L'Hajja L'Hamdaouya and her Âita Big Band

Here's another vintage album from âita pioneer L'Hajja L'Hamdaouya. These are some classic âita marsawiya and chaâbi tunes here, the sort you would hear typically with a small ensemble (oud, viola, derbuka, bendir) such as that of Bouchaib el Bidaoui. Hamdaouya performs them here with a larger ensemble including several violas, flute, and tar (tambourine). Interesting to hear the âita-style viola riffing with multiple violas, and the nice looooooose heterophony and prominent tambourine give these recordings an almost Arab-Andalusian âla vibe in places. And on top of that, it also manages to rock!

Some of these songs can be heard by other performers elsewhere in the Stash. "Ma Cheftou Leghzal" appears by Bouchaib el Bidaoui here. And "Elghaba" appears (in a version about 7 times faster) by Hamid Zahir and Alfarqat Almarrakchiya here. Enjoy!

L'Hajja L'Hamdaouya - TCK647
01 Errabta 1

02 Errabta 2
03 Essa'diya
04 Elghaba
05 Ma Cheftou Leghzal

Get it all here.

L'Hajja L'Hamdawya again

Here's another Hamdawya cassette - seems to have been recorded at the same time as the one I posted last week. It has that same electric guitar and funky harpsichordey thing going on. (Plus the catalogue numbers are consecutive.)


Track 2 is the oldie "Hbibi Dyali", recorded by, among others, the great Zohra al Fassia. Track titles are taken right from the j-card except for track 4, which is unlisted. It's a tune I've heard before at Moroccan Arab weddings, played by chaâbi bands when they need to play something that sounds Berber. (This is needed if, as is common, the bride puts on a Berber-style outfit at some point during the wedding.) Note the typically Tachelhit pentatonic melody + use of the clanging naqqus.

1) Shouf ar-Rouida Ma Dir
2) Hbibi Dyali
3) 'Alah A Lalla Hyani
4) Ayla ha Lilila Ayli Awa

5) Ta'rida

Get it here.

L'Hajja L'Hamdawya - 'Nuff Said!

I was thrilled to see the return of the fantastic diva L'Hajja L'Hamdawya to prominence in Morocco over the last decade. Through the '90s and early 2000s (when I spent a lot of time in Morocco), she seemed like nothing but a sepiatone memory. A well-loved celebrity from the '50s &'60s who, it was said, had fallen on hard times, been too generous (or foolhardy) with her money, and was now living in obscurity somewhere in Casablanca. Over the last 10 years, she's proved to be not only alive and well, but in fantastic voice, now into her '80s.



She began her career singing aita marsawiya and was one of the first artists to sing it on television (when it was still considered provocative music of ill-repute). Notably, she also performed and recorded with large orchestras of the chanson moderne style favored by Moroccan television and radio in the 50's-'60s. Such orchestras were usually reserved for artists working in the Arab-Art-Music of long-form compositions rather than the folkloric aita and popular chaâbi song forms. According to a Moroccan scholar I spoke with years ago, the sight of a woman holding the iconic bendir or ta'rija of the aita in front of one of these large orchestras was something unheard of, back in the day.


(video and audio are out of sync, but here's a rare vintage TV appearance of Hajja Hamdaouia)

This cassette features a more stripped-down ensemble - not a full orchestra, but just a couple of violas, a flute, a harpsichordey keyboard, and an electric guitar (in addition to the percussion). I'm guessing this recording is from the 1960s or early 1970s. I own an LP with this same photo on it (as well as a couple other cassettes with the same photo), so I'm guessing this is a cassette reissue of an earlier LP release.

1) Ach Ja Idir?

2) Al Asmar I'jebni
3) Ayamna Ayamna
4) Allah Ya'tik B-Sber
5) Wlida Wlida - Dawr Biha

Get it here.