Rough Guide to Bellydance

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Free Music Notes for Rough Guide to Bellydance

Free Music Review: Classical raqs sharqi music
Hit: 5 Stars

The CD has fifteen instrumental tracks, any which would be ideal for performances. The music originates in various countries, like Turkey, Egypt, Syria, the United States, Lebanon, and Germany. Songs range from peppy drum solos to ciftetellis, and some have the old-fashioned sound of Oum Kulthum's music. It runs the gamut from folk pieces to classic solo dancer showcases. In the case of Ahmad Fouad Hasan's "Dimashq", the track has the sound of a big Arabic-Andalusian orchestra and appears to have been remastered from decades-old master tapes. None of these pieces are modern-sounding, so should appeal to more traditional dancers. Each of the tracks are excellent, so should appeal to pretty much everyone!

Mahmoud Fadl's "Aament Bellah" is the CD's longest track, weighing in at a hefty twelve minutes. It follows a masmoudi rhythm, and with an accordian, tells an Egyptian story of poverty and pain alleviated by the power of music and dance. By the end, the drums have worked themselves up to a fever pitch.

The next piece, "Enta Omri" by Jalilah and Mokhtar Al Said, is a very emotional song first written for the legendary Oum Kulthum. "Enta Omri" translates to "You are my life", and was written by Abdel Wahab. Both the melody and rhythm beg to be danced to in the Egyptian style.

Mohamed Matar's "Adawar" showcases the Lebanese buzuq and zill-playing. With its rather staccato phrasing, I think it would be a very fun piece for performance.

Omar Faruk Tekbilek follows the karsilama rhythm with "Laz". It's a time signature foreign to western listener's ears, but a very common one in Turkey and Romany.

Kemani Cemal Cinarli has another Turkish rhythm western ears may not be familiar with: a slow, heavy ciftetelli. It is an 8-beat rhythm, and is closely related to the Egyptian wahda kabira rhythm. The melody, however, is the star of this piece. The violin draws the dancer up, up, up, extending through the ribs, undulating through the abdomen, and sliding out through outstretched arms.

Armando El Mafufo's "Arruga La Camisa" is the most fun piece on the CD. It's also the only track with voice, although the voice is used more like a punctuation than for singing. It, maybe more than any other song on this CD, makes me want to work out a dance routine. The changes in the drum solos are often enough that dance couldn't really be ad libbed. No, this challenging piece requires a strong familiarization.

In sum, my favourite pieces on the album are the drum solos, but that is personal taste and does not mean the other tracks are somehow weaker.

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