Theory and Practice of Classical Music from the Mediterranean and Near and Middle East

Abstract

String instruments play a central role in the timbral and expressive articulation of traditional and classical performance practices in the Near and Middle East. In particular, instruments such as the kamancheh, rabab, and “Arabized“ violin (tuned according to the microtones of maqamat) are used not only to accompany singing but also to express, through long melismas, wide vibratos, and refined glissandi, the emotional content of the maqam and the tarab. The bow, with its ability to sustain sound and finely model inflections, is the preferred instrument for creating heterophony and producing the ornamental embellishments that characterize Arabic, Turkish, and Persian music. In this context, the contribution of Western string instruments, readapted through new tunings and intonation practices, is crucial for constructing hybrid musical languages capable of blending tradition and experimentation. In light of geopolitical changes, globalization, and technological developments, and contrary to certain public opinion that tends to irreversibly close barriers between cultures ⎼ effectively imposing borders, walls, and sharp classifications between disciplines ⎼ I believe it is necessary to address the theme of the “glocal“ scientifically in Higher Artistic Education Institutions, as well as in university faculties. This means the inclusion of traditional cultures within a globalized context, proposing a way of thinking that integrates the education and creative production of new generations of artists. The implementation of a laboratory on Theory and Practice of Near Eastern Music was a scientific and innovative educational and cultural proposal. Its primary objective was to start from a Conservatory of Music and then be replicable in all Italian and European conservatories with the aim of disseminating local traditions and those of countries and cultural systems distant from our own. More importantly, it aimed to develop transversal skills, raise important aesthetic and cultural questions, and promote the cross-fertilization of artistic languages as an inexhaustible source of human and creative enrichment.