History and Creativity in Concept and Practice AHMAD ALI ALSALHI

308 Pages·2017·5.58 MB·English

ṢAUT IN BAHRAIN AND KUWAIT:
History and Creativity in Concept and Practice

AHMAD ALI ALSALHI

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the
requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

Royal Holloway, University of London

September 2016
DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is entirely my own.
Where I have consulted the work of others, this is always clearly stated. This work
has not been submitted for any other degree or award in any other university or
educational institution.

Ahmad Ali alSalhi
September 2016

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ABSTRACT

This dissertation is an academic study of the practice of the ṣaut music genre in
Bahrain and Kuwait. Most of the questions and resources discussed in this work
have not been examined previously in an academic study. By comparing the style of
performance that is currently prevalent with that of early recordings, the dissertation
offers a diachronic study of the development and practice of the ṣaut genre over
different historical stages. It traces the structural development of the genre as it
relates to the elements that have disappeared or emerged and the influence of key
figures in ṣaut. In addition, the study offers a close analysis of the practices of
variation and improvisation to understand how ṣaut performers developed the genre
from within a shared community practice.

The introduction of the dissertation brings to light the researcher’s position and
experience in the ṣaut community, as both practitioner and researcher. Chapter I
aims to understand the ṣaut genre by studying different types of recording, especially
78rpm records, which are the only really tangible trace of ṣaut before the Second
World War. Chapter II is concerned with the history of ṣaut and approaches this in
two ways. Firstly, it traces the history of the term ṣaut, in its literal, metaphorical,
and musical manifestations. Secondly, the Chapter highlights the history of ṣaut as it
relates to questions of origins and influence. Chapter III examines the development
of the key structural elements (rhythms, forms, and maqām system) that are
particular to ṣaut as a genre. Chapter IV discusses the music and percussion
instruments that used in ṣaut.

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Chapter V presents a definition and description of improvisation in ṣaut. It considers
a number of aspects that surround the practice of improvisation and variation, such
as why, how and when the performer learns to improvise in ṣaut. Chapter VI
continues on from the previous Chapter by examining the tools and technique of
creativity in ṣaut. In sum, by offering ethnographic, historical and analytical
approaches to the ṣaut genre, this thesis is intended to invigorate debates about
music of the Gulf and Arab traditions more broadly in several related, but often
disconnected fields. On a theoretical level, its contribution is to renegotiate the
borders between concepts of repertoire, composition, and improvisation.

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CONTENTS

Declaration……………………………………...…………………………... 2
Abstract……………………………………………………………………... 3
Contents……………………………………………………………………... 5
List of figures…………………………………………………………..…… 10
List of tables..…………………………………………………………..…… 14
Examples on the accompanying CD………………………………………... 15
Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………. 16
Introduction…………………………………………………………………. 18
A brief history of Kuwait…………………………………………… 24
Music in Kuwait…………………………………………………….. 26
Music before the oil boom…………………………………... 26
Music after the oil boom……………………..……………... 28
Music and society in Kuwait……………………………………….. 32
Ṣaut music as presented today……………………………………… 36
Patron definition in ṣaut……………………………………………. 37
A samra of ṣaut……………..………………………………………. 38
Ṣaut community……………..……………………………………… 39
About the scholar…………………………………...……………..… 43
Background…………………………………………………………. 43
My encounter with ṣaut……………………………………... 44
Entering a closed society……………………………………. 45
The world of old records……………………………. 47
Sharing insider knowledge………………………………….. 49
Transforming the community, reviving a tradition…………. 51
Research context…………………………………………………….. 57
Challenges and research aims……………………………………….. 59
Overview of the dissertation………………………………………… 61
Chapter I – Sources…………………………………………. 61
Chapter II – Ṣaut historiography……………………………. 62
Chapter III – New ṣaut history: formal elements…………… 62
Chapter IV – Instruments used in ṣaut………...……………. 62
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Chapter V – Variation and improvisation as a framework for
understanding ṣaut…………………………………………... 62
Chapter VI – Transcriptions and analysis…………………... 63
Chapter I: sources…………………………………………………………… 64
Introduction……………………………….………………………… 64
The history of non-commercial records in Bahrain and Kuwait……. 68
Local terms for records……………………………………… 68
Non-commercial records………..…………………………... 70
The history of 78rpm records in Bahrain and Kuwait………………. 71
The history of 78rpm companies prior the Second World
War………………………………………………………….. 74
Baidaphon Record Company……………………….. 75
Odeon Record Company……………………………. 79
Gramophone and His Master’s Voice (HMV)……… 83
Neayem Record Company…………………………... 87
Sodwa Record Company……………………………. 89
Aden Crown Record (isṭiwānāt al-tāj al-‘adanī)……. 90
The history of 78rpm companies after the Second World
War………………………………………………………….. 92
The 45rpm records in the Gulf……………………………… 98
Private and radio stations recordings……………………….. 99
Conclusion…………………………………………………………... 103
Chapter II: ṣaut historiography……………………………………………… 105
The concept of ṣaut: literal, metaphorical and musical meanings up
to the mid-19th century……………………….…….……………….. 105
Literal usages………………………………….….…………. 105
Metaphorical significance…………………………………... 105
Ancient Arab music…………………………………………. 106
Arabian Peninsula until early 20th Century…………………. 106
Bahrain and Kuwait: mid 19th Century to present day……... 108
The history of ṣaut…………………………………………………... 111
Ṣaut and Abbasid music: Aḥmad ‘Alī’s study……………… 112
The origin of ṣaut: Yūsuf Dūkhī……………………………. 114
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A popular theory: ‘Abdullah al-Faraj's crucial role in the
emergence of ṣaut……..……………………………………. 117
Ṣaut’s possible debt to India….…………………….. 123
The question of Yemeni influence………………….. 125
Conclusion…………………………………………………... 128
Chapter III: new ṣaut history: formal elements……….…………………….. 130
Ṣaut texts…………………...……………………………………….. 130
Poetic genres in ṣaut………………………………………… 131
Lyrics: themes and content………………………………….. 133
Ṣaut genre forms: shāmī, ‘arabī, khayālī, istimā‘, khitām, and
mawwāl……………………………………………………………... 133
Rhythm system in ṣaut genre……………………………………….. 136
Rhythm and meter in the late 19th Century………...………. 136
Rhythm and meter in the recording period (1920s and
1930s)……………………………………………………….. 139
Hand clapping…………...………………………………………….. 142
Mirwās as a phenomenon, formulating new aesthetics…………….. 146
Maqām system in ṣaut……………………………………………… 149
Tawshīḥa of ṣaut…………………………………………………….. 153
Definition and form of current tawshīḥa……………………. 155
Forms of tawshīḥa in the 1920s and 1930s…………………. 157
Definition and form of tawshīḥa in the late 19th Century…... 160
Experimentation in performance……………………………. 162
Zifān, the dance of ṣaut……………………………………………... 164
The principles of zifān………………………………………. 165
Characteristics of a zaffān or performer…………………….. 168
Linking words……………………………………………………….. 170
Conclusion………………………………………………………….. 172
Chapter IV: Instruments used in ṣaut……………………………………….. 174
‘Ūd………………………………………………….……………….. 174
‘Ūd hindī…………………………………………………….. 174
‘Ūd ‘arabī…………………………………………………… 183
Mirwās…………………………………………………………......... 188
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History and prevalence of the mirwās………………………. 189
Mirwās features and technique of use………………………. 190
Manufacture of the mirwās………………………………….. 192
Mirwās players……………………………………………… 194
Violin………………………………………………………………... 195
Qānūn……………………………………………………………….. 197
Conclusion…………………………………………………………... 199
Chapter V: Variation and improvisation as a framework for understanding
ṣaut…………………………………………….………………. 200
Introduction…………………………………………………………. 200
Improvisation: definitions and methods…………………………….. 200
Variation and improvisation in ṣaut………………….……………... 206
Wherever the ‘ūd takes me………………………………….. 206
Why study variation and improvisation in ṣaut?..................... 209
Why performers use variation and improvisation……..……………. 212
The method of learning ……………..……………………………… 214
The methods of learning ṣaut……………………………….. 215
Tutor and student……………………………………. 215
Learning within the family………………………….. 216
Accompanying professional performers……………. 217
The notebook as a transcription tool………………... 218
Recordings as tools for self-study.………………….. 221
But, how to learn to use variation and improvisation?............ 223
Variation vs improvisation vs creativity…............................. 225
Chapter VI: transcriptions and analysis……………………………………... 227
Analysing vocal performance as the central element of ṣaut…..…… 227
The structure of ṣaut content………………………………... 227
Ṣaut piece and piece of ṣaut………………………… 228
Version in ṣaut………………………………………. 229
Melody in ṣaut………………………………………. 230
Section in ṣaut………………………………………. 232
Theme in ṣaut……………………………………….. 232
Motif in ṣaut………………………………………… 233
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Instrumental refrain in ṣaut………………………….. 233
Understanding the creativity practice in ṣaut: analysis………… 233
Example I: Qāl Ibn al-Ashqar and versions………………… 239
Version no. 1………………………………………... 241
Version no. 2………………………………………... 242
Version no. 3………………………………………... 242
Version no. 4………………………………………... 245
Version no. 5………………………………………... 246
Version no. 6………………………………………... 248
Version no. 7………………………………………... 250
Version no. 8………………………………………... 251
Version no. 9………………………………………... 252
Example II: Mā Tendhurū Dam‘atī Sālat and versions……... 255
Version no. 1………………………………………... 257
Version no. 2………………………………………... 258
Version no. 3………………………………………... 260
Version no. 4………………………………………... 262
Example III: ‘Awādhel Dhāt al-Khāl and versions…………. 266
Version no. 1………………………………………... 271
Version no. 2………………………………………... 272
Version no. 3………………………………………... 273
Version no. 4………………………………………... 274
Version no. 5………………………………………... 274
Version no. 6………………………………………... 275
Conclusion…………………………………………………………... 276
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………... 278
References…………………………………………………………………... 287
Arabic sources..……………………………………………………... 287
Foreign sources..………………..…………………………………... 297
Discography…………………………………………………………………. 302

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LIST OF FIGURES

Fig. 1.1. The term isṭiwānāt that appeared on the catalogue of an Egyptian
gramophone company in June 1912………………………………………… 69
Fig. 1.2. Two Baidaphon record labels, produced before c. 1911, (left) with
the title of Baida Record and a picture of the performer and after c.1911,
(right) with the title Baidaphon and a picture of a gazelle………………….. 75
Fig. 1.3. The label of a Baidaphon record by ‘Abdullaṭīf al-Kuwaiti………. 79
Fig. 1.4. The label of a one-side record produced by Odeon for Muḥammad
Sālem………………………………………………………………………... 80
Fig. 1.5. Two labels of Odeon records made in 1928 (left) and 1929 (right)
by ‘Abdullaṭīf al-Kuwaiti…………………………………………………… 82
Fig. 1.6. The label of an Odeon record made in Bombay, 1935, by
Muḥammad Zuwayid……………………………………………………….. 83
Fig. 1.7. The label of an HMV record recorded in 1932 by Ḍāḥī bin Walīd.. 85
Fig. 1.8. The label of the HMV sample record for Maḥmūd al-Kuwaiti…… 86
Fig. 1.9. The labels of HMV records made in early 1937 by Muḥammad bin
Fāris (left) and Maḥmūd al-Kuwaiti (right)………………………………… 87
Fig. 1.10. The label of the Neayem record made by ‘Abdullaṭīf al-Kuwaiti.. 89
Fig. 1.11. The label of the Sodwa record made by ‘Abdullaṭīf al-Kuwaiti…. 90
Fig. 1.12. The label of an Aden Crown sample record by the Yemeni
performer Aḥmad ‘Awaḍ al-Jarrāsh. The label shows the name of the
factory in which the disc was manufactured………………………………... 91
Fig. 1.13. The label of the Aden Crown record that was recorded by
Muḥammad bin Samḥān…………………………………………………….. 92
Fig. 1.14. Examples of four record label companies that recorded for
performers from the Gulf in Bombay during the 1940s…………………….. 94
Fig. 1.15. Examples of record label companies that established in Bahrain... 96
Fig. 1.16. Examples of record label companies that established in Kuwait… 96
Fig. 2.1. The “ṣaut” term in Arabic that appeared on the catalogue of Adan
Crown Record Company……………………………………………………. 107
Fig. 2.2. The ‘Quwaiti’ term or Kuwaiti in Arabic that appeared on a
Yemeni 78rpm record……………………………………………………….. 108
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