Mut'at al-asma' fi 'ilm al-sama' The ears' pleasure and the science of listening to music / by Ahmad b. Yusuf Al-tifashi l-qafsi (580-651/1184-1253) ; [translated] by George Sawa.

Uniform titleMut'at al-asma' fi 'ilm al-sama'. English.
Parallel title Ears' pleasure and the science of listening to music
SeriesIslamic history and civilization, 0929-2403 ; 206
Contents The Eminence of Listening to Music above All Else, and the Superiority of Melodies and the Wonderful Effects They Have on the Human Body -- The Importance of Listening to Singing While Drinking and the Exclusive Usefulness of Listening While Drinking over Other Activities -- When It Is Appropriate to Listen and Drink -- The Order of Singing in a Drinking Majlis -- The Poetical Qualities That Complete the Pleasure of the Listener When Added to Music -- How the Strings Wondrously Affect the Four Humors That Make Up the Human Body -- About the Divine Secret Causing the Effects of Melodies on the Souls of Humans and Animals -- The Singer's Excellent Qualities -- How to Listen to Singing in the Musical Majlis -- The Singing Styles of People of Different Regions and the Repertoire of the People of the Maghrib -- Andalusian Musical Laws : [The Composers and] Their Instruments -- The Origin of the Old Singing and the Modes Used in All the Songs of the Arabs and the Persians in the Eastern and Western Empire -- Mention of the Memorized Repertoire among the Common Singers in Our Era in the Eastern Empire and Their Poems -- The Difference in Superiority between the Easy and Plain Singing with Few Cycles and Notes, and Its Opposite, the One with Heavier Cycles and Many Notes -- Melodies That Resemble the Meanings and Suit the Poems -- The Definition of Singing -- The Origin of Arabic Singing, Its Source and Birth Place -- Favoring Older Singing over the Modern -- The Process of Composition -- The Amount of Tarab That Affects the Person Knowledgeable in the Art of Singing --
Contents What Songs the Singer Should Start with at the Beginning of His Performance in the Majlis -- The Necessary Conditions of the Excellent Singer and His Good Standing with Listeners -- Good and Bad, Stated or Implied Song Themes -- On the Proper Behavior to Praise Men and Women Singers -- The Conditions Required to Be a Skilled Singer, and the Necessity of Combining Theoretical and Practical Knowledge -- How to Choose Would-Be Singers (Girls and Boys) in order to Teach Them Singing -- Which Singer Is Pleasant to Listen to -- Singing and the Requirements of Dignified Hearing and Respectful Listening -- The Relation between the Prosodic Meters and the Rhythmic Modes -- Behavior in front of Kings and Their Subjects -- The First to Invent and Devise Rhythm -- The Rhythmic Modes (Tariqa), Their Numbers, Their Basic (Asl) and Ornamented Forms (Far') -- Which Particular Genuses of Modes Should Be Used in Which Types of Melodies -- The Characteristics of the Urghanin Copied from Ibn al-Tahhan's Treatise -- The Characteristics of the Rabab from the Book of Ibn al-Tahhan -- The Characteristics of the Lute from the Rasa'il (Epistles) of the Ikhwan al-Safa' -- The Resemblance of the Laws of Music to the Laws of Prosody -- The Durations of the Attacks, the Durations of the Rhythmic Modes, Their Harmony and Disharmony That Are Called Being in Rhythm and off Rhythm -- The Reason for Calling the 'Ud the Barbat; the First to Create It and Play It; the Reason for Bringing It into Existence; 'Ud Strings and Their Relations with the Four Basic Elements and the Four Humors of the Human Being -- The Rhythmic Modes -- How Compactly Twisted Strings and Less Dense Strings Affect the Human Humors -- At What Time Should the Singing Slave Girls Be Invited to Sing -- Wonderful and Beautiful Poems about the Description of Singing, Singers, and Their Instruments -- Poems about Musical Instruments -- Good Satires Mentioned about Mediocre Singers and Wind Players (Zamara) -- Dance and Requirements the Dancer Must Fulfill to Be Free of Mistakes and Imperfections; Mention of Excellent Skills; Mention of the Types Used in Various Regions and Countries -- Marvelous and Pure Poems Composed by Eastern and Western Poets about All Types of Dances and Shadow Dances -- Appendix. the Qualities Required of Dancers according to al-Mas'udi
Abstract "The manuscript from the thirteenth century deals with musicians' behaviour at the court; singers' qualities; the eminence of music and its effect on people and animals; the importance of drinking when listening to music; the process of composition; rhythmic and melodic modes, and repertoire in Andalusia, the Maghreb, Persia and the Middle East; Andalusian song lyrics and the appearance of new poetic forms such as the zajal and the muwashshah; Andalusian musical instruments; dances of Egypt, Iraq, Syria, India and China; Andalusian dances and shadow plays and shadow dancers; aesthetics of dance; poems describing the dances"-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references (pages 208-212) and index.
Access restrictionAvailable only to authorized users.
Technical detailsMode of access: World Wide Web
Genre/formElectronic books.
LCCN 2023050902
ISBN9789004542778 (hardback)
ISBN(ebook)

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