by Marie Jost “…an Andalusian loves flamenco because it is beyond any definition, any law–accepting as it does every style, modality, cadence, sound and rhythm…because…
What is Flamenco?
Category: Articles
An Introduction to Flamenco Cante
Flamenco has been graced by performers of great talent since its earliest days. The oldest account of a flamenco performance mentions two masters of flamenco…
The Musical Pulse of Tunisia
By Thorne Anderson (From the Saudi Aramco World magazine July/August 2001 issue. Reproduced by courtesy of Aramco World Magazine) Al-Andalus Even without an appreciation of…
Zouk: Rhythm of the Lesser Antilles
This article first appeared in the Spanish magazine Nueva Música, which was published in Seville. It reappears exclusively on www.worldmusiccentral.org with permission from the editors.…
Vallenato
This article appears courtesy of the Fundación Festival de la Leyenda Vallenata. Edited and translated by Angel Romero. Vallenato is the name of those born…
Qawwali, the devotional music of the SufisQawwali: A Vibrant and Passionate Form of Islamic Mystic Music
Qawwali, an Arabic word denoting “utterance,” is a form of devotional music practiced by Islamic mystics, or Sufis, as they are known in their respective…
Kawina
A type of Creole folk music from Surinam, related to winti. Kawina arose at the end of the 19th century after the abolition of slavery…
Kaseko
While kaseko music often used to be heard on the radio and at parties in the Netherlands, it seems to have been forgotten in recent…
The Transfixing Sounds of Gnawa Music
Gnawa is a term used to define both a Moroccan music style and a Muslim religious brotherhood that invokes God and many prophets. The patron…
Introduction to Ghazal, An Ancient and Expressive Form of Poetry and Music
The ghazal, a love poem or ode, traces its origins back to Arabic poetry in the 7th century. Initially, the ghazal dealt with themes of…