Music of Algeria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Algerian music is virtually synonymous with raï among foreigners; the musical genre has achieved great popularity in France, Spain and other parts of Europe. For several centuries, Algerian music was dominated by styles inherited from Andalusia, eventually forming a unique North African twist on these poetic forms. Mixed with Ottoman influences, Algerian music came to include suites called nuubaat (singular nuuba). Lately derivatives include rabaab and hawzii.
Sha-bii is, in most Arab countries, folk music; in Algeria, however, it refers to a style of recent urban popular music, of which the best known performer was El Hajj Muhammad El Anka considered like the Grand Master of Andalusian classical music. True styles of folk music include hofii, a form of female vocal music, and zindalii, from Constantine.
Biyouna is an Algerian singer who in his music is a mixture of pop, rock, raï, jazz and other types of music. Her last record Blonde dans la Casbah has been a great success.
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[edit] Raï
Main article: Raï
Raï (Arabic: رأي), which may be translated as opinion, is a form of folk music, originated in Oran, Algeria from Bedouin shepherds, mixed with Spanish, French, African-American and Arabic musical forms, which dates back to the early 20th century. Since the late 1970s, a form of pop-oriented raï has become popular throughout the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and Europe.
Rai is a creative outlet to express political discontent. "Rai became an important means of cultural expression for a minority struggling to carve out an ethnic identity and a space for itself in an inhospitable, racist environment" [1] Rai is more than simply cultural expression, it morphed into a unique blend of popular "rebel" music. "What makes raï so rebel, so politically charged, is the fact that it goes against the hard-line conservative government, a religiously fundamentalist establishment. Unlike traditional music, with its subtlety, flowery language, and innocuous subject matters, raï is notable for its blunt imagery and willingness to tackle subjects such as sex, booze, lust, and drink - all of which the deeply religious establishment frowns upon." [2]
[edit] Malouf
[edit] Chaouia
[edit] Kabylia
Main article: Music of Kabylia
Kabylia is a region east of the capital Algiers, inhabited mostly by Berbers speakers , the indigenous language of North Africa. Kabylian folk music has achieved some mainstream success outside of its homeland, both in the rest of Algeria and abroad.
In the 1930s, Kabylians moved in large numbers to Paris, where they established cafes where musicians like Cheikh Nourredine added modern, Western instruments like the banjo, guitar and violin to Kabylian folk melodies. Slimane Azem was a Kbylian immigrant who was inspired by Nourredine and 19th century poet Si Mohand Ou Mohand to address homesickness, poverty and passion in his songs, and he soon (like many Kabylian musicians) became associated with the Algerian independence movement.
By the 1950s, Arab classical music, especially Egyptian superstars like Umm Kulthum, had become popular and left a lasting influence on Kabylian music, specifically in lush orchestration. Cherif Kheddam soon arose with the advent of a Kabylian branch of Radio Algiers after independence in 1962. Female singers also became popular during this period, especially Cherifa, Djamilla and Hanifa.
Algerian independence did not lead to increased freedom for Kabylian musicians, and these Berbers soon included often covert lyrics criticizing the Ben Bella government. Many of these musicians were inspired by other singer-songwriters, including Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, Víctor Jara and Silvio Rodriguez. Idir, a Kabylian geology student, sang Kabylia's first major hit, which sold an unprecedented amount in Algeria and abroad, "A Vava Inouva" (1973). Ferhat, known for his politically uncompromising lyrics, and Aït Menguellet, known for his poetic and inspired lyrics, also became popular during the 1970s.
During the 1980s, Kabylian music evolved into sentimental, pop-ballads performed by groups like Takfarinas. Some of the inspiration for this evolution was the popularity of pop-rai internationally.
Modern singers include Djur Djura and Houri Aichi.
[edit] Sahraoui
[edit] Jazz
Composers : Aminoss, Sinouj, Azedine Tebibel.
[edit] Important musicians
- Cheikh Larbi Ben Sari, composer and musician from the Tlemcen school of Andalusian music
- Abdelkrim Dali, Master of Hawzi classical music
- El Hadj Mohamed El Anka, Master of Chaabi classical music
- Cheikh Mohamed El Ghafour, musician from the Tlemcen school of Hawzi music
- Mohamed Tahar Fergani, musician and master of the Malouf classical style
- El Hachemi Guerouabi, musician and reformer of the Chaabi classical style
- Fadela Dziria, singer of Hawzi classical style music
- Kamel Messaoudi, singer of Chaabi music
- Warda El Djazaria, singer of classical Arab oriental music
- Dahmane El Harrachi, a brilliant singer composer and songwriter of Chaabi music
[edit] References
- Biyouna is an Algerian singer who in his music is a mixture of pop, rock, raï, jazz and other types of music. Her last record Blonde dans la Casbah has been a great success.
- Morgan, Andy. "Music Under Fire". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 413-424. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
- Morgan, Andy. "Bards of Immigritude". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 425-427. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
- La Chanson de l’exil ; les voix natales (1939-1969), Rachid Mokhtari, Alger, Casbah Éditions, 2001
- Chants kabyles de la guerre d’indépendance, Mehenna Mahfoufi, Éditions Séguier, 2002.
- Les grands maîtres algériens du cha’bi et du hawzi, diwan arabe-kabyle, textes transcrits, traduits et annotés sous la direction de Rachid Aous, Éditions El Ouns/Unesco, Paris, 1996.
- Bezza Mazouzi La musique algérienne et la question raï, Richard-Masse, Paris, 1990.
[edit] External link
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