Malouf Music of Tunisia

Malouf is played by small groups, made up of violins, sitar, flutes and drums. Current malouf has some rudiments of Berber music in the beats, but is considered as an heir to the ethnical tops reached by Muslim Andalusia. Malouf has been known as an emblem of Tunisian national uniqueness. However, malouf cannot compete commercially with renowned music, much of its Egyptian, and it has only stayed because of the supports of the Tunisian government and a series of private individuals. Malouf is still done in the public, particularly at circumcision ceremonies and weddings, however histories are relatively uncommon. The word malouf interprets as familiar or customary.

source of picture: en.tunisientunisie.com

Baron Rodolphone d’Erlanger is an essential figure of current Tunisian music. He collected the rules and record of malouf, which filled six volumes, and set up the Rachidia, an essential conservatory which is still in utilized.

Malouf is based on qasidah, a type of classical Arabic literature comes in numerous types, which include the post-classical muwashshah, which banns many of qasidah’s rules, shgul, a very folk type, and zajal, a current genre with a distinctive method.

The very essential structural rudiments of malouf, though, is the nuba, a two-section suit in a single maqam an Arab mode hosted the quarter-sounds), which lasts about an hour. A nuba is a musical type brought to the North African with the immigration of Muslim populace of Spain in the 13 and 14^th century. This is split to many sections: Isstifta 7 Msader which is instrumental pieces then came with Attouq and the Silsla which brought to the poems. The sung pieces start with the Btaihia: An established poem composed on the main mode of the nuba (there are several modes in Tunisian music like Thaiil raml Sikah tounssia Ispahan Isbaain) on a heavy syncope rhythm known as BtaiHi, also the arrival of al barawil, Al khfeiif Al Akhtam who close the Nuba. The beats increase rapidly from a part of anther of the Nuba. Each part of a Nouba has its specific rhythm which is the same in all the 13 Nouba recognized now.

According to prominent, a unique nuba once existed for every day, holiday and other occasion, however only thirteen are still remaining. Partway through a nuba, an improvisation part was played in the maqam in the next day to recite the spectator of eth next act.

The earliest origins of the malouf can be dated back to a court artist from the Baghdad known as Ziryab. He was expelled from the city in 830, and trouped west, stopping eventually at first Kairouan, the Muslim city of Great Power in Africa. The city was a point for the North African (Maghebian) culture, and was the capital of the Aghlabite reign. Ziryab crossed the Maghreb and then entered Coroda in the period of cultural invention among the different populaces of the area. He became a court artist again, and utilized influences from the indigenous region, the Maghreb and his local Middle East to form a uniquely Andalusia pattern.

In the beginning of the 13the century, Muslim fleeing persecution by Christians in what is today Spain and Portugal migrated in cities across the North Africa, including the Tunis, bringing with them their music. Tunisian malouf, and its closely associated cousin in Libya, was later influenced by Ottoman music. This mean peaked during in the mid of the 18^th century, when the Bey of Tunisian, known as Muhammad al-Rashid, artist, used Turkish-pattern instrumental works in his composition and firmly set the structure of the nuba. However his method has changed considerably, most of the instrumental parts of current nubat are originated from al-Rashid.

After the decline of the Ottoman Empire, Tunisian became a French protectorate and the weakening malouf was renewed. Baron Rodolphe d’Erlanger, a French-naturalized Bavarian who live close to Tunis, commission a repertoire of olden compositions, working with Ali al-Darwish of Aleppo. Al-Darwish and d’Erlanger’s innovating study of Tunisian music was launched at the International Congress of Arabic Music, which was held in the year 1932. Baron Rodolphe d’Erlanger died only a few months after the end of the congress, which related Arab music all over the world. In Tunisia, the gathering encouraged the Rachidia Institute, which was established in the year 1934 to reserve the malouf. The Rachidia Institute undertook some alterations, reviewing words that were seen profane, and also make two act places in the olden city of Tunis. The Instituttion also assisted the transition malouf from being done by traditional bands with only a few instruments (which include the darbuka, bendir, udtar and raja) to symphonic pieces encouraged by western classical music and Egyptian bands.

The very powerful such group was known as Rashidiyya group, dominate by violinist Muhammad Triki. Rashidiyya group utilized a huge chorus as well as cello, violin, qanun, contrabass, nay, ud sharqi and followed the establishing guide line of Arab melodic theory and scheme. The thirteen living nubat were formed during in the period, distilled from the hugely divergent traditional types still in use. The western musical notation was used; along with the promotion of documented music, the use of improvisation rapidly weakened. These evolves assisted to promote the malouf, however not without critics, and gave the music a standard in the classical art music.

After the independence of Tunisian in the year 1957, the country’s first president, known as Habib Bourguiba, popularized the malouf known its united power. The then-director of the Rashidiyya group known as Salah el-Mahdi, wrote the Tunisian national anthem, and finally also became the director of the music department of the Ministry of Cultural Affair. His musical theories became a main section of the group, as well as its successor as Institut Superieur de Musique.