📰 Aleppine Qudud and Muwashahat… the memory of sound and the identity of place

Damascus, Dec. 17 (SANA) Aleppo is preparing for its anticipated campaign “Aleppo for All,” a city that has shaped a distinctive identity across numerous fields, including music and its rich vocal heritage, one of the most prominent components of Syrian cultural identity. For centuries, Aleppo has been synonymous with qudud and muwashahat, which were never merely musical genres but a complete artistic school that helped shape Arab musical taste. Aleppine Muwashahat… Andalusia with a Levantine soul The art of muwashahat is one of Aleppo’s most valued musical traditions.

It reached its peak in the late 19th century, when Aleppine musicians refined the Andalusian form with exceptional craftsmanship, transforming it into what later became known as Aleppine Muwashahat. These compositions are distinguished by their rhythmic diversity and rich modal structures, giving them a unique artistic character that remains both authentic and ever-renewing. Additionally, aleppine Qudud… one melody, numerous stories Aleppine qudud form the second pillar of Aleppo’s musical identity. Initially inspired by Andalusian melodies, they evolved into a deeply rooted popular art.

Moreover, the term qudud refers to songs built on familiar tunes with entirely emerging lyrics, allowing singers to express emotions and human stories in a direct and sincere manner. Types of Qudud… diverse sources, one spirit Aleppine qudud are divided into multiple types, most notably: – Popular Qudud: traditional songs passed down through generations, with unknown authors and composers. – Muwashah-based Qudud: built on the classical muwashah structure with emerging wording, drawing from three main sources: traditional muwashahat and religious chants from Sufi gatherings folk and heritage songs foreign melodies, especially Turkish and Persian. The uniqueness of Aleppine Tarab Aleppine tarab is distinguished by a unique blend of spirituality and classical artistry. Rooted in religious chanting and expanding into secular singing, it relies on Eastern maqams such as Rast, Bayat, and Saba, along with precise and varied rhythms.

Notably, this distinctiveness established Aleppo’s tarab as a musical school of its own, producing figures who shaped the course of Arab music. Evolution of melodic structure… a vital reading Musician Mohammad Qadri Dallal notes in his book Religious Qudud that some modern qudud feature complex and challenging melodies with wide intervallic leaps, requiring highly trained voices, especially in muwashah-based qudud and those built on instrumental compositions. And Tunisian writer Ilyas Boudan notes… that the origins of Qudud trace back to religious songs performed in Sufi gatherings before their sacred lyrics were replaced with romantic…