Various Artists - Yemen: Traditional Music of the North - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

After the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BCE, a group of Jews settled in Yemen. They remained in exile, sometimes prosperous but frequently persecuted, until the 19th century. They then began to return to what is now Israel, first in small numbers and later in an organized wave with the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948. They brought with them a rich heritage of religious, secular, and devotional (diwan) music, the last of which includes both religious and secular subjects.Every Jewish community in Yemen had it's own diwan, consisting of works from the renowned medieval Spanish poets of the Golden Age of Hebrew poetry, as well as original writings from community members. These poems, in the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic languages, were intended to be sung or chanted. According to the album's compiler Avner Bahat of the Jewish Music Research Centre, the Yemenite diwan is Inchthe richest and most valuable of all.Inch Eleven poems are presented in this 1976-77 recording. Structurally, the diwan is divided into three sections nashid (an improvisational response sung without music or dance accompaniment), shira (the primary singing section featuring dance and rhythmic accompaniment on tin cans or copper plates), and hallel (a song of praise restricted to two or three notes around the tonic).

In the 19th century, Oman extended into parts of the East African coast, along the Arabian Gulf, and on the Makran coast of what is now Pakistan. Although the country's borders are smaller today, the culture retains many influences from it's former African, Asian, and Arabian territories and it's location on major trade routes. In addition, the Sultan's court and government entities, including national television, play important roles as patrons of the performing arts.The musicians on this album are professional or semi-professional, but historically, social music in Oman was performed by slaves or servants. Traditionally, there were many occasions for musical performance beyond life-cycle rituals and prayers, but some, such as communal manual labor, have lapsed into irrelevance with the modernization of Oman in the 1970s, according to the liner notes. The recordings on this album, made by Dieter Christensen in 1990 and 1991, range from chanting poetry and sword dances (razhah) to praise poetry and sailor songs, representing the country's rich heritage and regional variations.

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