The Moorish Influence on the Music of the Western World

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The Moorish Influence on the Music of the Western
World
Presented by Brandon W. Stuver
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The Moorish Invasion

• The moors invaded southern Spain in 711
• By 732 they had conquered almost the entire
  peninsula
• They remained until 1492
• This resulted in almost eight centuries of
  cultural exchange

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The Arabian Musical Tradition

• The Arab world had a well established musical
  tradition even before the beginnings of Islam
• The initial spread of Islam only served to extent
  this musical tradition
• Under the dynasty of the Abassids, the music of
  the Muslim world reached its apogee
• The Muslims approached music intellectually, as
  if it were a science
• Under the caliph of Al Mamun, the Muslims
  translated many musical traditions of ancient
  Greece, such as those written by Aristotle,
  Ptolomy, Aristoxenos, Euclid, and Nikomachos of
  Gerasa

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Muslim Musical Theorists

• Al-Kindi
• Produced five musical treatises
• Contemplated music in the cosmological context
• Was the first theorist to realice the therapeutic
  value of music
• Produced a detailed scheme for the frets of the
  lute
• Al Farabi
• Wrote five books, leaving a legacy that lasted
  until the 16th century
• Could play the lute so well that is is said that
  he could evoke any emotion from the audience
• Some scholars claim that he invented the rabab
  and the qanan

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Ziryab

• Abu l-Hasan Ali b. Nafi, known as Ziryab, came
  to the royal court at Córdoba in 822
• He is known not only for his muscial
  accomplishments, but also for bringing the
  culture of the East to Al-Andalus
• Introduced Persian musical forms and made major
  improvements to the lute
• Introduced Persian-Asiatic customs such as
  wearing different color clothing for different
  seasons

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Ignorance in Western Europe

• From the fall of the Roman Empire until the
  Renaissance, Europe was without the knowledge of
  the ancient world
• Music ceased to exist in Western Europe except
  for the music of the Church
• Due to its well established musical tradition,
  the music of Al-Andalus had a strong impact on
  the West

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Influence on Instrumentation

• The Moorish influence is the strongest in regard
  to instrumentation
• This influence is verified by linguistic evidence
  regarding the names of the instruments
• Some examples are
• lute (ud)
• guitar (guitara)
• el añafil (al-nafir) trumpet
• This influence was the result of many centuries
  of coexistence

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The Cantigas de Santa María

• A collection of 415 songs composed around 1252
  under the orders of Alphonso X the wise
• More than 300 of the songs bear a Muslim musical
  form
• The minitures that accompany the music show Moors
  and Europeans playing together

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Influence on Musical Theory

• The Moorish inlfuence on Western musical theory
  is strongly denied by Western scholars
• Solfege is said to be a Latin system created by
  Guido de Arezzo do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti, do
• However, the letters of the arab alphabet are
  strikingly similar to the Latin system Mi, mi
  Fa, fa Sad, sol La, la Sin, ti Dal, do Ra,
  re

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