Tarek Abdallah is an Egyptian

oud , image=File:oud2.jpg , image_capt=Syrian oud made by Abdo Nahat in 1921 , background= , classification= * String instruments *Necked bowl lutes , hornbostel_sachs=321.321-6 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum , ...

player,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

who lives in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Biography

Tarek Abdallah was born in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

in 1975. He had been attracted to the

since his childhood, after having seen a comedian playing the instrument on TV, but due to the opposition of his family, he had to wait until he was 19 to touch one for the first time in his life. Studying with the Alexandrian master Hazem Shaheen, he practiced 10 hours a day in order to enter The

Arabic Oud House The Arabic Oud House () is a music school for the traditional Arabic lute called oud in Cairo, Egypt. Founded by Iraqi oud player Naseer Shamma, the school has trained a new generation of oud players and subsequently opened branches in the United ...

, an oud school created in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

by the Iraqi master

Naseer Shamma Naseer Shamma ( ar, نصير شمه) is an Iraqi musician and oud player. He was born in 1963 in Kut, a city on the Tigris River. He began studying the oud at the age of 12 in Baghdad, following in the footsteps of Jamil and Munir Bashir. He re ...

. He graduated from there with an excellence award. He lives in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

since 2001 and conducts

musicology Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

research at the

Lumière University Lyon 2 Lumière University Lyon 2 (french: Université Lumière Lyon 2) is one of the three universities that comprise the current University of Lyon, having splintered from an older university of the same name, and is primarily based on two campuses in ...

, about the notion of virtuosity in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

between 1904 and 1932. He analyses the evolution of the style, of the ornament and of the

instrumental technique Musical technique is the ability of instrumental and vocal musicians to exert optimal control of their instruments or vocal cords in order to produce the precise musical effects they desire. Improving one's technique generally entails practicin ...

. He has been invited in several

Arabic countries The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western As ...

in order to give

master class A master class is a Class (education), class given to students of a particular Academic discipline, discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also science, painting, drama, games, or on any other occasion where skills are b ...

es. He released his first album, ''Wasla'', with the percussion player Adel Shams El-Din, in 2015.

Style

The album ''Wasla'' draws from music of the Nahda (Renaissance) era (1910 – 1930). It is based on the waslah form, which is a musical suite in one

mode Mode ( la, modus meaning "manner, tune, measure, due measure, rhythm, melody") may refer to: Arts and entertainment * '' MO''D''E (magazine)'', a defunct U.S. women's fashion magazine * ''Mode'' magazine, a fictional fashion magazine which is ...

with varying

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...

s. But contrary to the music of the

Nadha ''Nadha'' is the third studio album by Chilean pop rock band Kudai, released on May 13, 2008 through EMI Music in Latin America, and on August 5, 2008 through Capitol Records in United States. Produced by Koko Stambuk and Carlos Lara, the album ...

era, his music is purely

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

. Some of the rhythms used in the album are very complex, some of them were used only once in the tradition, some of hem were invented. The French magazine

Les Inrockuptibles ''Les Inrockuptibles'' () is a French cultural magazine. Started as a monthly magazine in 1986, it became weekly in 1995. Now it is a monthly again, since 2021. In the beginning, rock music was the magazine's primary focus, though every issue in ...

praised Abdalla’s “sober and refined way of playing, with a naked and very pure

melody A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...

, indifferent to frivolity, of irreproachable

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...

“.

External links

Official websiteConcert of Tarek Abdallah and Adel Shams El-Din, 14 July 2014 (46 minutes)Interview of Tarek Abdallah in English

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdallah, Tarek 1975 births Egyptian musicians 21st-century composers Living people Egyptian oud players 21st-century male musicians Male composers People from Alexandria