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ṢAUT in BAHRAIN and KUWAIT: History and Creativity in Concept and Practice

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ṢAUT IN BAHRAIN AND KUWAIT: History and Creativity in Concept and Practice AHMAD ALI ALSALHI Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Royal Holloway, University of London September 2016 DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is entirely my own. Where I have consulted the work of others, this is always clearly stated. This work has not been submitted for any other degree or award in any other university or educational institution. Ahmad Ali alSalhi September 2016 2 ABSTRACT This dissertation is an academic study of the practice of the ṣaut music genre in Bahrain and Kuwait. Most of the questions and resources discussed in this work have not been examined previously in an academic study. By comparing the style of performance that is currently prevalent with that of early recordings, the dissertation offers a diachronic study of the development and practice of the ṣaut genre over different historical stages. It traces the structural development of the genre as it relates to the elements that have disappeared or emerged and the influence of key figures in ṣaut. In addition, the study offers a close analysis of the practices of variation and improvisation to understand how ṣaut performers developed the genre from within a shared community practice. The introduction of the dissertation brings to light the researcher’s position and experience in the ṣaut community, as both practitioner and researcher. Chapter I aims to understand the ṣaut genre by studying different types of recording, especially 78rpm records, which are the only really tangible trace of ṣaut before the Second World War. Chapter II is concerned with the history of ṣaut and approaches this in two ways. Firstly, it traces the history of the term ṣaut, in its literal, metaphorical, and musical manifestations. Secondly, the Chapter highlights the history of ṣaut as it relates to questions of origins and influence. Chapter III examines the development of the key structural elements (rhythms, forms, and maqām system) that are particular to ṣaut as a genre. Chapter IV discusses the music and percussion instruments that used in ṣaut. 3 Chapter V presents a definition and description of improvisation in ṣaut. It considers a number of aspects that surround the practice of improvisation and variation, such as why, how and when the performer learns to improvise in ṣaut. Chapter VI continues on from the previous Chapter by examining the tools and technique of creativity in ṣaut. In sum, by offering ethnographic, historical and analytical approaches to the ṣaut genre, this thesis is intended to invigorate debates about music of the Gulf and Arab traditions more broadly in several related, but often disconnected fields. On a theoretical level, its contribution is to renegotiate the borders between concepts of repertoire, composition, and improvisation. 4 CONTENTS Declaration……………………………………...…………………………... 2 Abstract……………………………………………………………………... 3 Contents……………………………………………………………………... 5 List of figures…………………………………………………………..…… 10 List of tables..…………………………………………………………..…… 14 Examples on the accompanying CD………………………………………... 15 Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………. 16 Introduction…………………………………………………………………. 18 A brief history of Kuwait…………………………………………… 24 Music in Kuwait…………………………………………………….. 26 Music before the oil boom…………………………………... 26 Music after the oil boom……………………..……………... 28 Music and society in Kuwait……………………………………….. 32 Ṣaut music as presented today……………………………………… 36 Patron definition in ṣaut……………………………………………. 37 A samra of ṣaut……………..………………………………………. 38 Ṣaut community……………..……………………………………… 39 About the scholar…………………………………...……………..… 43 Background…………………………………………………………. 43 My encounter with ṣaut……………………………………... 44 Entering a closed society……………………………………. 45 The world of old records……………………………. 47 Sharing insider knowledge………………………………….. 49 Transforming the community, reviving a tradition…………. 51 Research context…………………………………………………….. 57 Challenges and research aims……………………………………….. 59 Overview of the dissertation………………………………………… 61 Chapter I – Sources…………………………………………. 61 Chapter II – Ṣaut historiography……………………………. 62 Chapter III – New ṣaut history: formal elements…………… 62 Chapter IV – Instruments used in ṣaut………...……………. 62 5 Chapter V – Variation and improvisation as a framework for understanding ṣaut…………………………………………... 62 Chapter VI – Transcriptions and analysis…………………... 63 Chapter I: sources…………………………………………………………… 64 Introduction……………………………….………………………… 64 The history of non-commercial records in Bahrain and Kuwait……. 68 Local terms for records……………………………………… 68 Non-commercial records………..…………………………... 70 The history of 78rpm records in Bahrain and Kuwait………………. 71 The history of 78rpm companies prior the Second World War………………………………………………………….. 74 Baidaphon Record Company……………………….. 75 Odeon Record Company……………………………. 79 Gramophone and His Master’s Voice (HMV)……… 83 Neayem Record Company…………………………... 87 Sodwa Record Company……………………………. 89 Aden Crown Record (isṭiwānāt al-tāj al-‘adanī)……. 90 The history of 78rpm companies after the Second World War………………………………………………………….. 92 The 45rpm records in the Gulf……………………………… 98 Private and radio stations recordings……………………….. 99 Conclusion…………………………………………………………... 103 Chapter II: ṣaut historiography……………………………………………… 105 The concept of ṣaut: literal, metaphorical and musical meanings up to the mid-19th century……………………….…….……………….. 105 Literal usages………………………………….….…………. 105 Metaphorical significance…………………………………... 105 Ancient Arab music…………………………………………. 106 Arabian Peninsula until early 20th Century…………………. 106 Bahrain and Kuwait: mid 19th Century to present day……... 108 The history of ṣaut…………………………………………………... 111 Ṣaut and Abbasid music: Aḥmad ‘Alī’s study……………… 112 The origin of ṣaut: Yūsuf Dūkhī……………………………. 114 6 A popular theory: ‘Abdullah al-Faraj's crucial role in the emergence of ṣaut……..……………………………………. 117 Ṣaut’s possible debt to India….…………………….. 123 The question of Yemeni influence………………….. 125 Conclusion…………………………………………………... 128 Chapter III: new ṣaut history: formal elements……….…………………….. 130 Ṣaut texts…………………...……………………………………….. 130 Poetic genres in ṣaut………………………………………… 131 Lyrics: themes and content………………………………….. 133 Ṣaut genre forms: shāmī, ‘arabī, khayālī, istimā‘, khitām, and mawwāl……………………………………………………………... 133 Rhythm system in ṣaut genre……………………………………….. 136 Rhythm and meter in the late 19th Century………...………. 136 Rhythm and meter in the recording period (1920s and 1930s)……………………………………………………….. 139 Hand clapping…………...………………………………………….. 142 Mirwās as a phenomenon, formulating new aesthetics…………….. 146 Maqām system in ṣaut……………………………………………… 149 Tawshīḥa of ṣaut…………………………………………………….. 153 Definition and form of current tawshīḥa……………………. 155 Forms of tawshīḥa in the 1920s and 1930s…………………. 157 Definition and form of tawshīḥa in the late 19th Century…... 160 Experimentation in performance……………………………. 162 Zifān, the dance of ṣaut……………………………………………... 164 The principles of zifān………………………………………. 165 Characteristics of a zaffān or performer…………………….. 168 Linking words……………………………………………………….. 170 Conclusion………………………………………………………….. 172 Chapter IV: Instruments used in ṣaut……………………………………….. 174 ‘Ūd………………………………………………….……………….. 174 ‘Ūd hindī…………………………………………………….. 174 ‘Ūd ‘arabī…………………………………………………… 183 Mirwās…………………………………………………………......... 188 7 History and prevalence of the mirwās………………………. 189 Mirwās features and technique of use………………………. 190 Manufacture of the mirwās………………………………….. 192 Mirwās players……………………………………………… 194 Violin………………………………………………………………... 195 Qānūn……………………………………………………………….. 197 Conclusion…………………………………………………………... 199 Chapter V: Variation and improvisation as a framework for understanding ṣaut…………………………………………….………………. 200 Introduction…………………………………………………………. 200 Improvisation: definitions and methods…………………………….. 200 Variation and improvisation in ṣaut………………….……………... 206 Wherever the ‘ūd takes me………………………………….. 206 Why study variation and improvisation in ṣaut?..................... 209 Why performers use variation and improvisation……..……………. 212 The method of learning ……………..……………………………… 214 The methods of learning ṣaut……………………………….. 215 Tutor and student……………………………………. 215 Learning within the family………………………….. 216 Accompanying professional performers……………. 217 The notebook as a transcription tool………………... 218 Recordings as tools for self-study.………………….. 221 But, how to learn to use variation and improvisation?............ 223 Variation vs improvisation vs creativity…............................. 225 Chapter VI: transcriptions and analysis……………………………………... 227 Analysing vocal performance as the central element of ṣaut…..…… 227 The structure of ṣaut content………………………………... 227 Ṣaut piece and piece of ṣaut………………………… 228 Version in ṣaut………………………………………. 229 Melody in ṣaut………………………………………. 230 Section in ṣaut………………………………………. 232 Theme in ṣaut……………………………………….. 232 Motif in ṣaut………………………………………… 233 8 Instrumental refrain in ṣaut………………………….. 233 Understanding the creativity practice in ṣaut: analysis………… 233 Example I: Qāl Ibn al-Ashqar and versions………………… 239 Version no. 1………………………………………... 241 Version no. 2………………………………………... 242 Version no. 3………………………………………... 242 Version no. 4………………………………………... 245 Version no. 5………………………………………... 246 Version no. 6………………………………………... 248 Version no. 7………………………………………... 250 Version no. 8………………………………………... 251 Version no. 9………………………………………... 252 Example II: Mā Tendhurū Dam‘atī Sālat
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