ML3754.C632

Includes bibliographical references (p. 501-508) and index included CD

Chapter 1. The Research Topic, Problems, Objectives, and the Tradition Studied 1.1. On Studying the Practice of an Oral Tradition 1.2. The Group and Its Tradition Chapter 2. The Performing Group 2.1. Theoretical Considerations 2.2. Variables That Affect Performance 2.3. Brief Biographical Sketch of a Creative Performer Chapter 3. Pitch and the Maqamat 3.1. Intonation 3.2. Collections of Notes 3.3. The Functions of Important Notes 3.4. Melodic Intervals 3.5. Range 3.6. Motives 3.7. The Phrase Unit 3.8. Summary: A Comparison of the Maqamat by Pitch Factors Chapter 4. Rhythm and Structure 4.1. Duration 4.2. Density Tempo 4.3. Beat and Tempo 4.4. Meter 4.5. Form 4.6. Summary Chapter 5. Melisma and Style 5.1. On the Nature of Melismata 5.2. Studying Melismata: Methods, Examples, and Findings 5.3. Summary Chapter 6. The Text 6.1. General Characteristics of the Texts Examined 6.2. The Main Structural Components of the Text: Poetic Meter and Rhyme 6.3. Summary Chapter 7. Musicopoetic Frames 7.1. Theoretical Background 7.2. Findings 7.3. Summary Chapter 8. The Performer's Role in Shaping the Performance 8.1. The Effect of Types of Performers on Some Significant Musical Components 8.2. The Boundaries of Creativity in Folk Tradition: The Individual Performer Summary The Musical Components The Framework of the Maqamat The Connection with Extramusical Factors The Methodological Model Implications Appendix 1. A Selection of Twenty-Eight Songs Representing the Repertoire The Selection of Songs and Manner of Presentation On the Transcription of the Music and Texts Songs on the Compact Disc Melographic Output for Songs 1, 4, and 10 Analysis of the Texts of Songs 2 and 13 Appendix 2. The Structure of the Traditional Village Wedding Appendix 3. Research Questionnaires Appendix 4. Poetic Structure as a Kind of Musical Regularity: A Comparison of Arabic Poetic Traditions, the Oral Palestinian and the Written Medieval Spanish Notes Bibliography Index

This long-awaited project presents the results of a major research effort to determine the parameters of the stylistic variability of Arab folk music in Israel. Central to this old and highly improvised musical tradition is a unique modal framework that combines the concept of maqam--the foundation of Arab music theory--with other characteristics, including those of the text. Palestinian Arab Music is a comprehensive analysis of this music as actually practiced, examining both musical and nonmusical factors, their connection with the traits of individual performers, and their interaction with sociocultural phenomena. Working initially with their own 1957 invention, the Cohen-Katz Melograph, and later with computers, Dalia Cohen and Ruth Katz recorded and digitized several hundred Palestinian music performances. The authors analyzed the musical tradition in light of its main variables. These include musical parameters, modal frameworks, the form and structure of the music, its poetic texts, and aspects of the social functions of the tradition. As a result of their study, the vexed aspect of intonation in practice is revealed to exist in a special relationship with the scale systems or maqamat, which are in turn of great importance to organizing the music and determining its modal systems.