Henry George Farmer and the First International Congress of Arab Music (Cairo 1932)

460 Pages·2015·5.279 MB·English

by  Israel Katz, Sheila M Craik, Amnon Shiloah

Henry George Farmer and the First International Congress of Arab Music
(Cairo 1932)
Islamic History
and Civilization
Studies and Texts
Editorial Board
Hinrich Biesterfeldt
Sebastian Günther
Wadad Kadi
VOLUME 115
The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/ihc

Frontispiece Henry George Farmer (1882–1965) (Passport photo 1932)
(FC 503, 82).
Henry George Farmer
and the First International
Congress of Arab Music
(Cairo 1932)
By
Israel J. Katz
with the Collaboration of
Sheila M. Craik
and a Foreword by
Amnon Shiloah
LEIDEN | BOSTON
Cover illustration: Iraqi musicians, 5 April 1932. This group was lauded as the best performance group
at the Congress.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Katz, Israel J.
 Henry George Farmer and the First International Congress of Arab Music (Cairo 1932) /
by Israel J. Katz with the collaboration of Sheila M. Craik and a foreword by Amnon Shiloah.
  pages cm. — (Islamic history and civilization studies and texts ; v. 115)
 Includes bibliographical references and index.
 ISBN 978-90-04-26319-2 (hardback : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-90-04-28414-2 (e-book)
1. Farmer, Henry George, 1882–1965. 2. Arabs—Music—History and criticism. 3. International Congress
of Arab Music (1st : 1932 : Cairo, Egypt) I. Craik, Sheila M. II. Title.
 ML189.F3K37 2015
 780.89’927—dc23
2014043634
This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering
Latin, ipa, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities.
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issn 0929-2403
isbn 978-90-04-26319-2 (hardback)
isbn 978-90-04-28414-2 (e-book)
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This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Dedicated to the memory of
Lois Ibsen al-Faruqī (b. 1927),
a dear friend and fervent humanist who
succumbed to a tragic death on May 27, 1986,
leaving a vast legacy of scholarly writings
that explored the nature and intricacies
of music throughout the Moslem World.
∵
N.B. During the final stage of publication, we received, with great sorrow, the
news of Amnon Shiloah’s passing in Jerusalem on July 11, 2014. We are most
grateful for his continued encouragement and constructive criticism, which
inspired every phrase of this crucial undertaking. Both Farmer and the Cairo
Congress were subjects very close to his heart.
Amnon and I shared a very special friendship over the course of five decades,
beginning in Jerusalem in September of 1959. May his memory be blessed.

Contents
Foreword  ix
Amnon Shiloah
Preface  xxi
Sheila M. Craik
Acknowledgements  xxiii
List of Figures  xxv
Abbreviations  xxvii
1 The Genesis of the Farmer Project  1
2 Henry George Farmer: His Life and Works to His Fiftieth Birthday  17
2.1 Farmer’s Early Years (1882–1903)  17
2.2 1903–13 (including His Resignation from The Royal Artillery
Band)  21
2.3 Beginnings in Glasgow (1914–18)  25
2.4 Glasgow University Years (1918–26)  39
2.5 Post-Doctoral Years (1926–32)  58
3 The First International Congress of Arab Music (Cairo, 1932)  84
3.1 Historical and Political Background  84
3.2 Egypt’s Musical Life, Especially Cairo’s from 1800 to 1932  92
3.3 The Cairo Congress: Its Genesis and Preparation  111
3.4 How Farmer Became Involved with the Congress  125
4 Farmer’s “Itinerary of Visit to Cairo”  140
4.1 Introduction  140
4.2 Travel Journal “Itinerary”  149
4.3 The Photos Taken by Kurt Schindler during the Course of the
Congress  191
5 The Commission of History and Manuscripts  213
5.1 Introduction  213
5.2 Minutes of the Commission of History and Manuscripts  216
5.3 Report of the Commission on History and Manuscripts Submitted
to the Plenary Session of the Congress of Arabian Music 1st April,
1932  239
viii contents
6 Afterthoughts and Follow-Up  251
Appendix
1 Farmer’s Publications on Music t0 1934 (Military, Arab, and
Scottish)  269
2 Arabic and Persian Manuscripts Examined by Farmer
(to 1932)  281
3 Fox Strangways—Farmer Exchanges  291
4 Participating Countries and Their Delegates  305
5 Regulations for the Arab Music Congress under [the] Patronage of
H.M. the King  314
6 The Seven Commissions (Cairo, 1932)  323
7 Invited Musical Ensembles (Cairo, 1932)  328
8 Recueil des Travaux du Congrès de Musique Arabe (Contents)  333
9 A Short History of the Arabian Musical Scale  339
10 A Private Congratulatory Meeting [Held at the Congress in Honor of
Farmer](Cairo, 1932)  352
11 Dr. Farmer’s Valedictory Address at the Closing of the
Congress  356
12 Dr. Farmer’s Letters to His Family (from Cairo)  358
13 Correspondence Relating to the European Delegations at the
Congress (1932)  363
14 Farmer’s Union Speech (Dublin, Nov. 17, 1929) (FC 74)  370
15 Farmer’s Lecture on the Music of the Hebrews (Glasgow,
1932)  378
Bibliography  383
General Index  405