The Waslah: A Compound-Form Principle in Egyptian Music

Abstract

Compound musical forms consisting of several self-contained, related parts are prevalent in of Near East. Baron Rodolphe d'Erlanger discusses such forms under encompassing heading Des 'Suites' ou programmes de concert en Musique Arabe Orientale (1959:185). Curt Sachs describes nawbah as cantata in nine parts of same tonality and states that it is the largest cyclic form in Oriental music (1943:291). Another prolific writer, Henry George Farmer, defines same genre as art form in of Islamic East similar to European cantata or suite (1936:885). Farmer makes reference to military and chamber nawbah types and discusses two broad categories: Eastern nawbah of Levant, Turkey, Egypt, and Central Asia; and Western nawbah of Moorish Granada, Morocco, and Algeria {Ibid. :885-87). The general tendency among these and most other writers is to use specific terminology in an indiscriminate manner. European concepts such as cantata, suite, and fantasia have been used for describing various Islamic genres (see Farmer, 1957:452.) Even specific generic name nawbah has been applied loosely to different types of Near Eastern compound forms. Such forms are often presented as isolated phenomena. Little attention is given to overall schematic relationship between a specific form and others found in same culture, such as in religious and folk repertoires. Actually, many writings discuss inner genres, or movements as they are often called which constitute a full suite. Fundamental questions, such as why particular genres are used or why in certain cultures specific formats are preferred, usually remain unanswered. Taking these problems into consideration, this paper focuses on one example of compound form, Egyptian waslah. The primary objective is

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