Mawwal
Encyclopedia
In Arabic music, the mawwāl (موال; plural: mawāwīl, مواويـل) is a traditional genre of vocal music that is usually presented before the actual song begins. It is characterized by spelling vowel
syllable
s longer than usual. In any mawwal, the music begins with a layali
(ليالي), in which the listener will hear the common phrase "Ya Ain Ya Lail" (يا عين يا ليل), which means "Oh eye, Oh night."
Mawwal is sung in colloquial rather than classical Arabic
. The genre has links to historical forms of Arabic poetry
and music and the singer demonstrates his skill with non-metrical melodic improvisation on a poetic narrative
text and melody
.
, the musicians of Mawawil play the rabab (a double-stringed spike fiddle
made from half of a coconut shell covered with fish skin and a bow strung with horse hair), the kawala
(an end-blown, oblique flute
with six holes) and the arghoul (an ancient double clarinet
characterized by two pipe
s of unequal length. The second pipe serves as a drone and can be lengthened by adding pieces. The player uses the technique of circular breathing to produce an uninterrupted sound). The arghoul can be traced back to Pharaonic times
as it is exactly depicted on wall paintings of the temples of the third dynasty. Amin Shahin is one of the few remaining arghoul players in Egypt, since the death of arghoul master, Moustafa Abd al Aziz in 2001.
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
syllable
Syllable
A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. For example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter. A syllable is typically made up of a syllable nucleus with optional initial and final margins .Syllables are often considered the phonological "building...
s longer than usual. In any mawwal, the music begins with a layali
Layali
Layālī is a style of unmetered modal improvisation, based on a maqam, performed by a singing voice in Arabic music. It is similar to the taqsim, which is performed by a solo instrument....
(ليالي), in which the listener will hear the common phrase "Ya Ain Ya Lail" (يا عين يا ليل), which means "Oh eye, Oh night."
Mawwal is sung in colloquial rather than classical Arabic
Classical Arabic
Classical Arabic , also known as Qur'anic or Koranic Arabic, is the form of the Arabic language used in literary texts from Umayyad and Abbasid times . It is based on the Medieval dialects of Arab tribes...
. The genre has links to historical forms of Arabic poetry
Arabic poetry
Arabic poetry is the earliest form of Arabic literature. Present knowledge of poetry in Arabic dates from the 6th century, but oral poetry is believed to predate that. Arabic poetry is categorized into two main types, rhymed, or measured, and prose, with the former greatly preceding the latter...
and music and the singer demonstrates his skill with non-metrical melodic improvisation on a poetic narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
text and melody
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
.
Etymology
Mawwal means "affiliated with," "associated with," or "connected to." The verb is waala. It is measure 3 of the root verb "Walia", which means to follow, be affiliated with, support, or sponsor. Originally the verbal noun has a Yaa in the definite form but it loses it when the world is indefinite.Mawwal in Egypt
In EgyptEgypt
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...
, the musicians of Mawawil play the rabab (a double-stringed spike fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
made from half of a coconut shell covered with fish skin and a bow strung with horse hair), the kawala
Kawala
The kāwālā is an end-blown cane flute used in Arabic music. It is similar to the ney but has six finger holes, while the ney has seven . The kawala comes in up to nine different sizes, according to the maqam....
(an end-blown, oblique flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
with six holes) and the arghoul (an ancient double clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
characterized by two pipe
Pipe (material)
A pipe is a tubular section or hollow cylinder, usually but not necessarily of circular cross-section, used mainly to convey substances which can flow — liquids and gases , slurries, powders, masses of small solids...
s of unequal length. The second pipe serves as a drone and can be lengthened by adding pieces. The player uses the technique of circular breathing to produce an uninterrupted sound). The arghoul can be traced back to Pharaonic times
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
as it is exactly depicted on wall paintings of the temples of the third dynasty. Amin Shahin is one of the few remaining arghoul players in Egypt, since the death of arghoul master, Moustafa Abd al Aziz in 2001.
See also
- MuwashshahMuwashshahMuwashshah or muwaššaḥ can mean:...
- Andalusian classical musicAndalusian classical musicAndalusian classical music is a style of Moorish music found across North Africa in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. It originates out of the music of Al-Andalus between the 9th and 15th centuries....
- MalhunMalhunMalhun or milhun , meaning "the melodic poem", is a Moroccan music that borrows its modes from the Andalusian music...
- QasidaQasidaThe qaṣīdaᵗ , in Arabic: قصيدة, plural qasā'id, قــصــائـد; in Persian: قصیده , is a form of lyric poetry that originated in preIslamic Arabia...
- RubaiyatRubaiyat"Rubāʿī" is Arabic for "quatrain", and is used to describe a Persian quatrain, or its derivative form in English and other languages. The plural form of the word, rubāʿiyāt ,often anglicised rubaiyat , is used to describe a collection of such quatrains.There are a number of possible rhyme schemes...
External links
- Fi Lina Ya Hub - A mawwal by FairuzFairuzNouhad Wadi Haddad , famously known as Fairuz is a Lebanese singer who is widely considered to be the most famous living singer in the Arab world and one of the best known of all time...