E is for? We have cherished our time in Denmark and have chosen to journey south in April, as it appears to be an ideal month there, a country that starts with the letter E!
Updated 5/11 E is for Egyptian!
Piece Title: Variations on an Egyptian folk tune Var.1&2 Flowing Var. 3 Return, Var. 4 Restless Var. 5 At the pace of the caravan Var. 6 In the fashion of Egyptian dance rhythms Composer: Gamal Abdel Rahim (Egyptian 1924 – 1988) Image: Lamps, Cairo, by Manuel Selbach, from Pixabay The civilization of Ancient Egypt is recognized as one of the earliest civilizations in the world. One of the many facets of their culture was a thriving music scene. This is evident from the wall reliefs found in the temples and tombs of Ancient Egypt, which vividly depict a range of musical instruments, playing techniques, and tuning methods. The skill of Egyptian musicians was also acknowledged by Athenaeus, the ancient scholar, in his literary works (IV, 25). It is my hope that compositions like this will inspire us to explore and be enriched by the sounds and heritages of ancient Egypt. Gamal Abdel-Rahim, one of Egypt's most prominent classical music composers, earned the title "Bartok of Egypt" for his compositions that exhibit a fusion of Egyptian and Arabic traditional music with 20th-century Western music techniques. He was born in Cairo to a musical father and pursued his passion by studying musicology and composition in Germany. Later, he became the head of the compositional department at the newly opened Cairo Conservatory of Music. He had a lasting impact on the development of music in Egypt and became the most influential figure to the next generations of Egyptian composers. This delightful Egyptian folk tune may appear to be in the key of C minor, but it is not quite so. The presence of D flat and E suggests that it resembles "Shad 'Araban," one of the Maqam modes commonly used in traditional Egyptian and Arabian music. Abdel-Rahim beautifully blends traditional Egyptian characteristics with Western classical style, using augmented second, diminished fourth intervals, microtonal colors and modes, and frequent irregular complex rhythms. The result is a unique and wonderful composition that captures the essence of both worlds.
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Sources
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