Andalusian Classical Music - The Music Today

The Music Today

A suite form called the Andalusi nubah forms the basis of al-âla. Though it has roots in Andalusia, the modern nûba is probably a North African creation. Each nuba is dominated by one musical mode. It is said that there used to be twenty-four nuba linked to each hour of the day, but in Algeria there are only sixteen nuba and in Morocco eleven have survived, which together include 25 "Andalusian" modes. Each nuba is divided into five parts called mîzân, each with a corresponding rhythm. The rhythms occur in the following order in a complete nuba:

1. basît (6/4)
2. qâ'im wa nusf (8/4)
3. btâyhî (8/4)
4. darj (4/4)
5. quddâm (3/4 or 6/8)

An entire nuba can last six or seven hours, though this is rarely done today. Rather, in Morocco, often only one mîzân from any given nuba is performed at a time. Each mîzân begins with instrumental preludes called either tûshiya, m'shaliya, or bughya, followed by as many as twenty songs (sana'i) in the entire mîzân.

Andalusian classical music orchestras are spread across Maghreb, including the cities of:

• Algeria: Tlemcen, Algiers, Bejaia, Blida, Constantine, Oran, Kolea, Blida, Annaba, Mostaganem...
• Morocco: Fez, Tetuan, Oujda, Rabat, Sala, Tanger, and Chefchaoun - in several of these cities the orchestras are attached to music conservatories of Morocco.
• Tunisia: Tunis, Testour, and Kairouan.
• Libya: Tripoli

They use instruments including oud (lute), rabab (rebec), darbouka (goblet drums), taarija (tambourine), qanún (zither), and kamancheh. More recently, other instruments have been added to the ensemble, including piano, contrabass, cello, and even banjos, saxophones, and clarinets, though these are rare.