Music has been an integral part of Egyptian culture since antiquity. Egyptian music significantly impacted the development of ancient Greek music, and through the Greeks, it was important to early European music well into the Middle Ages. Due to Egypt's thousands of years of dominance over its neighbors, Egyptian culture, including music and musical instruments, was very influential in the surrounding regions. For instance, the instruments claimed in the Bible to have been played by the ancient Hebrews are all Egyptian instruments, as established by Egyptian archaeology.
Lute and double pipe players, and female dancers from a mural found in the Theban tomb of Nebamun, a nobleman of the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom.
Ancient Egyptian Music
The ancient Egyptians credited the goddess Bat and the god Ihy with the invention of music. The cult of Bat was eventually syncretised into that of Hathor because both were depicted as cows. Hathor's music was believed to have been used by Osiris as part of his effort to civilise the world.
In prehistoric Egypt, music and chanting were commonly used in magic and rituals. Rhythms during this time were unvaried, and music served to create rhythm. During the predynastic period of Egyptian history, funerary chants continued to play an important role in Egyptian religion and were accompanied by clappers or a flute. The evidence for instruments played is more securely attested in the Old Kingdom when arched harps, flutes, and double clarinets were played. Percussion instruments and lutes were added to orchestras by the Middle Kingdom.
Examples of ancient Egyptian musical instruments.
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Medieval Egyptian Music
Egyptians in Medieval Cairo believed that music exercised "too powerful an effect upon the passions, and leading men into gaiety, dissipation and vice." However, Egyptians generally were very fond of music. Though, according to E.W. Lane, no "man of sense" would ever become a musician, music was a key part of society. The music of Medieval Egypt was derived from Ancient Egyptian and Byzantine traditions.
Lane said that "the most remarkable peculiarity of the Arabic system of music is the division of tones into thirds," although today Western musicologists prefer to say that Arabic music's tones are divided into quarters. The songs of this period were similar in sound and simple, within a small range of tones. Egyptian song, though simple in form, is embellished by the singer.
Professional Musicians
Male professional musicians during this period were called Alateeyeh (plural), or Alatee (singular), which means "a player upon an instrument". However, this name applies to both vocalists as well as instrumentalists. This position was considered disreputable and lowly. However, musicians found work singing or playing at parties to entertain the company.
Female professional musicians were called Awalim (pl) or Alâmeh, which means a learned female. These singers were often hired on the occasion of a celebration in the harem of a wealthy person. They were not with the harem, but in an elevated room that was concealed by a screen so as not to be seen by either the harem or the master of the house. The female Awalim were more highly paid than male performers and more highly regarded than the Alateeyeh as well.
Modern Egyptian Music
In the second half of the 19th century, the Egyptian folk street music band Hasaballah, a genre of popular improvisational brass band folk music emerged, initiated by clarinettist Mohamed Hasaballah and his band based on the traditional music of the Egyptians, and is shortly called Hasaballah, a band playing in Cairo's music and entertainment quarter on Mohammed Ali Street. Egyptian music began to be recorded as early as in the 1910s.
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The Egyptians have always expressed themselves and daily lives and even struggles with their music and traditional folk music. By the 1930s, Egypt's classical musical tradition was already thriving, centered on the city of Cairo. Since the end of World War I, some of the Middle East's biggest musical stars have been Egyptian. Contemporary classical Egyptian music traces its beginnings to the creative work of traditiondal classical Egyptian musicians Abdu El Hamouly, Almaz, and Mahmud Osman, as well as the later work of the 20th century's most important Egyptian composers and singers, like Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Abdel Halim Hafez, and Baligh Hamdy. Most of these stars, including Umm Kulthum, Abdel Halim, Fawzi and many others were part of the traditional Egyptian music.
A recent offshoot from Shaabi; Mahraganat ("(Of) Festivals") is a more spunky and loud subgenre that uses more electronic and hip-hop elements, with heavy auto-tune. Western classical music was introduced to Egypt, and, in the middle of the 18th century, instruments such as the piano and violin were gradually adopted by Egyptians. By the early 20th century, the first generation of Egyptian composers, including Yusef Greiss, Abu Bakr Khairat, and Hasan Rashid, began writing for Western instruments. The second generation of Egyptian composers included notable artists such as Gamal Abdelrahim. Representative composers of the third generation are Ahmed El-Saedi and Rageh Daoud.
Religious music remains an essential part of traditional Sufi Muslim and Coptic Christian celebrations called mulids. Mulids are held in Egypt to celebrate the saint of a particular church or an exalted local Muslim figure. Muslim mulids are related to the Sufi zikr ritual. The Egyptian flute, called the ney, is commonly played at mulids.
The 20th century has seen Cairo become associated with a roots revival. Musicians from across Egypt are keeping folk traditions alive, such as those of rural Egyptians (fellahin), the Saii'da, and to a lesser extent minorities like the Siwa people, the Egyptian Romani, the Sinawis and the Nubians.
Since the Nasser era, Egyptian pop music has become increasingly important in Egyptian culture, particularly among the large youth population of Egypt. Egyptian folk music continues to be played during weddings and other traditional festivities. In the last quarter of the 20th century, Egyptian music was a way to communicate social and class issues.
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Regional Styles
Sawahli (coastal) music is a type of popular Egyptian music from the country's northern coast and is based around ancient Egyptian instrumentals, mainly the simsimiyya, which is an indigenous Egyptian stringed instrument that has its roots in ancient Egypt. It---the simsimiyya---was probably introduced to the country's northern coast from the Nile valley in the 19th century by Egyptian workers in the Suez Canal.
Egyptian musicians from Upper Egypt play a form of folk music called áčąaâÄ«di which originates from Upper Egypt. Metqal Qenawi's Les Musiciens du Nil (Musicians of the Nile; who became known to Alain Weber in 1975), are the most popular SaâÄ«di group and were chosen by the government to represent Egyptian folk music abroad. They spent over three decades touring Europe performing at various festivals and musical events and in 1983 after their performance in the World of Music and Dance Festival, they were signed to Peter Gabriel's label Real World-Carolina and went on to feature on his Album Passion.
In Egypt, Nubians are native to the southern part of Aswan, though some live in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities. Nubian folk music can still be heard, but migration and intercultural contact with Egyptian and other musical genres have produced new innovations. Ali Hassan Kuban's efforts had made him a regular on the world music scene, while Mohamed Mounir's social criticism and sophisticated pop have made him a star among Nubians, Egyptians, and other people worldwide. Ahmed Mounib, Mohamed Mounir's mentor, was by far the most notable Nubian singer to hit the Egyptian music scene, singing in both Egyptian Arabic as well as in his native Nobiin.
During the Abbasid and Ottoman dynasty Egypt was one of the main musical hubs in the middle east and therefore after the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1923 Egypt became the capital of music in the Arabic-speaking world where classical instruments such as the oud, qanun, and ney were widely used. The typical takht (ensemble) consisted of an Oud player, qanun player, ney player and violin player.
One of the most respected early electronic music composers, Halim El-Dabh, is an Egyptian. Active at the same time, or perhaps earlier than, the French electronic pioneers from the Studio dâEssai, he is one of, if not the, earliest composer of purely electronic music. The Egyptian electronic music scene has gained a mainstream foothold in the forms of techno, trance, and dance pop DJs such as Aly & Fila.
The Flight to Egypt in Song
On the heels of Jesusâs birth came his frantic flight, with parents Mary and Joseph, from the sword of an egomaniacal politician who swore death to all the male children of Bethlehem under the age of two. Even though the Flight to Egypt is a part of the Christmas story, itâs often omitted from present-day nativity pageants and carol services because we prefer to bask in that which is quaint and cozy and cute and joyful, and we want that happy ending. We donât want the darkness to rain on all the Christmas light. This is a real shame.
Jean-François Millet (French, 1814-1875), The Flight into Egypt, ca. 1864.
To help remedy this omission, Iâve compiled a list of songs based on the Flight to Egypt so that churches can consider using them (or be inspired to write their own!) as part of their Christmas observances. Also excluded are the several carols about the Massacre of the Innocents-the episode that prompted the Flight to Egypt.
I could find only one song on the topic that was written with congregational singing in mind, and that is âFlight into Egyptâ by the Rev. Vincent William Uher III (1963-). Itâs made up of four verses and the refrain âKyrie eleisonâ (Lord, have mercy), a common prayer in Christian liturgies. Because the hymn uses a plainchant tune, it has an irregular meter and may therefore be a little tricky for congregations to pick up right away. But the words are so beautifully crafted and set, and Rev. Uher gives his permission for noncommercial use, as long as credit is given.
Because of the scarcity of carols referencing the Flight to Egypt, I took to writing some verses of my own, using already-popular hymn tunes. Each of these verses is intended not as an additional stanza to the carol whose tune it shares (that would render the narrative structure incoherent) but as a standalone reprise of sorts. I envisioned any one of them being sung as part of a Christmas Eve service following the reading, as part of the total Christmas story, of Matthew 2:13-14. I chose the tunes I did because they have an elegiac feel and their Christmas associations are well established.
The second tune was originally written by Hans Leo Hassler around 1600 as a secular love song, but in 1656 Johann CrĂŒger rhythmically simplified it and set it to a German hymn text that is known in English as âO Sacred Head, Now Wounded.â Johann Sebastian Bach famously arranged the tune for his St. Matthew Passion of 1727 and loved it so much that he reused it for the first chorale in his 1734 Christmas Oratorio, âWie soll ich dich empfangenâ (How Shall I Fitly Meet Thee?).
That night an awful wailing filled the House of Bread. Fearful and yet trusting, the Holy Family fled. On pressing toward the border. A refugee, a stranger.
Contemporary Christian Artists
The songs in this section are by contemporary Christian artists and are all available as professional recordings. Comprising David Gungor and John Arndt, The Brilliance is among my favorite music groups. Liturgy, beauty, and social justice are key values and commitments of theirs.
In the midst of singing about joy and peace on earth, many peoples can feel the weight of hopelessness. While in this song we have hardly begun to nick the surface of the suffering in our world, we wanted to address the pain of refugees, black people living in America who have experienced police brutality, and those (especially our children) affected by gun violence. This is not meant to be a song that is divisive or attacking, it is a lament about the pain of our brothers and sisters who may feel they are lacking in power or voice. There are so many names, faces, shattered lives and heart-wrenching losses that we mourn in these words.
This song by acoustic folk trio Ordinary Time was released last month. Published in Sounding the Seasons: Seventy Sonnets for the Christian Year, Malcolm Guiteâs poem âRefugeeâ reflects on how the refugee Christ is with those who have been displaced by modern-day Herods. Moved by the poem, singer-songwriter Steve Bell tweaked it and added a third verse, then set it to music.
In his blog post that introduces the song, Bell cites the story of the Syrophoenician woman in Mark 7:24-29. She asks Jesus for help, to which he responds in much the same way todayâs political institutions respond to outsiders: âLet the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the childrenâs bread and throw it to the dogs.â Undeterred, she persists in her request for healing, and Jesus honors her faith, granting her request.
Why did Jesus speak so harshly to this woman? Most commentators, like Kenneth E. Bailey, believe he was exposing the ungracious attitudes of the disciples.
Art Music and the Flight to Egypt
I use the term âart musicâ in its technical sense to refer to classical pieces written in a formal style, inviting detailed deconstruction and criticism, and demanding focused attention from the listener. Most churches will not have the native talent and resources to pull off a performance of one of these pieces for a standard service, but perhaps they could be considered for a Christmas concert.
Lâenfance du Christ (The Childhood of Christ) is an oratorio in three parts: (1) Herodâs Dream, (2) The Flight to Egypt, and (3) The Arrival at Sais. Part 2, which Berlioz originally composed in 1850 as a standalone work, consists of an overture and two songs: the shepherdsâ farewell to the Holy Family upon their departure for Egypt, and the Holy Familyâs repose along the way.
The âShepherdsâ Farewellâ excerpt-the most popular movement from the oratorio-is too gentle and bright for my liking; it doesnât have the sense of urgency that I imagine such a flight would have occasioned. But it at least extends the Christmas story into Egypt, and fits well into the whole, as those faithful attendants at the nativity give their blessings for the Saviorâs sendoff into the unknown.
Commissioned by the Cantata Singers and Ensemble of Boston, John Harbisonâs The Flight into Egypt is a one-movement work for solo soprano and baritone, chorus, and chamber orchestra, lasting fourteen minutes. It won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Music. Harbison composed the work following a discussion he had with his wife and with conductor Craig Smith about how isolation and anxiety increase during the Christmas season.
Iâve come across several songs under this Gaelic title, and while the origin of some is cited as traditional Irish, others have different words and tunes and named composers. Recordings can be found on Finola Ă SiochrĂșâs Light of Lights: Solas na Soilse (composer: SeĂĄn Ăg Ă Tuama); Anonymous 4âs Wolcum Yule: Celtic and British Songs and Carols; Carols from the Old and New Worlds, Vol.
In the 20th and early 21st centuries, interest in the music of the pharaonic/ancient Egyptian period began to grow, inspired by the research of such foreign-born musicologists as Hans Hickmann, who lived and worked in Egypt.
PYRAMID Dreams: Ancient Egyptian Music with Vocals
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