Tarab () is a classical

Arabic music Arabic music () is the music of the Arab world with all its diverse List of music styles, music styles and genres. Arabic countries have many rich and varied styles of music and also many linguistic Varieties of Arabic, dialects, with each countr ...

genre rooted in folk and traditional styles, popular throughout the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

. In its classical form, it is primarily vocal, with several genres such as adwar,

qasida The qaṣīda (also spelled ''qaṣīdah''; plural ''qaṣā’id'') is an ancient Arabic word and form of poetry, often translated as ode. The qasida originated in pre-Islamic Arabic poetry and passed into non-Arabic cultures after the Arab Mus ...

, mawawil, qudud, and muwashahat.

Umm Kulthum Umm Kulthum (; 31 December 1898 – 3 February 1975) was an Egyptians, Egyptian singer and film actress active from the 1920s to the 1970s. She was given the honorific title (). Immensely popular throughout the Middle East and beyond, Umm Kul ...

is the most famous example of performants of this music genre. Tarab is typically performed on qanun, ney, oud, and

rebab ''Rebab'' (, ''rabāba'', variously spelled ''rebap'', ''rubob'', ''rebeb'', ''rababa'', ''rabeba'', ''robab'', ''rubab'', ''rebob'', etc) is the name of several related string instruments that independently spread via Islamic trading rout ...

and vocalists sing verse-repeating muwashshah, qudud poems, or mawwal for up to hours. Tarab as a musical genre has evolved over 1,000 years, influenced by other cultures and musical styles. Culturally,

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

is considered to be "the Mother of Tarab." Egyptian singer Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Wahhāb came to perform in Aleppo in the 1930s to start his career. Only after sammīʿah (sammīʿah, literally “those who listen well,” were cultured regulars who would attend performances) had approved his musicianship, he rose to fame.

References

{{music stub category:Arabic music

See also

References