The Music of the Arabs

by Habib Hassan Touma

(Amadeus). Encompassing a history of more than 2000 years, the music of the Arabs is unique among the world's various musical cultures. This book presents an overview of Arabic music throughout history and examines the artistic output of contemporary musicians, covering secular and sacred, instrumental and vocal, improvised and composed music. Typical musical structures are elucidated, and a detailed bibliography, a discography (mainly covering the last 50 years) and a guide to the Arabic alphabet for English speakers are also provided.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

238 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 31, 1996

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to the musical theory and practices of the Arabs from the 6th century CE (pre-Islamic) to the mid-to-late 20th century. Think of it as a Music Appreciation book for Arabic music, with accompanying CDs (which I unfortunately did not have access to). H.H. Touma is a bit of a conservative and is very cranky with his contemporaries and most music composed in the Arab world post 1900, but the wealth of information on secular art music and sacred music, instrumentation, and an introduction to the maqam phenomenon (and a partial listing of the 120 or so maqamat) and a sampling of 20 or so wazn (rhythms) of the 100 or so out there is also useful.

Not the book you are looking for if you are trying to get detailed information on learning Arab musical theory and practice; definitely the book you are looking for if you want a broad but informative overview that will immerse you in the musical culture.

Sadly, he skims over much folk music and folk music styles; other than the pearl divers of the Gulf, folk music is given short shrift. He does provide an excellent list of other monographs in the field for further reading, in several languages (French, German, Arabic, and a few in English).

[Valentín Serrano García · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3,5) Informative and introductory, mostly focused on the modal and rythmic dimension. Brief when explaining the historic developments and the cultural envelope. Anyway, useful as a first approach.

[L. HH · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book has good cultural references and historical anecdotes. It also includes some technical details for those who are interested. Overall I learned new information, but I wish it focused more on the cultural aspect.

[Vel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative, but not illuminating.

[Francesco Iannuzzelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fundamental resource for anybody interested in Arabic music