El Hadj M'Hamed El Anka (), (May 20, 1907 in

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

– November 23, 1978 in

) also known as Hadj Muhammed Al Anka, El-Hadj M'Hamed El Anka (and various other combinations), was considered a Grand Master of Andalusian classical music and

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

n chaâbi music.

Early life

He was born on May 20, 1907, under the name Ait Ouarab Mohamed Idir Halo, on 4 Rue Tombouctou in the

Casbah of Algiers The Casbah of Algiers, commonly referred to as the Casbah (Arabic: القصبة, Al-qaṣabah, meaning "citadel"), corresponds to the old town or Medina quarter, medina of Algiers, the capital of Algeria. It is a historic district that has been l ...

. His family, Ait Ouarab, were originally from Taguersift near to Freha in Greater Kabylia; his father was Mohamed Ben Hadj Saîd, and his mother was Fatma Bent Boudjemaâ. His father was taken ill on the day of his birth, and had to be replaced by a maternal uncle for registering the birth, which caused an error recording his name. His uncle presented himself as such to the registry employee, by saying "Ana Khalou" ("I am his uncle" in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

), and the employee wrote "Halo". So he became Halo Mohamed Idir from then on. He studied in three schools from 1912 to 1918: Koranic (1912–14), Brahim Fatah (in the Casbah) from 1914–17, and another in

Bouzaréah Bouzareah or Bouzaréah () is a suburb of Algiers, Algeria. It had a population of 69,200 people in 1998pop ...

until 1918. He left school to go to work before his 11th birthday.

Musical career

At the age of 13, the orchestra leader sheik Mustapha Nador noticed his passion and innate sense of rhythm at a festival his group was playing at, and took him on as a Tardji (

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...

player) with his orchestra. The sheik and orchestra taught him the

mandola The mandola (US and Canada) or tenor mandola (Ireland and UK) is a fretted, stringed musical instrument. It is to the mandolin what the viola is to the violin: the four double courses of strings tuned in fifths to the same pitches as the viola ...

, which became El Anka's favorite instrument. After the death of sheik Nador on May 19, 1926, in

Cherchell Cherchell () is a town on Algeria's Mediterranean coast, west of Algiers. It is the seat of Cherchell District in Tipaza Province. Under the names Iol and Caesarea, it was formerly a Roman colony and the capital of the kingdoms of Numidia ...

, El Anka took over the organization of festivals for the group. The orchestra included Si Saîd Larbi (real name Birou), Omar Bébéo (Slimane Allane) and Mustapha Oulid El Meddah among others. In 1927 he began taking part in the courses taught by sheik Sid AH Oulid Lakehal, which he followed assiduously until 1932. In 1928 he was first exposed to the general public, by recording 27 discs (78 rpm) for Columbia, his first publisher, and taking part in the inauguration of Radio PTT Algiers. On August 5, 1931, popular sheik Abderrahmane Saîdi died, and El Anka helped to fill the void. His popularity, supported by the new record player and radio, only grew; he was once invited to perform for the King of Morocco. After Columbia, he made another 10 78 rpm disks with Algériaphone in 1932, and another ten

78 rpm A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The g ...

records with Polyphone. Upon return from

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(in memory of which he composed the song "El Houdja") in 1937, he reformed his orchestra, and toured

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. One element of his sound that would have changed in 1932 came from a change of instruments. 1932 was the year he worked with a luthier to craft a bigger

. He found that the mandolas used by the orchestra were too high pitched and not loud enough. He asked a luthier to make one much bigger, and that

mandole The Algerian mandole (mandol, mondol) is a steel-string fretted instrument resembling an elongated mandolin, widely used in Algerian music such as Chaabi, Kabyle music and Nuubaat ( Andalusian classical music). The name can cause confusion, a ...

was to become his main instrument. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, El HadJ Muhammad El Anka was invited to direct popular music on ENRS Algiers Radio which succeeded Radio PTT. The popular music he promoted from 1946 became "chaâbi". In 1955 he began teaching chaâbi as a professor at the municipal Academy of Algiers. His first pupils all became sheiks in their turn, including Amar Lâachab, Hassen Said, and Rachid Souki. In total, El Hadj El Anka wrote nearly 360 songs ( qaca' id ) and produced approximately 130 records. Notable works included "Lahmam lirabitou", "ltif Sebhan ellah ya" and "Win saâdi win". He died on November 23, 1978, in Algiers, and was buried in the El Kettar Cemetery.

Songs

*''Lahmam lirabitou'' *''Sebhan ellah ya ltif'' *''Win saâdi win'' *''Achki fi khnata'' *''El Hamdoulilah li ma b9a isti3mar fi bladna'' *''Sebhan ellah ya ltif'' *''Hadjou Lefkar'' *'':maychali fi youm el harb''

Bibliography

References

External links

Bio of El Anka with many photos.

* ttp://matoub.kabylie.free.fr/presse/el-anka.htm Hadj M'hamed El Anka : La légende du siècle Article by Karim Aïnouche, on ''"La Kabylie de Matoub LOUNES"'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Anka, El Hadj MHamed El Anka 1907 births 1978 deaths 20th-century Algerian male singers Algerian mondol players Berber musicians Kabyle people People from Casbah Berber-language singers of Algeria