| Historical
context of the Morrocan Nawba...
Although the Arabic civilization in Andalusian Spain dates back
to 711, it was only in 821 that the musical awakening occurred.
This date marks the arrival to Cordoba--upon invitation by the
Ummeyade Sultan Al Hakam--of the remarkable Iraqi-born musician,
Abu Al-Hassan Ali Ibnu Nafi’, also known as Ziryab (784
or 789-857). Ziryab was Ishaq Al Mawsili’s disciple in Baghdad.
Fearing for his life from Ishaq’s jealousy, he decided to
flee Iraq and find refuge in Al Qayrawane in Tunisia before going
to Cordoba in Andalusian Spain, where the reigning Sultan had
invited him.
Ziryab and Sultan Al Hakam never actually met, the latter having
died before Ziryab arrived to the Iberian Peninsula. It was under
Sultan Abdelrahman, Sultan Al Hakam’s son and successor,
that Ziryab, in return for a very generous salary and assistance,
established his reputation as an excellent singer, performer,
and composer.
With the blessing of the Sultan and the local aristocracy, he
brought numerous performers and singers from the Levant to Andalusia
and established what is now considered as the roots of the Andalusian
musical tradition. This music developed in the decades and centuries
following the Ummeyade reign in Andalusia.
Famous for his improvements to the ‘Ud (the addition of
a fifth string, a heavier-built body, the use of a plectrum made
in a different material), and for establishing the first conservatory
of music in Moorish Spain, Ziryab is also given credit for codifying
the “Nawba” (pl. Nawbat), a multi-movement suite of
instrumental and vocal pieces gravitating around a definite mode.
The concept of Nawba developed and broadened extensively when,
following the Christian Reconquista led by King Ferdinand and
Queen Isabella, Muslims and Jews were expelled from Christian
Spain, and settled in North Africa, especially in Morocco. Along
the way they carried their musical heritage and this genre known
as Nawba.
Nowadays, Moroccan music is often referred to as “Al Musiqa
Al Andalussiyah”, literally, the Andalusian Music, a misleading
confusion that Mohammed Al Fassi, a Moroccan scholar pointed out
in an article published in 1962. According to Mohammed Al Fassi,
this denomination is inappropriate because it denies to the Moroccans
their extensive input. Today’s Moroccan music owes a lot
to Moorish people, but is also the product of numerous improvements
which are essentially Moroccan. These improvements are found at
different levels: rhythmic patterns, poetry, modes…. The
Nawba, as known, sung, and recorded today, is the result of centuries
of development and enrichment.
However, the time-honored tradition of verbal transmission and
teaching resulted in some regretful losses over time.
It was only during the second half of the 18th century (almost
1,000 years after Ziryab) that this music started to be written
down and documented. Two extensive works need to be mentioned:
1- The first one was completed in 1799 and was conducted
by Mohammed Ibnu L-Hussein El-Hayek, a Moroccan scholar who
was the first one to compile songs, lyrics, and instrumental
pieces in his treatise “Arrawdatu Al Ghannae Fi Ussuli
Lghinae”, literally “The musical promenade in
the roots of singing”.
2- The second treatise based partly on the works realized
by El-Hayek, was completed in 1886 by Mohammed Ibnu Al-Arabi,
Al-Jami’, vizier of Sultan Mulay Al-Hassan the 1st.
These two pioneering works, along with some
recent books written by Younes Chami and Mohammed Briouel, are
the only known compilations of the eleven Moroccan Nawbat.
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