Rhaita
Encyclopedia
The rhaita or ghaita is a double reed
instrument from Northern Africa
. It is nearly identical in construction to the Arabic mizmar and the Turkish zurna
.
It is one of the primary instruments used by the Master Musicians of Jajouka and Master Musicians of Joujouka, two traditional music ensembles from Morocco
.
The rhaita was also featured in the three Lord of the Rings
soundtracks by Howard Shore
, specifically in the Mordor
theme. American composer John Corigliano
calls one of the movements of his 1975 Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra "Rhaita Dance," asking the oboist to imitate a rhaita by pushing the reed further into his or her mouth.
Double reed
A double reed is a type of reed used to produce sound in various wind instruments. The term double reed comes from the fact that there are two pieces of cane vibrating against each other. A single reed consists of one piece of cane which vibrates against a mouthpiece made of metal, hardened...
instrument from Northern Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. It is nearly identical in construction to the Arabic mizmar and the Turkish zurna
Zurna
The zurna , is a multinational outdoor wind instrument, usually accompanied by a davul in Anatolian folk music. The name is from Turkish zurna, itself derived from Persian سرنای surnāy, composed of sūr “banquet, feast” and nāy “reed, pipe”...
.
It is one of the primary instruments used by the Master Musicians of Jajouka and Master Musicians of Joujouka, two traditional music ensembles from 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...
.
The rhaita was also featured in the three Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
soundtracks by Howard Shore
Howard Shore
Howard Leslie Shore is a Canadian composer, notable for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for which he won three Academy Awards. He is also a consistent collaborator with director David Cronenberg,...
, specifically in the Mordor
Mordor
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Mordor or Morhdorh was the dwelling place of Sauron, in the southeast of northwestern Middle-earth to the East of Anduin, the great river. Orodruin, a volcano in Mordor, was the destination of the Fellowship of the Ring in the quest to...
theme. American composer John Corigliano
John Corigliano
John Corigliano is an American composer of classical music and a teacher of music. He is a distinguished professor of music at Lehman College in the City University of New York.-Biography:...
calls one of the movements of his 1975 Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra "Rhaita Dance," asking the oboist to imitate a rhaita by pushing the reed further into his or her mouth.
See also
- Master Musicians of Jajouka
- Master Musicians of Joujouka
- GaitaGaitaGaita may refer to:Musical instruments*Various types of bagpipes common to Spain and Portugal such as:** Gaita asturiana, a bagpipe used in the Spanish provinces of Asturias, northern León and western Cantabria...
- ZurnaZurnaThe zurna , is a multinational outdoor wind instrument, usually accompanied by a davul in Anatolian folk music. The name is from Turkish zurna, itself derived from Persian سرنای surnāy, composed of sūr “banquet, feast” and nāy “reed, pipe”...
- MizmarMizmarIn Arabic music, a mizmar is any single or double reed wind instrument. In Egypt, the term mizmar usually refers to the conical shawm that is called zurna in Turkey....
- SornaSornaThe sornā or Sarnā is an ancient Iranian woodwind instrument.-Etymology:...
- SuonaSuonaThe suona ; also called laba or haidi is a Han Chinese shawm . It has a distinctively loud and high-pitched sound, and is used frequently in Chinese traditional music ensembles, particularly those that perform outdoors...
- SopilaSopilaThe sopile is an ancient traditional woodwind instrument of Croatia, similar to the oboe or shawm. It is used in the regions of Kvarner, Kastav, Vinodol, Island Krk, and Istria. Sopile are always played in pair so there are great and small or thin and fat sopila...
- ShawmShawmThe shawm was a medieval and Renaissance musical instrument of the woodwind family made in Europe from the 12th century until the 17th century. It was developed from the oriental zurna and is the predecessor of the modern oboe. The body of the shawm was usually turned from a single piece of wood,...