An introduction to the celebrated legacy of Al-Andalus (Islamic Spain) through the lens of the muwashshah. A unique poetic form, the muwashshah embodied the spirit of convivencia by incorporating elements from Romance, Arab, and Hebrew cultures. The talk covered the historical backdrop of Al-Andalus, the development of the muwashshah form in Arabic poetry, its adoption by Andalusian Hebrew poets, and its legacy in both Arabic and Hebrew after the expulsion from Spain.

Al-Bustan is pleased to have presented the first event of Words Adorned with University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (NELC). Dr. Huda Fakhreddine and Dr. Lital Levy spoke about muwashshahat, a form of Arabic poetry popularized in Al-Andalus, Islamic Spain. The attendees, comprised of over 50 people, were introduced to the history and culture of Al-Andalus, with an overview of Arab poetry and the significance of muwashshahat as a poetic form and its impact on both Arab and Jewish culture.

Dr. Fakhreddine spoke primarily on the literary qualities of muwashshahat and how it compares to the Arabic qasida (the classic Arabic poetic form). As she stated:

The term muwashshah means that which is adorned and of course the project is called Words Adorned and the first thing that comes to mind is embellishment or adornment in clothing or in the form of jewelry. That is exactly what the word poetically means. Poetically it refers to poetry composed in an extended ‘urud, meaning an extended metrical form a variation and adaptation in the opening of the classical system of metrics.

By examining concepts such as theme and meter within muwashshahat, Arabic qasida, and modern Arabic poetry, Dr. Fakhreddine was able to discern stages in the evolution of Arabic poetry. She emphasized that:

The most important dominant feature, the characterizing feature of the muwashshah is rhyming, where as your pre-Islamic poet had one rhyme marking the end of his verse. The washshah, the author of the muwashshah, now created more ends for his line allowing himself to create more rhymes. And the rhymes are the embellishments they are the jewels at the end of every line.

She ended her presentation with an excerpt from the poem “Eleven Stars Over Andalusia” by Mahmoud Darwish that alludes to the prominence of Al-Andalus in Arab culture.

Dr. Levy’s presentation provided a window into the way that muwashshahat influenced Jewish culture in Al-Andalus, and its legacy in contemporary Jewish culture. As she noted:

…Previously in Babylon, Jews had used Aramaic over the course of the couple generations, and then replaced it with Arabic.  Jews come to use Arabic both for their scholarly productions and for everyday communication. In fact the penetration of Arabic in Islamic culture was so thorough that Arabic words entered Jewish culture even in the contexts of religion. For instance, Allah for God, Quran for Torah and so forth.

An expert on the interplay between Arabic and Hebrew in contemporary Palestine and Israel, Dr. Levy spoke about the prominence of Arabic in all aspects of Jewish life in Al-Andalus—not only was Arabic the lingua franca in Al-Andalus, it actually influenced the Hebrew poetic forms of that era. She explained:

Arabic speaking Jews had both Arabic and Hebrew names. . . Essentially Hebrew takes the status of the ceremonial language and Arabic is the language of communication. We can also see the influence of Islam on Jewish prayer customs in Islamic lands, like washing feet, and not only hands, before prayer — that’s something that is adopted from Islamic practice.

An afternoon of music with poetry selected from the Andalusian muwashshah and Golden Age of Arab music.

Al-Bustan is pleased to have presented the third event of Words Adorned featuring Ahmad Almallah’s reading of a sampling of Andalusian poetry with music by Al-Bustan Tkaht Ensemble: Hanna Khoury on violin, Hicham Chami on qanun, Kinan Abou-afach on cello, and Hafez Kotain on riq. This musical-literary afternoon was well received by the attendees, as we heard afterwards:.=

– A magnificient auditory experience to remember.
– An outstanding musical performance.
– Transcendental in nature and soothing to the spirit.
– Superb musicianship!
– I most enjoyed the musical selections and Q&A session afterwards. The musicians’ responses wore informative.

Watch video recording showing a medley of qudud halabiya by Al-Bustan Takht Ensemble with Ahamd Almallah reading selections of poems by Abu Bakr Ibn Yahya Ibn Baqiyy :

Presenting: A Talk by Dr. Dede Fairchild Ruggles
Islamic gardens were richly sensory environments: the poets tell us so, the manuscript paintings show us, and our own encounters with modern gardens reminds us of these pleasures. Dr. Ruggles will discuss the Andalusian Garden as she tries to answer the question: how do we study the sensory experiences of the past, given that the ephemeral effects of scented flowers and fleeting sounds leave so few traces?

D. Fairchild Ruggles is Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, with additional appointments to Architecture, Art History, Women’s Studies, and Medieval Studies. She directs the PhD Programs for the School of Architecture and the Department of Landscape Architecture and co-founded the Collaborative for Cultural Heritage and Museum Practices. She is trained as an historian of Islamic art and architecture, and her first body of research examined the medieval Andalusian landscape as a complex working system in which culture and ideology were inseparable from agricultural practice and economy, water management, and systems of representation. She has also written about the identity formation made possible by the positioning of the subjective self in relation to visually perceived space, problems of representation and the natural or “real,” the historiographic location of Islamic visual culture vis-a-vis the art of the western and ancient world, and the complex interrelationship of Islamic culture with Christianity, Judaism, and Hinduism and the precise ways that religion and culture are often conflated in the study of these. She is the author of two award-winning books on gardens: Gardens, Landscape, and Vision in the Palaces of Islamic Spain (2000), and Islamic Gardens and Landscapes (2008). Additionally she has edited or co-edited numerous works, including Women, Patronage, and Self-Representation in Islamic Societies (2000), the award winning Sites Unseen: Landscape and Vision (2007), Cultural Heritage and Human Rights (2007), Intangible Heritage Embodied (2009), On Location (2012), and Islamic Art and Visual Culture: An Anthology of Sources (2011).

The Crossing is a professional 24-member chamber choir conducted by Donald Nally. Dedicated to new music, The Crossing is consistently recognized in critical reviews, hailed as “ardently angelic” (Los Angeles Times) and “something of a miracle” (Philadelphia Inquirer). Formed by a group of friends in 2005, the ensemble has since grown exponentially and “has made a name for itself in recent years as a champion of new music.” (New York Times).

Highly sought-after for collaborative projects, The Crossing was the resident choir of the Spoleto Festival, Italy in 2007; appeared at Columbia University’S Miller Theatre in the American premiere of James Dillon’s Nine Rivers with the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE); joined Bang on a Can’s first Philadelphia Marathon; and has appeared with the American Composers Orchestra, Network for New Music, Lyric Fest, red fish blue fish, Tempesta di Mare Baroque Chamber Orchestra, PRISM Saxophone Quartet, Toshimaru Nakamura, Dolce Suono and, in the summer of 2013, the Rolling Stones.

The ensemble has sung in such venues as LA’s Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They made their Lincoln Center debut in 2014 in a world premiere of John Luther Adams, a collaboration with the Mostly Mozart Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival, eighth blackbird, Jack Quartet, and TILT Brass.

Al-Bustan Takht Ensemble formed in 2009 as an initiative of Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture, under the direction of Music Director Hanna Khoury. The Ensemble includes virtuoso musicians immersed in classical Arab music. All renowned musicians in their own right, three members of the ensemble are recipients of the prestigious Pew Fellowship for the Arts. Their individual experience crosses decades and continents, and includes touring and recording with prominent orchestras from both Western and Arab musical traditions; collaborating with iconic musicians from Marcel Khalife and Fairouz to Sting and Shakira. The Ensemble represents the finest practitioners and scholars of both Western and Arab musical tradition: Music Director Hanna Khoury (violin), Kinan Abou-Afach (cello/composer), Hicham Chami (qanun), Hafez Kotain (percussion) – photo by Dave Tavani.

Steeped in the Arab classical music tradition, Dalal Abu Amneh demonstrated her talent, singing several muwashshahat and fielding a variety of questions about her career, traditional vs folk Arab music, and her aspirations as a Palestinian artist. Members of the Arabic Choir Class held at UPenn opened the evening singing a few Andalusian muwashshahat and then accompanied Dalal in the choral parts as she sang solo.

Photos by Chip Colson:

[See image gallery at albustanseeds.org]

West met East on a lofty plateau. A fugue, something associated with cerebral moments in J.S. Bach, unfolded with customary correctness but in a thoroughly Arabic melody. The piece was Of Nights and Solace: Fantasia on Andalusian Muwashshah Poetry by Syrian-born, Philadelphia-based composer Kinan Abou-afach, heard in its world premiere at Bryn Mawr College’s Goodhart Hall, and was, to these ears, the moment when these two musical worlds came together on a new level. With microtonal Arabic scales, musical possibilities multiplied. The 12-tone western scales do good services, but are often engaged in the art of implying something beyond themselves. With 24 Arabic tones, implication isn’t so necessary.

 
Photos by Chip Colson:
[See image gallery at albustanseeds.org]