The Beguiling Recreation of Arab Andalusian Music

Atrium Musicae Madrid, Gregorio Paniagua ‎– Al Andalus – Musique Arabo-Andalouse (Harmonia Mundi, 2021 reissue)

Harmonia Mundi has reissued this fascinating recording made in 1976 and originally released in 1977. Al Andalus – Musique Arabo-Andalouse is a portrait and recreation of Arab Andalusian music, the music that was played in medieval southern Spain, in the territories occupied by various Arab conquerors known as the Moors.

Atrium Musicae Madrid was a highly regarded and well-known early music ensemble led by multi-instrumentalist and researcher Gregorio Paniagua. The Paniagua family includes several distinguished musicians who play a wide range of instruments and music styles such as western classical, early music and world music.

Gregorio Paniagua spent time researching the music of ancient Al Andalus by visiting northwestern Africa to talk to musicians who maintained Arab Andalusian oral traditions long after the Moors were defeated and retreated to the Magreb region of Africa.

The cultural influence of Al Andalus enriched Spanish Christian music and introduced these musical traditions to western Europe. Gregorio Paniagua and his colleagues play a wide range of captivating musical instrtuments. Some of them are familiar Arabic musical instruments; however, the sensemble also uses many other rare instruments.

The ensemble on this album included Gregorio Paniagua on kemenche, rabab, ud, diowak or chebeb (vertical flute), quitra (lute), qitar (medieval lute), and zamar (double cow horn); Eduardo Paniagua on rabab (fiddle), nay (flute), darbuka, surnay (woodwind), hella (percussion), daff, qanun, tarrija (ceramic drum), shahin gussaba (fife), arghul (double-pipe woodwind), mizmar (reed), nuqqeyrat (cymbal), and tar; Cristina Ubeda on jalalil (bells), tar, qanun, nay, santur, tarrenas (rattle), claquetas (rattles), karkabas (metal castanets), jank (harp), zil (cymbal), d’znoutch (finger cymbals), gsbah (long reed flute); Pablo Cano on rabab, al-urgana (organ), tar, and qanun; Beatriz Amo on tar, jalalil, d’znoutch, sinj (finger cymbals), al-urgana, mi’zaf (Arabic lyre), bendir (frame drum), al-buzuq (long-necked fretted lute), Andalusian castanets, qanun, gsbah, ghaita (bagpipe), and bordun (drone pipe); Luis Paniagua on tambur, darbuka, ud, zil, rebab, d’znoutch, and tabl (drum); and Carlos Paniagua on rabab, darbuka, tarrija, surnay, tar, nay, santur, and peine de madera (wooden comb).

Buy Al Andalus – Musique Arabo-Andalouse

Author: Angel Romero

Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.