and Saharan Musics Folkways recordings are usually obtainable in the United States even if they are not recent; so for the music of Kabylia, try Rita Belateche s LP (Ethnic Folkways FE 4341) and for the Tuareg (Folkways FE 4470). Music from the M'zab region can be found on the French "Le M'zab" (Arion ARN 33 384). Finally, the Berber singer Houria Aïchi is currently a hit in France with her performances of Berber music from the Aures region of northeast Algeria. She has several CDs readily available. “Songs of the Aures” is my favorite, performed entirely on reed flute, drums and Houria Aïchi’s stunning vocals. Rai Rai music is nothing if not controversial, and this air of controversy hangs over its history as well. In brief, the tradition has developed from a local folk music common to the Oran-Tlemcen region sung by male singers (sheikhs) which was then adopted and expanded by urban female-singers in Oran (sheikhas) in the early decades of this century and which was in turn adopted by a series of younger musician-singers who adopted elements of flamenco, jazz, eastern Arab pop music, and Euro-Pop during the 1950s and 1960s. What is now internationally called rai music is a phenomenon of the late 1970s and the cassette revolution. Star figures such as Cheb Khaled, Cheba Fadéla and her husband Cheb Sahraoui, and in later years Cheb Mami, Cheba Zahouania and dozens of others, catapaulted to fame in part based on their popularity in Algeria, but also in great part due to the explosive growth of their following in Europe. Rai lyrics have been racy and bold since the early part of the century; laced with social and political criticism, tinged with wantoness and in-your-face individualism, the very term rai ("my opinion," "my way," "Tell it like it is!" and many other possible translations) has come to symbolize a lifestyle of freedom, cynicism and anti-authoritarianism. But opinions about what rai is and is not, means or does not mean, are a dime a dozen, and that, in part, is what makes it exciting. At best it represents an innovative new sound blending a half dozen or more traditions, at worst it sounds like rehashed sound effects left-over from Europop hits of a decade ago. Rimitti, one of the earliest and most influential singers among the Oran sheikhas is still around and performing. For the old sound, try listening to her on "Rai Roots" and for the latest, find her collaborative fusion CD with Houari Talbi from 1994, "Sidi Mansour." Though in her 70s now, the gravely, husky voice of the portside cafés of the 1930s seems as strong as ever. Among the international superstars of rai, everyone has favorites, but I recommend Cheba Fadéla (the earlier recordings have more North Africa elements, especially in the percussion and fewer synthesizer effects), Cheba Zahouania and, of course, the King of rai, Cheb Khaled. Andalusian Recordings Urban Popular Traditions Arabic-language Folk Traditions Berber and Saharan Traditions Rai |
|
|
