Old Iraqi Music
Iraqi Music
In 1950, when the mass emigration of Iraqi Jews started
in earnest, I began to collect recordings of Iraqi music
which was mainly by Jewish musicians and Moslem singers
especially Rashid al Qundartchi, Mohammed al Qubantchi,
Nathem al Ghazali and others.
During the reign of Abdul Karim Qassem which was favourable
to the Jews, I visited the Broadcasting House and obtained
from its archives a number of exclusive tapes which I used
to enjoy privately for many years.
With the advance in technology and introduction of CD recordings,
our friend Victor Tchenguis offered to arrange for the professional
cleaning of the tapes of Rashid and to transfer them on
compact discs. The result has been a great success, resulting
in a set of five CDs covering all the maqams that were sung
by Rashid.
Mr Heskel Kojaman who is great authority on Iraqi music
has kindly provided us with the wording of 19 of the maqams
of Rashid which would add tremendously to the enjoyment
of the recorded discs.
please download Real
Audio player to listen to these tracks
listen
to CD 1
listen to CD 2: 1
2
listen to CD 3: 1
2 3
listen to CD 4: 1
2 3
listen
to CD 5
Dear Heskel
Thank you for sending the words of some of Rashid's maqams
and I have pleasure in enclosing 5 CD's consisting of all
the recorded maqams of Rashid which I would like you to
review for The Scribe, and make any comments that you may
think appropriate.
When I left Iraq 40 years ago I brought with me some tapes
of Iraqi music, some of them directly from Broadcasting
House in Baghdad. The tapes of Rashid's maqam have now been
cleaned and transferred onto 5 compact discs. I enclose
herewith a list of the contents, which may help you to identify
the various maqams.
Naim Dangoor
Review of the Rashid Maqam
By Mr. Kojaman
It was with pleasure and surprise that I received some
days ago a parcel of 5 CDs which included the entire recordings
of Rashid Al-Kundarchi and recordings of such other famous
Maqam singers such as Yusif Horesh and
Najem Al-Shaikhly, with a kind letter from Naim Dangoor.
Rashid Al-Kundarchi is one of the greatest Iraqi Maqam
singers of the twentieth century. He took the Maqam from
the great singer Ahmad Zaydan and was probably his best
follower. He was the favourite singer at the Jewish Chalghi
nights, which usually lasted till morning. He was also the
Maqam expert at the Iraqi Broadcasting Station, where he
auditioned Iraqi Maqam singers and chose those who were
suitable for singing on the radio broadcasts. He held this
position until his death in 1945 when another Maqam expert,
Salman Moshi, took on the responsibility until 1950.
It is known that Rashid Al-Kundarchi recorded fifty-two
78 rpm recordings of Maqams and Pastas, which are all included
in the 5 CD's. One of his songs was the famous Jewish wedding
song "Afaki Afaki" which he sang in its original
Jewish dialect. It is commonly agreed that it is the best
recording of this song although all Iraqi Maqam singers,
even so many years after the Jewish emigration, still sing
"Afaki Afaki" in its Jewish dialect. In all Al-Kundarchi's
recordings the Chalghi players are all Jewish musicians
- such as Hugi Patao (santur) and Saleh Shummail (joza).
The assistant singer who accompanied Al-Kundarchi in some
of the Pastas was a famous Iraqi Maqam singer called Heskel
Muallim. A short while before Al-Kundarchi died, he recorded
Maqam Ibrahimi for the radio, in a performance which lasted
one hour. It is said to be the best Ibrahimi ever sung.
Unfortunately I never had the chance of hearing this Ibrahimi
for it is rarely known.
The fact that Mr Dangoor, after so many years, has now
taken upon himself the task of cleaning up and transferring
these recordings from reel to reel tapes to CDs shows how
deeply the Iraqi Maqams are rooted in the heart of the Iraqi
Jews. Naim Dangoor is one of the best fans of the Iraqi
Maqam.
I am also a fan of the Iraqi Maqam. I have written two books
on the subject. One in Arabic: "The Contemporary Art
Music of Iraq", and the other- which includes two CDs-
in English: "The Maqam Music Tradition of Iraq",
which in my opinion should be kept in every home library
of Iraqi Jewish families, not only for the pleasure of the
older generation, but also for the younger generation, who
should have an idea of how our parents and grandparents
used to entertain themselves and what their life style was
like.
Mr. Dangoor and Kojaman are no exception in their love of
Iraqi Maqam. Thousands of Jews living in Israel and scattered
all over the world are still avid fans of the Iraqi Maqam.
Note: Mr Kojaman is prepared, with pleasure, to send one
or both of his books, without any obligation to every Iraqi
Jewish family who desires to read them and keep them in
home libraries. His contact details are:
Y. Kojaman
116 Hanover Road
London NW10 3DP
U.K.
Tel/Fax: 44- 02083570690
Email: veheskel@koiaman.freeserve.co.uk
If
you would like to make any comments or contribute to The
Scribe please contact
us.
