The Middle East

Required Reading and Listening

Arab Music (parts 1-4) by Ali Jihad Racy & Jack Logan

Listening to Umm Kulthum by Virginia Danielson

Notes on the Listening Examples (here) by Jim Grippo

Discussion Points for documentary: Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt (here) by Jim Grippo

Listening Examples

UCSB Arts Library/Electronic Reserves

Interested in Middle Eastern Music? Here's some names to look for:

Singers:

Umm Kulthum, Mohammad 'Abd al-Wahhab, Farid al-Atrash, 'Abd al-Halim Hafez, Sayyid Darwish, Sabah Fakhri, Sayyid Makkawi, Aisha Redouane. Contemporary: Hakim, Natacha Atlas, Diana Haddad, Hisham 'Abass, Ahmed 'Adaweya.

Instrumentalists:

Munir Bashir ('ud), Simon Shaheen ('ud and violin), Shajarian "brothers" (Persian), Omar Naqshabendi ('ud), Ahmed al-Hifnawi (violin), Sami Sorour (sax).

Helpful Resources (Links)

www.antiwar.com - a great source for daily news from all over the world.

www.indymedia.org - news, independent reporting, stories that almost nobody hears!

www.democracynow.org - is a national, listener-sponsored public radio and TV show, pioneering the largest community media collaboration in the country.

www.cursor.org - an excellent resource for information: news, critique, hundreds of other links.