Abdessadek Chekkara - Musical Luminary of Tetouan

Here's a lovely cassette from singer and violinist Abdessadek Chekkara (1931-1998). 

Chekkara's musical trajectory spans the traditional and the modern, the colonial period and the era of independence. As a child, he began his musical tutelage at the Zawiya al-Harraq, whose founder, the Shaykh Sidi Mohamed al-Harraq, was an ancestor of his mother. At the zawiya, he gained a traditional foundation in the Moroccan Andalusian repertoire (al-Âla) as well as the musical repertoires associated with Sufi brotherhood practice (dhikr and amdah), joining the zawiya's musical ensemble when he reached the age of 14. In 1947 he broadened his musical education by enrolling at the Music Institute in Tetouan, undertaking techincal training on the violin and leading student ensembles. He spent time collecting poetry and music from oral traditions, and by 1956 became an instructor at the Institute. 

In the late 1950s Chekkara began a recording career, recording songs from the Tetouani popular, religious, and Andalusi traditions, as well as his own compositions. While becoming a successful recording artist, it appears that Chekkara remained active in musical instructional activities and community performances in Tetouan, retaining his position at the Institute and leading Friday dhikr at the zawiya.

The most well-known song associated with him is probably his composition "Bint Bladi" (lyrics by Abderrahmane al-Alami). The album containing this song is available on the streaming platforms:

"Bint Bladi" ("Girl of my homeland") famously contains an interpolation of the Spanish folk song "La Tarara", saying something about the musical, historical, and/or cultural relationship between Tetouan and Andalusia, or Morocco and Spain. Tetouan was a major recipient of Muslim and Jewish refugees after the fall of Granada in 1492, thus becoming a primary site of retention for Andalusian culture (including music). Tetouan was also the capital of the Spanish protectorate of Morocco from 1913 to 1956. 

On a tangential note, another Chekkara song from the above album, "Ya Wlidi" was given a fantastic Son Jarocho treatment by Moroccan singer Nabyla Maan in 2009. In my old band I always wanted to do something that combined the Moroccan chaabi 6/8 rhythm with the Mexican sesquialtera 6/8, but Nabyla beat us to it:

Anyway... the album I'm sharing today is similar to the "Bint Bladi" album, containing what I believe are compositions by Chekkara in Tetouani style, recorded with a large orchestra and choir (perhaps from the Tetouan Music Institute). Delightful stuff. 

What caught me off guard was the exquisite instrumental improvisation and mawwal that begin track B2 "Laghram Manaa Wa Siib". On first casual listen, I thought the improvisation was being played on some sort of electric keyboard. On second listen, I think it's a piano being played without use of pedal, recorded in a large room with natural reverb. This whole performance is wonderful - the piano improvisation gives way to a mawwal sung by Chekkara with piano responses and a violin improvisation (I assume also played by Chekkara). The use of piano in Arab Andalusian music is something I associate primarily with Algerian traditions, but apparently is also used in the Tetouani tradition. And I swear I can hear birds chirping in the garden in quiet passages!

The album was originally issued as an LP. My cassette copy is clearly a rip from a well-loved vinyl complete with pops and clicks. I took some extra time to remove as many clicks as possible from the aforementioned mawwal and improvisation. 

Hope you enjoy! 

Abdessadak Chqara عبد الصادق شقارة
Tichkaphone cassette TCK 605 تشكافون

A1 Ana Mzawag أنا مزاوݣ
A2 Kane Msafer كان مسافر
A3 Saadia السعدية
B1 Laghram Ma Andou Dwa الغرام ما عندو دوا
B2 Laghram Manaa Wa Siib الغرام مانع وصعيب

FLAC | 320

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Sources consulted:

Ourari Ali.  "في ذكرى رحيل أحد أعمدة الموسيقى اﻷندلسية..  الفنان عبد الصادق شقارة الذي تجاوز فنه حدود الوطن". Al-Ittihad, 12 November 2018.

Mohamed Al-Qadi. "عبد الصادق شقارة فنان تطوان الأصيل". Folk Culture, Issue 11 (Autumn 2010) Music and Movement Performance, pp 136-141.

Ali Al-Zougari. "الفنان عبد الصادق شقارة أحد أعلام الآلة والذكر والموال والكمان والموسيقى التراثية التطوانية". Pp. 11-18 in عبد الصادق شقارة : حياه ونغمة. Tetouan: Association Tetouan Asmir, 1996.