Andalusi nubah explained

Andalusī nūbah (نوبة أندلسيّة), also transliterated nūba, nūbā, or nouba (pl. nūbāt), or in its classical Arabic form, nawba, nawbah, or nōbah, is a music genre found in the North African Maghrib states of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya but, as the name indicates, it has its origins in Andalusi music. The name replaced the older use of sawt and originated from the musician waiting behind a curtain to be told it was his turn or nawbah by the sattar or curtain man.

The North African cities have inherited a particularly Andalusian musical style of Granada. The term gharnati (Granadan) in Morocco designates a distinct musical style from "Tarab Al Ala" originating in Córdoba and Valencia, according to the authors Rachid Aous and Mohammed Habib Samrakandi in the latter's book Musiques d'Algérie.

Form, texts, and performance

According to tradition, there were initially 24 nubat, one for each hour of the day. Each nuba must have a duration of 1 hour.

Lyrics are sung by a soloist or in unison by a chorus, and are chosen from the muwashshah or zajal poetic forms, which are in classical and colloquial Arabic, respectively.

An andalusi nubah uses one tab' (similar to a maqam, or mode) per performance, and includes several instrumental pieces as well as predominantly vocal pieces accompanied by instrumentation. These differ as to mizan (pl. mawazin) or rhythmic pattern (wazn, pl. awzan).

Formally the tempo increases while the awzan simply within each of five sections, called mawazin. The sections are introduced by short instrumental pieces and vary according to region, the name of a section indicating the wazn used:

The instrumental ensemble used includes the ud, rabab, Maghreb rebab or rebec, nay, qanun, tambourine, and a goblet drum called darbuka. The instrumentalists also serve as chorus.

Scales

Name of the NubahScale
Raml al-Máya (Morocco)\relative c'
Iráq al-Ajam (Morocco)\relative c'
Al-Máya (Morocco)\relative c'
Rasd (Morocco)\relative c'
Hijaz Al Kabir (Morocco)\relative c'
Hijaz (Morocco)\relative c'
Al-Ushshaq (Morocco)\relative c'
Al-Isbahán (Morocco)\relative c'
Al-Istihlál (Morocco)\relative c'
Gharíbat al-Housayn (Morocco)\relative c'
Rasd Al-dayl (Morocco)\relative c'

Tunisia

In Tunisia, the 13 nubat are traditionally said to have been classified and organized by the 18th-century aristocratic amateur Muhammad al-Rashid Bey, who died in 1759. He is also credited with the composition or commissioning of the 27 instrumental pieces (etc.) that introduce and separate the main vocal pieces in the nuba cycle. In this system, the 13 nubat are treated as a single overarching cycle, given a sequence in which, ideally, they should be performed.

Morocco

The nubat of Morocco were collected and classified toward the end of the 18th century by the musician Al Haïk from Tetuan.

Unlike the nubat from Algeria or Tunisia, Moroccan nubat are long, so it is rare for a Moroccan nuba to be played in its entirety.

Discography

See also

References

Sources

Further reading

External links

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