At-Tarab Al-Andalusi Al-Maghribi - Orchestre Al-Brihi, Haj Abdelkrim Raïs, Abderrahim Souiri, Abdeslam Sefiani

Here are a pair of delightful albums of Moroccan tarab al andalusi (aka al âla, aka Arab-Andalusian music). These come to us courtesy of Peter Doolan, curator of the great Monrakplengthai blog. 

Haj Abdelkrim Raïs (1912-1996) was a pivotal figure in the Moroccan Andalusi musical tradition. His career spanned from the era of the French protectorate to that of independence and from the era of oral tradition to that of mechanical reproduction (recordings and transcriptions) and the documentation of patrimony. He began his career performing with the Al-Brihi Orchestra in his native Fes. After the death of the orchestra's leader Mohamed al-Brihi in 1946, Raïs took over leadership of the orchestra but retained its name Al-Brihi in honor of his master. 

In addition to maintaining the performance and transmission of the centuries-old Moroccan al âla repertoire with the al-Brihi Orchestra, Raïs worked to document the repertoire through published works. Among these are a collection of poetry drawn from the repertoire and a complete musical transcription of the nouba (suite) Gharibat Al-Husayn. 

Raïs also made many recordings over the span of his career. He recorded 4 complete noubas as part of the anthology of CD box sets produced by Maison Des Cultures Du Monde with the Moroccan Ministry of Culture in the 1990s. The Nûba al Istihlal recording is available on streaming platforms and it is 7 hours and 40 minutes in duration. The earliest recording of his that I found is that made by Paul Bowles for the Library of Congress in 1959. I had a look at Hachlaf's discography of Arab music on 78s but did not see any entries for the al-Brihi Orchestra. You can find many other recordings of his on Discogs.

As I've written before, I find the Moroccan commercial cassettes of tarab al-andalusi to be more enjoyable than those recordings made for international audiences. The cassettes are made with a Moroccan audience in mind and tend to be more energetic and less clinical sounding than those made for the international audience or for more documentary purposes. Please enjoy these, which feature the singers Abderrahim Souiri and Abdelam Sefiani.

Haj Abdelkrim Raïs الحاج عبد الكريم الرايس

Al-Jawq Al-Brihi الجَوق البريهي
B-Riasa برئاسَة
Al-Haj Âbdelkrim Ar-Raïs الحَاج عَبْد الكَرَّيم الرايَس
At-Tarab Al-Andalusi Al-Maghribi الحَاج عَبْد الكَرَّيم الرايَس
Al-Juz 1  الجزءا  & Al-Juz 2 الجزء٢ 

The Al-Brihi Orchestra
Under the direction of
Haj Abdelkrim Raïs
Moroccan Tarab al-Andalusi
Volume 1 & Volume 2

Fassi Disque cassettes 1 & 2
    
1A) Nouba Al-Hijaz Al-Kabir نوبة الحجاز الكبير
       Mawwal: Abderrahim Souiri موال عبد الرحيم الصويري

1B) Insiraf Al-Btaihi Al-Ôchak انصراف البطائحي العشاق
       Mawwal: Al-Munshid (Abdeslam) Al-Sefiani موال المنشد السفياني

2A) Nouba Rasd نوبة الرصد
       Mawwal: Abderrahim Souiri موال عبد الرحيم الصويري
       excerpt:

2B) Insiraf Al-Btaihi Al-Quddam انصراف البطائحي القدام منه
       Mawwal: Al-Munshid (Abdeslam) Al-Sefiani موال المنشد السفياني

FLAC | 320

Al-Hajj Muhammad Al-Barraq - Praises and Supplications

Ramadan Mubarak! Wishing you all a month of reflection, remembrance, and inspiriation. Here is a cassette of amdah religious chants from the reciter Al-Hajj Muhammad Al-Barraq and his group. This is a lovely cassette featuring only vocals - both solo and group. 

I cannot find much information about the reciter Al-Barraq. He released several cassettes of religious chants on Tichkaphone - you can find three of them still available on the wonderful but defunct blog Oriental Traditional Music from LPs & Cassettes. 

The j-card and the cassette shell lists the titles of 2 poems: 

• Side 1: Assalatu Âla L-Mudallal Bilghmama الصَّلاة عَلى المُضَلَّلِ بالغمامة 
• Side 2: Talâa L-Badru Âlayna طَلعَ البَدر عَلَيْنَا

I hear just a few verses of each of these poems on side 1 and none on side 2, but I have retained the track names as listed. Here is an excerpt of side 1 containing some verses of Assalatu Âla L-Mudallal Bilghmama:

The poem title translates as "Prayers for the one one shaded by a cloud". This refers to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), of whom it is said that in his youth when he walked under the hot Arabian sun, a small cloud followed him around to provide him with shade.

Talâa L-Badru Âlayna is probably the most famous poem in the Islamic tradition. The cassette features just one verse from this poem, at the end of side 1. The recordings feature verses from many different poems, flowing without interruption. Hope you enjoy!

Al-Hajj Muhammad Al-Barraq and Ensemble الحَاج مُحمّد البرّاق والمجموعَة
Amdah w Ibtihalat (Praises and Supplications) أمداح  وابتهالات
Min Anshad (chanted by) من انشَاد
Al-Muqri Al-Hajj Muhammad Al-Baraq المقري الحاج محمّد البرّاق
Tichkaphone cassette TCK 843 تشکافون

A) Assalatu Âla L-Mudallal Bilghmama الصَّلاة عَلى المُضَلَّلِ بالغمامة
B) Talâa L-Badru Âlayna طَلعَ البَدر عَلَيْنَا

FLAC | 320

Muluk el Hwa - Kasbah (1992)

Kasbah is the third of the three albums released in Spain by Marrakchi folk ensemble Muluk el Hwa. Recorded in 1991 and released in 1992, the excellent album shows some personnel and stylistic changes from the previous album, but many continuities as well.

Remaining in the group for this album are guinbri player Hassan Larfaoui and percussionist Sidi Mohamed Sahal as well as the artistic director of the group, Abderrahim Elaadili. On the previous album Cançons De Jmà-El-Fnà, Elaadili is not credited with singing or playing an instrument, only with "Dirección", and as lyricist and arranger on some songs. On this album, Elaadili adds percussion, vocals, and the cover illustration to his credits.

The departure of Abderrahim Ben Bich and Abdeljalil Koddsi removed two of the group's composers and arrangers. Filling the gap in a big way on this album is Abdeljalil Belkabir. Belkabir was a member of the group Tagada from 1973 to 1977 [1], and he provides arrangement and musical composition on 5 of the album's 7 songs. He also provides banjo, oud, and vocals to the session. Other new members add flute, oud, and violin, broadening the group's musical textures while retaining its acoustic character.

The result is another excellent mix of traditional songs and original compositions. The fine original songs "Soubanak" and "Hadafna" would appear again later on Nass Marrakech's 2000 debut album Sabil 'A 'Salaam as "Allah" and "Salaam Aleikum" (with different composer credits as well 🤔). And the folk sources include Gnawa, Sahrawi (a remake/rearrangement of "Tafla Zina"), and Hawara of Agadir (the energetic "Sidi Hbibi"). The expanded instrumental palette allows for different pairings of melodic instruments on different songs - the version of the Gnawa song "Hammadi", for example, uses violin and flute, giving it an almost Irish flavor. I hope you enjoy the album!

 

Muluk el Hwa املوك لهوا
Kasbah قصبة
Di-fusió Mediterrània LP DMM-41
1992

A1 Banguey بانڭري
A2 Tafla Zina الطفلة زينة
A3 Essayeh السايح
B1 Hammadi حمادي
B2 Sidi Hbibi سيدي احبيبي
B3 Soubanak سبعانك
B4 Hadafna هدفنا

320 | FLAC

[1] according to a post on the Tagada Officiel Facebook page