Tarab
Music, Ecstasy, Emotion, and Performance
Published on 22. July 2025
Book
Hardback
296 pages
978-1-4773-3143-9 (ISBN)
Description
In Arab culture, at the ineffable point where music meets emotion, lies ?arab. Often glossed as the ecstasy experienced and expressed when performing or listening to singing, instrumental works, and recitations of poetry, ?arab is both a practice and an orienting concept central to musical aesthetics and spirituality characteristic of Middle Eastern cultures.
Gathering fifteen essays by scholars of music, affect, literature, religion, and education, ?arab extends the study of ?arab historically, geographically, and sociologically. Historical essays explore ?arab's role in the medieval Middle East and the Ottoman Empire. Turning to the modern era, authors examine ?arab and related concepts in Egypt, Albania, and Iraq, and among Turkish Roma and Lebanese Maronite Christians. The contributors also address contemporary practitioners and the intersections of ?arab and maqam, belly dancing, music streaming, and university music ensembles. Situating this unique cultural concept in a global context, these studies enrich the story of ?arab and provide new insight into music's powerful emotional appeal.
Gathering fifteen essays by scholars of music, affect, literature, religion, and education, ?arab extends the study of ?arab historically, geographically, and sociologically. Historical essays explore ?arab's role in the medieval Middle East and the Ottoman Empire. Turning to the modern era, authors examine ?arab and related concepts in Egypt, Albania, and Iraq, and among Turkish Roma and Lebanese Maronite Christians. The contributors also address contemporary practitioners and the intersections of ?arab and maqam, belly dancing, music streaming, and university music ensembles. Situating this unique cultural concept in a global context, these studies enrich the story of ?arab and provide new insight into music's powerful emotional appeal.
Reviews / Votes
"The field of ethnomusicology is changing, and this volume shows us how by engaging with historical, comparative, music psychological, popular music, and sound studies in addition to other fields. The editors and authors sum up this entire field of study well, but also show that same field in motion. This volume is nothing short of a landmark moment in ethnomusicology." - Martin Stokes, King's College, London, author of Music and CitizenshipMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Austin, TX
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
25 b&w photos
Dimensions
Height: 162 mm
Width: 236 mm
Thickness: 31 mm
Weight
626 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4773-3143-9 (9781477331439)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Michael Frishkopf is a professor of music at the University of Alberta. He is the coeditor of Resisting the Dehumanization of Refugees; Music, Sound, and Architecture in Islam; and Music and Media in the Arab World.
Scott Marcus is a professor of music (ethnomusicology) at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the author of Music in Egypt and coeditor of The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 6, The Middle East.
Dwight Reynolds is Distinguished Professor of Arabic Language and Literature at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the author of The Musical Heritage of al-Andalus and Medieval Arab Music and Musicians, as well as coeditor of The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 6, The Middle East.
Scott Marcus is a professor of music (ethnomusicology) at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the author of Music in Egypt and coeditor of The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 6, The Middle East.
Dwight Reynolds is Distinguished Professor of Arabic Language and Literature at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the author of The Musical Heritage of al-Andalus and Medieval Arab Music and Musicians, as well as coeditor of The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 6, The Middle East.
Content
A Note on Transliteration
List of Illustrations
An Introduction to ?arab: Music, Ecstasy, Emotion, and Performance (Michael Frishkopf, Scott Marcus, and Dwight F. Reynolds)
1. ?arab in Extremis in Medieval Arabic Sources (Dwight F. Reynolds)
2. The Other ?arab (George Dmitri Sawa)
3. Judeo-Sufi Musical Intersections (Edwin Seroussi)
4. A Tale of Two ?arabs: Intercultural Music in the Late Ottoman Empire (John O'Connell)
5. Sayyid Darwish and ?arab (Virginia Danielson)
6. From ?arab to Turath: Fifty Years of Arab Music Heritage in Egypt (Salwa El-Shawan Castelo-Branco)
7. ?arab in the Grooves: Reconsidering a Transitional Moment in the Arab American Arts Economy (Anne K. Rasmussen)
8. The Two Tenors: The ?arab Artistry of Wadih El Safi and Sabah Fakhri (Sami W. Asmar)
9. The Sufi Source of ?arab (Michael Frishkopf)
10. From Lament to Prayer: Music and Emotional Shifts in the Funeral Ritual of the Maronite Christians in Lebanon (Guilnard Moufarrej)
11. Heroism, Desire, Ecstasy: Qamili i VogEl, Kosova Albanian Urban Song, and the Cultivation of Elation (Jane C. Sugarman)
12. Sweaty Transcendence and Affect: The Labor of Musical Ecstasy (Sonia Tamar Seeman)
13. Teaching ?arab: Embodied Interpersonal Learning in University Ensembles (Anne Elise Thomas)
14. Songs of the ?arab Repertoire: Sites for Understandings Beyond Affect (Scott Marcus)
15. Curating Tarab on Music Streaming Services: The Cultural Politics of Localization on Spotify, Anghami, and Deezer (Darci Sprengel)
Contributors
Index
List of Illustrations
An Introduction to ?arab: Music, Ecstasy, Emotion, and Performance (Michael Frishkopf, Scott Marcus, and Dwight F. Reynolds)
1. ?arab in Extremis in Medieval Arabic Sources (Dwight F. Reynolds)
2. The Other ?arab (George Dmitri Sawa)
3. Judeo-Sufi Musical Intersections (Edwin Seroussi)
4. A Tale of Two ?arabs: Intercultural Music in the Late Ottoman Empire (John O'Connell)
5. Sayyid Darwish and ?arab (Virginia Danielson)
6. From ?arab to Turath: Fifty Years of Arab Music Heritage in Egypt (Salwa El-Shawan Castelo-Branco)
7. ?arab in the Grooves: Reconsidering a Transitional Moment in the Arab American Arts Economy (Anne K. Rasmussen)
8. The Two Tenors: The ?arab Artistry of Wadih El Safi and Sabah Fakhri (Sami W. Asmar)
9. The Sufi Source of ?arab (Michael Frishkopf)
10. From Lament to Prayer: Music and Emotional Shifts in the Funeral Ritual of the Maronite Christians in Lebanon (Guilnard Moufarrej)
11. Heroism, Desire, Ecstasy: Qamili i VogEl, Kosova Albanian Urban Song, and the Cultivation of Elation (Jane C. Sugarman)
12. Sweaty Transcendence and Affect: The Labor of Musical Ecstasy (Sonia Tamar Seeman)
13. Teaching ?arab: Embodied Interpersonal Learning in University Ensembles (Anne Elise Thomas)
14. Songs of the ?arab Repertoire: Sites for Understandings Beyond Affect (Scott Marcus)
15. Curating Tarab on Music Streaming Services: The Cultural Politics of Localization on Spotify, Anghami, and Deezer (Darci Sprengel)
Contributors
Index