The Arab world is constantly in the news. This book gives students and general readers an introduction to Arab culture by surveying the folklore of the region. The volume defines and classifies different types of folklore and provides a wide range of examples and texts. It looks at the critical and scholarly response to Arab folklore and the place of Arab folklore in contemporary culture. Included are references to numerous print and electronic works for further reading. The Arab world is constantly in the news, and students and general readers need to become familiar with Arab culture. Central to any society are the beliefs and customs held dear by the people. In examining Arab folklore, this book provides a fundamental understanding of the ways of the Arab world. In doing so, it helps readers appreciate Arab culture and gain insight into one of the world's most politically and economically important regions. Arab folklore is exotic to most students, and this volume begins by defining and classifying different folklore types. It then provides a wide range of examples and texts related to Arab folklore. It surveys the critical and scholarly response to Arab folklore and discusses the importance of Arab folklore to popular culture. The volume closes with a bibliography of print and electronic sources for further reading.

The Musical Heritage of Al-Andalus is a critical account of the history of Andalusian music in Iberia from the Islamic conquest of 711 to the final expulsion of the Moriscos (Spanish Muslims converted to Christianity) in the early 17th century. This volume presents the documentation that has come down to us, accompanied by critical and detailed analyses of the sources written in Arabic, Old Catalan, Castilian, Hebrew, and Latin. It is also informed by research the author has conducted on modern Andalusian musical traditions in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria. While the cultural achievements of medieval Muslim Spain have been the topic of a large number of scholarly and popular publications in recent decades, what may arguably be its most enduring contribution – music – has been almost entirely neglected. The overarching purpose of this work is to elucidate as clearly as possible the many different types of musical interactions that took place in medieval Iberia and the complexity of the various borrowings, adaptations, hybridizations, and appropriations involved.

Comparative studies of a number of mixed prose-and-verse literatures, from Europe to the Orient, from classical culture to the 19th century. In virtually all the literary traditions of the world there are works of verbal art that depend for part of their effect on the juxtaposition of prose and verse. This volume takes the first step towards a comparative study of "prosimetrum", the mixture of prose and verse, with essays by leading linguists and literary scholars of a selection of prosimetrical traditions. The nature of what constitutes verse or prose is one underlying question addressed. An outline of historical developments emerges, especially for Europe and the Near East, with articles on classical, medieval and nineteenth-century literatures. Oriental prosimetrical literatures discussed include that of Vedic Indiaand the old literary cultures of China and Japan; also represented are oral and oral-derived folk literatures of recent centuries in Africa, the West, and Inner Asia. Professor KARL REICHL teaches in the English Department at the University of Bonn; Professor JOSEPH HARRIS teaches in the English Department at Harvard University. Contributors: KRISTIN HANSON, PAUL KIPARSKY, JAN ZIOLKOWSKI, ARDIS BUTTERFIELD, PROINSIAS Mac CANA, JOSEPH HARRIS, JUDITH RYAN, W.F.H. NICOLAISEN, LEE HARING, STEVEN WEITZMAN, WOLFHART HEINRICHS, DWIGHT REYNOLDS, JULIE SCOTT MEISAMI, KARL REICHL, WALTHER HEISSIG

The Musical Heritage of Al-Andalus is a critical account of the history of Andalusian music in Iberia from the Islamic conquest of 711 to the final expulsion of the Moriscos (Spanish Muslims converted to Christianity) in the early 17th century. This volume presents the documentation that has come down to us, accompanied by critical and detailed analyses of the sources written in Arabic, Old Catalan, Castilian, Hebrew, and Latin. It is also informed by research the author has conducted on modern Andalusian musical traditions in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria. While the cultural achievements of medieval Muslim Spain have been the topic of a large number of scholarly and popular publications in recent decades, what may arguably be its most enduring contribution - music - has been almost entirely neglected. The overarching purpose of this work is to elucidate as clearly as possible the many different types of musical interactions that took place in medieval Iberia and the complexity of the various borrowings, adaptations, hybridizations, and appropriations involved.

Expert writers present the major traditions of North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, together with personal accounts of performers, composers, teachers and ceremonies. A special feature of this volume is the inclusion of dozens of brief essays that offer 'life stories' of typical music makers and their art, as well as first-person descriptions of specific music performances and events. Approximately 120 articles cover communities that preserve and enrich centuries-old traditions. The volume also explores such topics as political dissent, pop music genres, technology, poetry, gender and the historical and scholarly roots of Middle Eastern music.

Medieval Arab Music and Musicians offers complete, annotated English translations of three of the most important medieval Arabic texts on music and musicians: the biography of the musician Ibrahim al-Mawsili from al-Isbahani's Kitab al-Aghani (10th c), the biography of the musician Ziryab from Ibn Hayyan's Kitab al-Muqtabis (11th c), and the earliest treatise on the muwashshah Andalusi song genre, Dar al-Tiraz, by the Egyptian scholar Ibn Sana' al-Mulk (13th c). Al-Mawsili, the most famous musician of his era, was also the teacher of the legendary Ziryab, who traveled from Baghdad to al-Andalus and is often said to have laid the foundations of Andalusi music. The third text is crucial to any understanding of the medieval muwashshah and its possible relations to the Troubadours, the Cantigas de Santa Maria, and the Andalusi musical traditions of the modern Middle East.