Naseer Shamma & Ensemble

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�� Naseer Shamma Welcome to VIVA! & Gala & Al-Oyoun Ensemble The new season of concerts at the Cleveland Museum of Art showcases 16 outstanding performances from around Friday, March 15, 2013 • 7:30 p.m. the globe and the U.S. Among the many highlights of Gartner Auditorium, The Cleveland Museum of Art the season are programs that tie into exhibitions, the openings of the Renaissance and Islamic galleries, and ENSEMBLE the stunningly beautiful Ames Family Atrium. Naseer Shamma – oud Tonight the celebration of the museum’s recently opened Saber AbdelSattar – qanun Islamic galleries continues as we welcome Naseer Hany ElBadry – nay Shamma and Al-Oyoun Ensemble to Cleveland. ElGhandour Hussein – violin Said Zaki – violin Next week we present fadista Ana Moura singing the Miles Jay – bass passion songs of Portugal. Then in April, we host Afro- Amro Mostafa – riqq (Arab tambourine) pop superstar Oliver Mtukudzi and the Black Spirits for a dance party in the atrium and the inimitable Paris Combo. PROGRAM There’s much more to come. . . glance through the VIVA! & Gala brochure available in the lobby and see if Tonight’s program will be announced from the stage anything catches your imagination for an evening in the and is presented without intermission. fabulous surroundings of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Thank you for being with us tonight.

For legal reasons and physical safety of the artists and for the Massoud Saidpour comfort of the audience, cameras and other recording devices are Curator of Performing Arts and Music not permitted in the theater during the performance. ABOUT THE INSTRUMENTS Kaman/Kamanjah/Violin The traditional Arabic ensemble or takht (literally bed in Arabic) The European violin (also called Kaman/Kamanjah in Arabic) consists of four main melodic instruments: oud, nay, qanun, and was adopted into Arab music during the second half of the violin, and one main percussion instrument (riqq). Sometimes the 19th century, replacing an indigenous two-string fiddle that was riqq is supplemented/substituted with the tabla or daff (frame prevalent in Egypt also called kamanjah. Although various tunings drum). Older ensembles used a jawzah or kamanjah instead of the are used, the traditional Arab tuning is in fourths and fifths (G3, Western violin. D4, G4, D5.) As a fretless instrument the violin can produce all shades of intonation of the Arabic maqam. Stylistically melodic instruments are divided into two families: sahb (pulling or stretching), and naqr (plucking or hammering). The playing style is highly ornate, with slides, trills, wide Violin and nay fall under sahb, oud and qanun fall under naqr. vibrato, and double stops, often using an open string as a drone. These two families are meant to complement each other to create The timbre ranges from rich and warm, similar to the sound of the a richer and more complete sound. In case of duets, the most Western violin, to nasal and penetrating, reminiscent of the sound common combination is oud with violin or qanun with nay. of the rababah, a type of Arab folk fiddle.

The violin is held both in the usual under-chin fashion and Oud gamba style on the knee. Moroccans play gamba style and often The oud is one of the most popular instruments in Arabic music. Moroccans use the GDAE tuning. Its name derives from the Arabic for “a thin strip of wood,” and this refers to the strips of wood used to make its rounded body. Qanun The neck of the oud, which is short in comparison to the The qanun is a descendent of the old Egyptian harp. It has played body, has no frets and this contributes to its unique sound. It an integral part in Arabic music since the 10th century. The word also allows playing notes in any intonation, which makes it ideal qanun means “law” in Arabic, and the word exists in English in the for performing the Arabic maqam (melodic mode). The most form of “canon.” The qanun was introduced to Europe by the 12th common string combination is five pairs of strings tuned in unison century, becoming known during the 14th to the 16th Century as a and a single bass string, although up to thirteen strings may be psaltery or zither. The qanun also resembles a dulcimer. found. Strings are generally made of nylon or gut, and are plucked The form of the qanun consists of a trapezoid-shaped flat with a plectrum known as a risha (Arabic for feather). Modern board over which 81 strings are stretched in groups of three with strings are made of steel wound over nylon. The instrument has a 24 treble chords consisting of three chords to each note. The warm timbre, low tessitura, and is often intricately decorated. The instrument is placed flat on the knees or table of the musician; oud used in the Arab world is slightly different to that found in the strings are plucked with the finger or with two plectra, one Turkey, Armenia, and Greece. Different tunings are used and the plectrum attached to the forefinger of each hand. A long bridge Turkish-style oud has a brighter tone than its Arab counterpart. on the right-hand side of the instrument rests on goat (or fish) The European lute is a descendant of the oud, from which it takes skin covered windows in the top of the instrument; on the left its name (al-oud).

4 5 hand side, each course of strings passes over a series of small by utilizing nays of various lengths. The nay has a wide range of brass levers that are used to make microtonal changes in pitch. over two octaves.

Since the qanun only includes 8 notes (groups of 3 strings) Although very simple, the nay is one of the most difficult per octave, the player initially sets the levers to create the scale Arabic instruments to play. A fine player can produce a large of the starting maqam. When the player needs to modulate to variety of liquid sounds and ornaments; it is an extremely soulful another maqam, he/she needs to switch some levers back and instrument. Its poetical timbre makes it especially suitable for forth with the left hand while playing with the right hand. Quick melancholy effects expressing both joy and yearning. It is the only modulation can also be achieved by using the fingernail of the left wind instrument used in Arab art music, widely appreciated for its thumb to temporarily raise the tuning of some strings. warm, breathy sound and its subtle tonal and dynamic inflections.

In Arabic music, the instrument lays down the law of pitch for other instruments and singers. Riqq The riqq (sometimes called daff) is a small tambourine (approx. Nay 8.5 inches in diameter & 2.5 inches deep) traditionally covered with a goat or fish skin head, stretched over a wooden frame inlaid The nay (Farsi for “reed”) is an open-ended, obliquely end-blown with mother of pearl. The riqq has five sets of two pairs of brass flute made of cane. The nay has been known in the Near East cymbals (approx. 2 inches in diameter) spaced evenly around since antiquity. The nay is nine-jointed, and usually has six holes the frame, and called “sagaat” in Arabic. The cymbals are what in the front for the fingers to play and one hole underneath for produces the exciting jingle sound. the thumb. It is played with the pads of the fingers. Nays come in different lengths, each one being tuned to a specific pitch and Although fish or goat skin heads are valued for their named after the note produced with the first fingerhole open. warm and natural sound, their main problem is that they are very sensitive to humidity and can easily lose their tightness. The nay is blown using a unique lip technique called bilabial Traditionally riqq players had to heat their riqqs just before the blowing, with both upper and lower lip used to partially close performance. Since the riqq skin could stretch again after 5–10 the end of the beveled tube. The second and third registers are minutes, professional riqq players often had to own two identical overblown a fifth and an octave higher than the first register riqqs, heating one while playing the other, and switching between respectively. Some of the tone-holes are assigned to certain songs. microtonal steps, although microtonal variations can also be achieved by partially opening a tone-hole, changing the blowing In the late 1980s, a mylar-headed, aluminum (or wooden) bodied angle or a combination of the two. instrument was introduced and was adopted by a number of professional riqq players. Modern riqqs are tunable, and allow Fine, mellow tones are brought forth by blowing gently over heads to be replaced without having to be glued. the orifice of the tube while manipulating the fingers and thumbs; by blowing with more or less force, sounds are produced an The riqq is especially valued for the variety of sounds it can octave higher or lower, and tunes in different scales can be played produce and appreciated for the subtle yet virtuosic manner in

6 7 which it is performed. In the first half of the 20th century it the thousands in the next generation of musicians in the Arab was common for the riqq to be the sole percussion instrument world. Bayt Al-’Oud now has branches in Alexandria, Algeria, in art-music ensembles. In the second half of the 20th and Abu Dhabi and has expanded to include training on other century, with the addition of the tabla and other percussion traditional Arab instruments such as qanun, violin, nay, and instruments to these ensembles, riqq players adopted a percussion. technique that emphasizes the cymbal over the membrane Al-Oyoun, founded by Shamma in 1999, is an eight-member sounds. chamber ensemble consisting of some of the most highly The sound of the riqq sets the rhythm of much Arabic skilled and in-demand musicians in Cairo. Al-Oyoun performs music, particularly in the performances of classical pieces. In a genre defined by Shamma as Arab Chamber music, a the traditional Arabic ensemble the riqq player plays the role conceptual expansion of the style of the classical Arab takht, of Dabet Al Iqaa (“Rhythm Master” in Arabic). The riqq player the representative musical ensemble of the Middle East. can single-handedly control the speed and dynamic of an Although Shamma and Al-Oyoun have a busy touring entire orchestra. schedule, performing regularly in concert halls across Europe, Notes from http://www.maqamworld.com/instruments.html Asia, and the Arab world, this marks their first US tour in Accessed March 7, 2013 over a decade, after Shamma took a stance not to perform in the US during the occupation of Iraq. Shamma’s concert at the Metropolitan Museum on March 9 will be his first U.S. ABOUT THE ARTISTS performance in over ten years, followed by performances in Washington, DC, and Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Naseer Shamma and Al-Oyoun Ensemble CREDITS Naseer Shamma is the leading exponent of the Iraqi ‘oud An Alwan for the Arts Production school, and is part of a legacy that includes masters such as www.alwanforthearts.org Jamil and Munir Bashir. Born in 1963 in al-Kut, in Southern Iraq, Shamma studied at the Baghdad Academy of Music, where he obtained a diploma in Musical Art in 1987. His reputation is built upon a profound knowledge of classical ‘oud traditions and repertoires, astounding virtuosity, This program has been made possible with the support of technical and musical innovation. He is also a highly original the Egyptian Embassy, The Egyptian Education and Cultural composer in his own right. Bureau in Washington DC, and the Egyptian Ministry of Culture

As founder and director of the Cairo-based Bayt Al-‘Oud, the first conservatory dedicated to mastery of the ‘oud, established in 1998, Shamma has served as a mentor for

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UPCOMING PERFORMANCES �� Visit www.clevelandart.org/vivagala for more information about Ana Moura: Fado of Portugal ��performances, including audio/video samples and program notes. Friday,�� March 22, 7:30. “Superb�� young fadista.” –Billboard ��Inca Son ��Naseer Shamma & Ensemble ��Friday, October 26, 7:30 ��Friday, March 15, 7:30 �� Fado (“fate”) arose out of Lisbon cafes to become the † �� Prazak Quartet ��Ana Moura: Fado of Portugal most prized music of Portugal. Ana Moura, a leading ��Wednesday, October 31, 7:30 ��Friday, March 22, 7:30 exponent�� of the genre, interweaves glimmers of hope, �� Jordi Savall & Hespèrion XXI ��Oliver Mtukudzi hints of sensuality, passages of melancholy, and glints of ��Wednesday, November 7, 7:30 ��IN THE ATRIUM determination into a magical musical elixir. $34–$54 ��Friday, April 5, 9:00 �� James Feddeck, solo organ Sunday, January 13, 2:30 ��Paris Combo Music�� in the Galleries �� Friday, April 19, 7:30 Wednesday,�� April 3, 6:00. ��Kronos Quartet �� Friday, January 18, 7:30 ��The Cleveland Orchestra Young artists from the Cleveland Institute of Music and �� King Lear: ��California Masterworks Case Western Reserve University perform an hour-long �� Contemporary Legend Theatre Wednesday & Friday, May 1 & 3, 7:30 concert�� in the galleries.�� Free. �� of Taiwan �� Friday, January 25, 7:30 DANCE PARTY IN THE ATRIUM! �� Oliver Mtukudzi * ��Chanticleer Friday,�� April 5, 9:00. ��IN THE ATRIUM �� Wednesday, January 30, 9:00 “A gorgeous night of polyrhythmic grooves.” –New York �� * ��Flamenco Vivo/Carlota Santana Times �� Friday, February 8, 7:30 In his music, Afro-pop superstar Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi * ��The Idan Raichel Project mixes�� hypnotic guitar loop, percussive beats, and the ��Saturday, February 16, 7:30 �� African thumb piano with his soulful husky voice and ��Victoire vocal�� harmonies to superb effect. Tall, slim and handsome, ��Friday, February 22, 7:30 with�� a big stage presence, an easy manner, and a slick † ��The Art of Naqqali: line�� in dance moves, his live performances pack houses in ��Master Storytellers of Iran prestigious�� stages around the world from the Barbican in ��Wednesday & Friday, March 6 & 8, 7:30 London�� to the Millennium Park in Chicago. $43 ��Saturday & Sunday, March 9 & 10, 2:30 “Tuku”�� prix fixe dinner(7:00 p.m. seating) Menu includes peanut butter stew with organic chicken, free-range antelope with sweet potato purée, cornmeal cake� with toasted sour cream, and other items inspired by the eclectic Zimbabwean culture. $75 (excludes gratuity)

�� * SOLD OUT �� † CANCELED