Eid al-Adha 2024: A Look at the Musical Influences of the Muslim World
June 21, 2024
By Malcolm Alexander
Eid al-Adha is one of the most important holidays within the religion of Islam. The typically three to four day long celebration, known in English as “The Festival of Sacrifice,” remembers the devotion to Allah shown by the prophet Ibrahim. In honor of the holiday, which fell between June 16th and 19th this year, and the diverse cultures that celebrate it globally, we’re taking a look at the influence that Muslim musicians have had on classical music and highlighting a few artists who originate from majority Muslim regions.
When examining the musical stylings and history of Muslim majority regions, it is important to acknowledge that the instruments, scales, languages, and sentiments behind compositions originating from various cultures can differ greatly, yet, have all had influence on one another and the broader canon of classical music. This influence dates as far back as the medieval period, with instruments like the guitar and violin having roots in instruments originating from the 8th to 14th century occupation of the Iberian peninsula by Muslim caliphates and emirates. The lute, an instrument that became fundamental to “Western” musical stylings from the medieval to Baroque eras, is believed to share common ancestors and traits with the Arabic oud. The rebab is one of the earliest known bowed string instruments and has been attributed to the development of the rebec, an early interpretation of the modern day violin. In addition, several early forms of drums, flutes, and bore instruments share features similar to early instruments like the balaban and naqareh. These early ancestors of prominent “Western” instruments were spread throughout the region and eventually made their way to Europe via trade routes through the Byzantine, Persian and Ottoman empires.
The influence of Islamic Iberia, also known as Al-Andalus, continues to inspire modern day composers. Jordi Savall, a Catalan composer and conductor, has created multiple works based around the sounds and instrumentation of the early Islamic music of his Spanish homeland including his “Orient-Occident” series of albums meant to highlight the collective musical roots shared by “Western” and “Eastern” musicians dating back to antiquity.
The Persian Empire, which covered much of Eurasia but mainly the territories now known as Iran, has also had an extensive influence on classical music. Some even attribute the invention of music theory to Sasanian kings who ruled the land prior to Muslim conquest. Following the conquest and spread of Islam across the region, musical theorists such as Al Farabi, Avicenna and Al-Ghazali published many works on the importance of music and the Persian tonal system, defining the sound that many now recognize as specifically “Eastern” when compared to the classical “Western” scale. Much like the instruments and concepts of Al-Andalus, these ideas spread throughout the world through trade, especially via the Silk Road linking Europe to Asia.
Today, the countries that make up these regions have produced countless musicians whose works incorporate both Western classical traditions and the cultural music of their homelands. Lebanese composer Marcel Khalife uses traditional Arab instruments such as the rebab and oud in his works. Composers like Parviz Meshkatian and Kayhan Kalhor have engraved themselves into Iranian classical music history with their use of traditional instrumentation and musical influences. Tunisian born composer Anouar Brahem fuses classical Arabic instrumentation, like the use of the oud, in fusions of jazz, classical and folk musical traditions. Turkey, once the center of the Islamic Ottoman Empire’s vast reach, has also produced a wide range of classical music with ties to the medieval Islamic past, as composers such as Ahmed Adnan Saygun and Cemal Resit Rey have become well known for fusing traditional Turkish folk instrumentation and music with Western classical styles at the dawn of the Republic of Türkiye in the early 20th century.
Whether you are celebrating Eid al-Adha this year, or simply interested in making a few timely musical discoveries, we hope you’ll take a moment to learn more about Muslim majority cultures’ many important contributions to the development of the classical music art form we all enjoy today.
If you know of other composers and works who deserve a spotlight following this Eid al-Adha (and all year round), please connect with us on Facebook or Instagram!
Pictured: People gathered at Kaaba, Mecca, Saudi Arabia. By Konevi/Pexels.
Malcolm Alexander is a third year student at Ithaca College, where he is pursuing a degree in Journalism and History. This summer, Malcolm has been helping ensure that listeners are receiving the highest quality classical programming on WDAV’s HD1 and HD2 channels. He loves music of all genres, and enjoys learning more about the people and stories behind music as well.
1 The Rebab, a stringed instrument used widely throughout Islamic influenced lands. By Thomas Quine – Flickr: One-string violin, CC BY 2.0.
2 A similar stringed instrument, the rebec, is a relative of the rebab. By St. Cecilia’s Hall, CC BY 4.0.
3 The naqareh, a drum used in throughout the Islamic world, draws its name from the Arabic نَقَرَ , a verb meaning to strike, knock, tap or peck. By Collectie Wereldmuseum (v/h Tropenmuseum), part of the National Museum of World Cultures, CC BY-SA 3.0.