Cairo Congress of Arab Music
Encyclopedia
The Congrès du Caire was a large international symposium and festival convened in Cairo
from March 14 to April 3, 1932 by King Fuad I
. It was suggested to Fuad by baron
Rodolphe d'Erlanger
,http://www.bolingo.org/audio/arab/cairo32/aaa094txt.html and intended as the first large-scale forum to present, discuss, document, and record the many musical traditions of the Arabic world, from North Africa and the Middle East (and also including Turkey).
By a royal decree made on January 20, 1932, a commission was
appointed to organize the congress. It was headed by Minister of Public Education Muhammad Hilmi Isa Pacha, with d'Erlanger serving as vice-chairman and Mahmud Ahmed El-Hefni in charge of the General Secretariat.http://www.bolingo.org/audio/arab/cairo32/aaa094txt.html
The festival was held at the National Academy of Music, at 22 Malika Nazly Street (now Ramses Street)http://www.us.sis.gov.eg/En/Arts&Culture/Monuments/ramses2/square/070206040000000001.htm in the Azbakeya
district of downtown Cairo. It drew scholars and performers from throughout the Arabic-speaking world (including Muhammad Fathi, Ali Al-Darwish, Kamil Al-Khulai, Mahmud Hefni, Tawfiq Al-Sabbagh, Raouf Yekta Bey, Mohammed Gnanem, Mohammed Ben Hassan, Mohammed Cherif, and Mesut Cemil
) as well as European scholars, composers, and musicologists such as Henry George Farmer
, Rodolphe d'Erlanger, Béla Bartók
, Paul Hindemith
, Alexis Chottin (the head of the National Conservatory for Arab Music in Rabat
), Father M. Collangettes, and Robert Lachmann
. Nations sending delegations of musicians included Algeria
, Egypt
, Iraq
, Morocco
, Syria
, Tunisia
, and Turkey
.
The Congress's sections focused on the past, present, and future of Arabic music, and, believing such music in decline, made recommendations for its revitalization and preservation. 360 performances of Arabic music by the visiting groups were recorded, and most of these recordings survive in the Phonotèque of the Bibliothèque nationale de France
in Paris
.http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200104/the.musical.pulse.of.tunisia.htm 162 of these records were released by the HMV
company, and a collection of those records was given to the Guimet Museum
in Paris by King Fuad I.http://www.bolingo.org/audio/arab/cairo32/aaa094txt.html
In addition, proposals for the modernization and standardization of Arabic music were presented, including a proposal to standardize the Arabic tuning system to 24 equal steps per octave, substituting an equal-tempered system for the earlier non-tempered system. The Egyptian delegate Muhammad Fathi recommended that Western instruments be integrated into Arabic ensembles, due to what he believed to be their superior expressive qualities.http://books.google.com/books?id=3-28hM3kdskC&pg=PA3&vq=%22introduction+of+European+instruments%22&dq=1932+Muhammad+Fathi&lr=&source=gbs_search_s&sig=aw4ecnSSG8mTV-BZemtOK-eWxC8
Three similar congresses were held in subsequent years, but none of the scale and influence of the one held in 1932.
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
from March 14 to April 3, 1932 by King Fuad I
Fuad I of Egypt
Fuad I was the Sultan and later King of Egypt and Sudan, Sovereign of Nubia, Kordofan, and Darfur. The ninth ruler of Egypt and Sudan from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, he became Sultan of Egypt and Sudan in 1917, succeeding his elder brother Sultan Hussein Kamel...
. It was suggested to Fuad by baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
Rodolphe d'Erlanger
Rodolphe d'Erlanger
Baron Rodolphe d'Erlanger was a French painter and musicologist specializing in Arabic music. He studied in Paris and London....
,http://www.bolingo.org/audio/arab/cairo32/aaa094txt.html and intended as the first large-scale forum to present, discuss, document, and record the many musical traditions of the Arabic world, from North Africa and the Middle East (and also including Turkey).
By a royal decree made on January 20, 1932, a commission was
appointed to organize the congress. It was headed by Minister of Public Education Muhammad Hilmi Isa Pacha, with d'Erlanger serving as vice-chairman and Mahmud Ahmed El-Hefni in charge of the General Secretariat.http://www.bolingo.org/audio/arab/cairo32/aaa094txt.html
The festival was held at the National Academy of Music, at 22 Malika Nazly Street (now Ramses Street)http://www.us.sis.gov.eg/En/Arts&Culture/Monuments/ramses2/square/070206040000000001.htm in the Azbakeya
Azbakeya
Azbakeya is one of the districts of Cairo, Egypt in the centre of Cairo, and contains many historically important establishments.One of these is the Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral , which was inaugurated by Pope Mark VIII in 1800. and served as the seat of the Coptic Pope in Cairo from...
district of downtown Cairo. It drew scholars and performers from throughout the Arabic-speaking world (including Muhammad Fathi, Ali Al-Darwish, Kamil Al-Khulai, Mahmud Hefni, Tawfiq Al-Sabbagh, Raouf Yekta Bey, Mohammed Gnanem, Mohammed Ben Hassan, Mohammed Cherif, and Mesut Cemil
Mesut Cemil
Mesut Cemil was a Turkish composer, and a notable tanbur lute and cello player. His father was Tanburi Cemil Bey.He participated in the 1932 Cairo Congress of Arab Music.-References:Sources consulted Endnotes...
) as well as European scholars, composers, and musicologists such as Henry George Farmer
Henry George Farmer
Henry George Farmer was a British musicologist specializing in Arabic music...
, Rodolphe d'Erlanger, Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
, Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
, Alexis Chottin (the head of the National Conservatory for Arab Music in Rabat
Rabat
Rabat , is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000...
), Father M. Collangettes, and Robert Lachmann
Robert Lachmann
Robert Lachmann a German ethnomusicologist, linguist , musicologist, orientalist and library official...
. Nations sending delegations of musicians included Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
, and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
The Congress's sections focused on the past, present, and future of Arabic music, and, believing such music in decline, made recommendations for its revitalization and preservation. 360 performances of Arabic music by the visiting groups were recorded, and most of these recordings survive in the Phonotèque of the Bibliothèque nationale de France
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200104/the.musical.pulse.of.tunisia.htm 162 of these records were released by the HMV
HMV
His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
company, and a collection of those records was given to the Guimet Museum
Guimet Museum
The Guimet Museum is a museum of Asian art located at 6, place d'Iéna in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France...
in Paris by King Fuad I.http://www.bolingo.org/audio/arab/cairo32/aaa094txt.html
In addition, proposals for the modernization and standardization of Arabic music were presented, including a proposal to standardize the Arabic tuning system to 24 equal steps per octave, substituting an equal-tempered system for the earlier non-tempered system. The Egyptian delegate Muhammad Fathi recommended that Western instruments be integrated into Arabic ensembles, due to what he believed to be their superior expressive qualities.http://books.google.com/books?id=3-28hM3kdskC&pg=PA3&vq=%22introduction+of+European+instruments%22&dq=1932+Muhammad+Fathi&lr=&source=gbs_search_s&sig=aw4ecnSSG8mTV-BZemtOK-eWxC8
Three similar congresses were held in subsequent years, but none of the scale and influence of the one held in 1932.
Discography
- 1988 - Congrès du Caire, 1932: musique arabe savante & populaire / Muhammad al Qubbanji, Dawud Hosni, Muhammad Ghanim, etc. 2 CDs made from historical recordings in the occasion of Cairo Congress in 1932: v. 1. Musique savante de Bagdad/Irak; Musique populaire/Égypte -- v. 2. Musique citadine de Tlemcen/Algérie; Musique savante de Fès/Maroc; Musique citadine de Tunis/Tunisie. Includes a special booklet in Arabic, English, and French. Paris: Édition Bibliothèque Nationale - L'Institut du Monde arabe (Ma`had al-`Alam al-`Arabi), APN 88-9,10.
- 1989 - Maroc: Musique Classique / Congres du Caire 1932 Cheikh Mohamed Chouika and Omar Jaïdi / Moroccan famous musicians. Paris: Club du Disque Arabe/Artistes Arabes Associés AAA006.
- 1994 - Le Maqam en Iraq vol. I Congres du Caire 1932 / Mohamed Elkabandji / Iraqi singer Mohamed Elkabandji (b. 1901), et al. Paris: Club du Disque Arabe AAA087.
- 1994 - Malouf Tunisien: La Musique Classique Tunisienne - Congres du Caire 1932. Tunisian classical music performed by Mohamed Ben Hassan and Mohamed Cherif. Paris: Club du Disque Arabe AAA094.
- 1994 - Le Maqam en Iraq vol. II Congres du Caire 1932 / Mohamed Elkabandji / Historical recordings of Iraqi Mohamed Elkabandji (b. 1901), et al. Paris: Club du Disque Arabe AAA097.
- 1995 - Musique Classique Arabo-Andalouse - ECOLE DE TLEMCEN Congres du Caire 1932 / ELHADJ ELARBI BENSARI et RODWANE. Historical recordings of Algerian El Haji El Arabi (1857-1954) and his son Rodwane. Paris: Club du Disque Arabe AAA098.