MUSICAL TRADITIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST: REMINISCENCES OF A DISTANT PAST
A CONFERENCE ON ANCIENT & MODERN MIDDLE EASTERN MUSICOLOGY
Leiden University, The Netherlands
Thursday 10 December 2009 to Saturday 12 December 2009
Sung poetry has a very long tradition going back to ancient times. Famous modern vocalists from the Middle East include classical poems in their repertoire. Even their performances can be linked to the past by ancient texts describing concerts and rituals. Music and poetry flourished at the courts of Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. Iconography depicts musicians and their instruments. Modern Middle Eastern instruments strongly resemble their Mesopotamian and Pharaonic Egyptian predecessors.
Arab, Persian and Turkish theorists from the past, such as the famous mediaeval philosopher al-Farabi, studied Arabic translations of treatises on the modal system in Classical Greek, which in turn trace their origins from ancient Middle Eastern musical theory. They adopted Classical Greek terminology for the modal theory and developed their own theory.
This three-day conference explores poetry set to music in its broadest sense. It will include various forms and genres of art, folk and religious music from all regions in the area. It will deal with ancient music from Egypt to Mesopotamia and examine the question of the continuity of their traditions. Contributions will be invited from leading experts in the field and some scholars and some performers from the Middle East and related areas will be invited to participate. The subject will be approached from different angles, with sessions on the texts of the songs, performance technique, music and identity, musical instruments and ensembles and ancient music as revealed by archaeology.
The conference is open to all other researchers in the field, from the Netherlands and abroad, including students (undergraduate and graduate) and also to performers. It will be of particular pertinence to the work of two newly established institutes in Leiden, the School of Middle Eastern Studies (SMES) and the Academy for Creative and Performing Arts (ACPA), in enabling them to exchange the results of their research in an international context. Further ongoing cooperation between these institutes and other interdisciplinary projects are envisaged.
Scholarly papers on topics within the field are invited from specialists in musicology and Middle Eastern studies, to include Assyriology, Egyptology, Byzantinology as well as Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Kurdish, and Berber. Abstracts of about 200-300 words should be sent to: t.j.h.krispijn@hum.leidenuniv.nl before Monday 2 November 2009.
Further information can be found on the website
http://mustradme.weblog.leidenuniv.nl/2009/03/10/title-125
Organizing committee:
- Dr Gabrielle van den Berg
- Professor Joep Bor
- Theo Krispijn
- Renée Kalvelagen
- Dr Anne van Oostrum
For further inquiries please contact Anne van Oostrum (a.h.van.oostrum@hum.leidenuniv.nl) or Gabrielle van den Berg (g.r.van.den.berg@hum.leidenuniv.nl)
Dr. G. van den Berg and dr. Anne van Oostrum
University of Leiden, Faculty of Humanities
School of Middle Eastern Studies / Persian
Witte Singel 25 / P.O. Box 9515
2300 RA Leiden
The Netherlands
E-mail: g.r.van.den.berg@hum.leidenuniv.nl and a.h.van.oostrum@hum.leidenuniv.nl