Music and Traditions of the Arabian Peninsula

This is a truly remarkable publication. Professor Lisa Urkevich starts with this opus with St. John Philby’s rather blithe comment that Arabia was a ‘musicless land’ and deftly explains how much this reflects the limitations of his personal experiences more than anything else. It will come as no surprise to regular visitors to the peninsula that the area has a very rich musical history, albeit one that is indeed somewhat more socially compartmentalised by Western standards, which traditionally emphasised melody and rhythm rather than vocal harmonies. Above all, it makes such a change to read something about Arabian music that does not fall into stereotypical discourses about Raqs Sharqi or Raqs Baladi (belly dancing), or overly pious sermons about Tala[a al Badru 'Alayna.