Various Artists - Oman: Traditional Arts of the Sultanate of - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Arabian weddings in Oman are multi-day celebrations involving hundreds of participants, announcing to the community a union between two individuals, families, or tribes. In a rapidly modernizing society, weddings are also occasions for Omanis to keep their distinctive regional arts alive. This recording features a diverse assortment of performances by organized groups, which combine singing, poetry, dancing, and instruments including cymbals, drums, a conch trumpet called jim, and the oboe-like mizmar.Recorded in 1990, this previously unreleased album from the UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music captures the sounds of a typical wedding of Omani Arabs in the Batinah, the northern coastal region of Oman. Album Tracks 1. Azi 2. Henna Songs for the Bride 3. Ghina Nisa 4. Lewah 5. Badawiyah 6. Ghina Nisa 7. Qurbah 8. Ritual Hair Cutting 9. Zaffat Al-Mu Aris

The music of Yemen has evolved in a different manner than that of other Arab countries it is predominantly vocal, and it does not use the maqam modal system. Religious restrictions limit the use of musical instruments, but the Yemenite oud (a type of lute or lyre) is the basis for a distinctive prepertoire, with evidence of it's use tracing back to ancient texts. Playing of the oud may be supported by the gasaba (flute), mizmar (clarinet), and drums. Of note on this recording is an excerpt of music from a Yemenite Zafat, or wedding. A Zafat is the most accessible public ceremony in Yemen, and the music becomes the soundtrack to a street procession of the groom and his guests to the wedding house. Although the processional music (a responsorial song) normally lasts about an hour, this example reproduces only the concluding section with common Yemenite traditional melodies. For more on the relationship between the songs and customs, see the liner notes. Album Tracks 1. Chargui and Hakif Dances 2. Ghazal 3. Zar 4. Rahil 5. Aghani Atifi 6. Mutawal 7. Yemenite Zafat (Excerpt) 8. Mutawal 9. Ghina 10. Hakfat

This collection of Music of South Arabia was recorded of a meeting of Bedouin tribesmen in the Western Desert and of Southern Yemenite folk songs from Aden. The music recorded during the tribesmen meeting Inch[gives] a general picture of the festive nature of such a gatheringInch at which sword dances are performed and gun salutes may occur. The songs of the Yemenite Jews on this album showcase the light-hearted ceremonial music performed at a wedding or bris. Album Tracks 1. Gathering Song of the Tribe of Awlaqi 2. Sword Dance 3. Gathering Song of the Tribe of Awdali 4. War Song 5. Love Song 6. Song About the Paying of Taxes 7. Dramatic Representation of Tribal Quarrel 8. Folk Song 9. Dance 10. Wedding Song 11. Wedding Song 12. Love Song 13. Love Song