"Revolutionary... Powerfully atmospheric"
Songlines Magazine
Pioneering Oxford Maqam comprises vocalists and musicians who are renowned experts in their field of Egyptian music and song of the 19th and 20th centuries. They first met over ten years ago, and now regularly sell out venues both at home and internationally, taking their album tour from London's Kings Place to the Kuwait Opera House. Their selfmade album, described as ‘revolutionary’ by Songlines magazine, used recording techniques from over one hundred years ago. Offering fresh and entertaining recreations, they have captured the imaginations of UK, Europe and Middle Eastern audiences alike. Whilst the Arabic music scene is filled with innovators of popular music, Oxford Maqam are innovators of classical Arabic music. Their recovery and revival of heritage works is a highly original process, and their concerts offer a rare opportunity to experience live renditions of a music steeped in Arab heritage.
Oxford Maqam and the Villoteau Transcriptions (1809)
للنسخة العربية إضغط هنا
Our next project will be about one of the earliest sources of written transcriptions of modern Egyptian song – a source that was largely neglected in the Arab world until recently, thanks to Zoheir ElShayeb's translation. This is Guillaume André Villoteau’s De l'état actuel de l'art musical en Egypte of 1827. Villoteau is celebrated in the West as ‘the first ethnomusicologist’, and much has been written about how he invented modern ethnomusicological methods. But what does his work have to tell us about the history of Arabic music? At first sight, we have hundreds of pages of detailed transcription – surely a treasure trove. But a closer glance reveals nothing but problems. Who was Villoteau listening to in Cairo in 1799? How well was he able to listen and understand what he was hearing? To what extent does his research reflect the colonial prejudices and anxieties of his moment? Whatever there is to learn from this intriguing document – from the point of view of those of us interested in histories of modern Arab song – we will have to exercise caution, as well as imagination and a bit of creativity.
للنسخة العربية إضغط هنا
Our next project will be about one of the earliest sources of written transcriptions of modern Egyptian song – a source that was largely neglected in the Arab world until recently, thanks to Zoheir ElShayeb's translation. This is Guillaume André Villoteau’s De l'état actuel de l'art musical en Egypte of 1827. Villoteau is celebrated in the West as ‘the first ethnomusicologist’, and much has been written about how he invented modern ethnomusicological methods. But what does his work have to tell us about the history of Arabic music? At first sight, we have hundreds of pages of detailed transcription – surely a treasure trove. But a closer glance reveals nothing but problems. Who was Villoteau listening to in Cairo in 1799? How well was he able to listen and understand what he was hearing? To what extent does his research reflect the colonial prejudices and anxieties of his moment? Whatever there is to learn from this intriguing document – from the point of view of those of us interested in histories of modern Arab song – we will have to exercise caution, as well as imagination and a bit of creativity.
