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The music of Iraq (&nbsp;) spans numerous genres across many different cultures and ethnic groups, including Mesopotamian Arabic, Assyrian, Kurdish, and Turkmen, among others. Apart from the traditional music of these peoples, Iraqi music includes contemporary music styles like pop, rock, soul and urban contemporary. Prominent instruments used in the production of many Iraqi musical works include the oud, Iraqi santur, and rebab.

History

left|thumb|The Queen's gold lyre from the Royal Cemetery at Ur. [[Iraq Museum, Baghdad]]

Instruments

In 1929, archaeologists led by the British archaeologist Leonard Woolley, representing a joint expedition of the British Museum and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, discovered the Lyres of Ur or Harps of Ur, which are considered to be the world's second oldest surviving stringed instruments when excavating the Royal Cemetery of Ur between from 1922 and 1934. They discovered pieces of three lyres and one harp in Ur, located in what was Ancient Mesopotamia, modern day Iraq. They are over 4,500 years old, from ancient Mesopotamia during the Early Dynastic III Period (2550–2450 BC). The decorations on the lyres are fine examples of the court art of Mesopotamia of the period.

Maqam

left|thumb|[[Nazem al-Ghazali|Nazem Ghazali was one of the most popular singers in the history of Iraq and in the Arab world. His songs are still heard by many in the Arab world. He was known by his maqam songs.]]

Across the Arab world, refers to specific melodic modes. When a musician performs performances, the performer improvises, based on rules. There are between fifty and seventy , each with its own mood and characteristics, and many of which have sub-styles. Other characteristics of Iraqi music include a slow tempo, rhythmically free ornamentation or melodic lines, and predominantly minor modes. Instruments include , , , , , , and . Baghdad's Chalgi ensembles typically include the and , and may also utilize an .

right|thumb|"Lil 'Ashiqi fi-l Hawa Dala'il" by Ahmed Abdul Qadir al-Musili (1877-1941).

Maqama texts are often derived from classical Arabic poetry, such as by Muhammad Mahdi al-Jawahiri, al-Mutanabbi and Abu Nuwas, or Persian poets like Hafez and Omar Khayyám. Some performers used traditional sources translated into the dialect of Baghdad, and still others use Arabic, Turkish, Armenian, Hebrew, Turkmen, Aramaic or Persian language lyrics.

History

The roots of modern Iraqi maqam can be traced as far back as the Abbasid Caliphate, when that large empire was controlled from Baghdad.

The pesteh, a kind of light song which concludes a maqam performance, has been popularized in the later 20th century, growing more prominent along with the rise of recorded music and broadcast radio. Among the most popular pesteh performers are the husband and wife Salima Pasha and Nazem Al-Ghazali.

The most popular modern singers of maqam are Rachid Al-Qundarchi (1887–1945), Youssouf Omar (1918–1987), Nazem Al-Ghazali (1920–1963), Salim Shibbeth (born 1908), Hassan Chewke (1912–1962), Najim Al-Sheikhli (1893–1938), Mohammed Al-Qubanchi (1900–1989), Hamid Al Saadi (1959-), and Farida Mohammad Ali (1963-), who moved to the Netherlands in 1997.

Modern era

thumb|[[Munir Bashir, an Iraqi musician.]]

thumb|[[Ilham al-Madfai|Ilham Madfai, "The Baghdad Beatle". Madfai's synthesis of Western guitar stylings with traditional Iraqi music has made him a popular performer in his native country and throughout the Middle East.]]

In 1936, Iraq Radio was established by two of Iraq's most prominent performers and composers, the Kuwaiti-born Iraqi Jewish musicians, Saleh and Daoud al-Kuwaity with an ensemble, with the exception of the percussion player. The nightclubs of Baghdad also featured almost entirely Jewish musicians. At these nightclubs, ensembles consisted of oud, qanun and two percussionists while the same format with ney and cello were used on the radio.

One of the reasons for the predominance of Jewish instrumentalists in early 20th century Iraqi music was a prominent school for blind Jewish children, which was founded in the late 1920s by the great qanunji ("qanun player") Joseph Hawthorne (Yusef Za'arur) ( ).

The most famous singer of the 1930s&ndash;1940s was perhaps the Iraqi Jewish singer Salima Pasha. The respect and adoration for Pasha were unusual at the time, since public performance by women was considered shameful and most female singers were recruited from brothels.), Salman Shukur, Ghanim Haddad, and Rahim AlHaj, who studied under Munir and Jamil Bashir as well as and composer and oud player Salim Abdul Kareem.

Effect of 2003 Iraq War

After the 2003 invasion of Iraq and fall of Saddam Hussein, and with some religious figures coming to power, concerts were forbidden in areas considered as "conservative". However, since 2018, many concert were held in different areas throughout the country. In 2021, Babylon arts festival was held for the first time in almost 20 years. Performers were from Iraq, Middle East, Europe and Africa.

Film

The 2015 documentary film On the Banks of the Tigris, by filmmaker Marsha Emerman and Iraqi-Australian writer and actor Majid Shokor, shows some of the historical and contemporary Iraqi musicians and traditions. It features Iraqi Jewish musicians who moved from Baghdad, where they were celebrities, to Israel, where they were anonymous. Shokor left Iraq as a refuguee from Saddam Hussein's regime, as did many musicians. The film was awarded Best Documentary Film at the Baghdad International Film Festival that year.

Important musicians

  • List of Iraqi musicians

See also

  • Jazz in Iraq
  • Music and Ballet School of Baghdad
  • Underground music in Iraq

References

Further reading

  • Badley, Bill and Zein al Jundi. "Europe Meets Asia". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 391–395. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books.
  • BBC Radio 3 Audio (60 minutes): Iraq's classical and gypsy music traditions. Accessed November 25, 2010.
  • BBC Radio 3 Audio (60 minutes): Ilham Al-Madfai. Accessed November 25, 2010.
  • Iraq4u Music
  • Sephardic Pizmonim Project by Jewish community of the Middle East.