“YaHalaly Yamalay” is a dance song, an energizing Arabic party tune that you may hear at a wedding while dancing the dabke.
In our classes we take “YaHalaly Yamalay” out of the wedding hall and use it, conceptually, as a window into Arabic rhythms. Noting that Arabic music features fascinating time signatures, with rhythms that could bring any number of beats, we count any number — 5, 12, 19… — then, just to get the feel, stomp or clap along. Because 7 is a lucky number, when we say 7 we say, “YAY!” Since 13 is unlucky, when we hear it we BOO. An exception — at points in Egypt’s history, 13 was considered lucky because it aligned with the number of Gods. So, when we say, “13 in Egypt,” what do we say…? YAY!
Tag Archives | Lebanon
Masters of the Dabke!
Masters of the Dabke!
The most beloved folk dance in Lebanon is surely the dabke, which hasn’t lost its luster even though it is centuries old. No one really knows the dabke’s origins, though one tradition explains that the dance began in a region where houses were built of stone walls but had roofs made of wood, straw and dirt. Workers and neighbors would stomp the dirt with their feet to compact it, singing “Let’s go and help.” This helpful, communal verse developed into a song called, “Ala Dal Ouna” and formed the backdrop for the dance. In this video watch the Masters of the Dabke show you what’s what.
The First Lady of Lebanese Music
Born Nuhad Haddad to a Maronite Christian family in Beirut in 1935, “Fairuz” (which means “turquoise” in Arabic) is generally revered as second only to the great Oum Klahtom in the legion of all-time emotionally powerful Arabic vocalists.
Known as “Ambassador to the Stars,” in tune with the song, “Neighbor to the Moon,” (which All Around This World adapted as “Nahna Wil Kamar,” Fairuz first became famous in the ’60 and ’70s as part of a Lebanese Folk revival, performing with well-known singers Sabah and Wadi’ al-Safi. Her career really took off when she connected with Assi and Mansour Rahbani who composed some of her most famous songs. (She married Assi.) Fairuz and the Rahbanis earned respect throughout the Arab world for addressing relevant social issues in their music. During the Lebanese Civil War Fairuz refused to leave the Beirut, even during its darkest days. She also remained neutral in the fight. Lebanese of all ethnic and religious backgrounds praised her greatly for staying with them as they struggled. Watch her captivate an audience.
A Golden Age of Lebanese Music?
Were the decades between World War II and the start of the Lebanese Civil War (1975) the Golden Age of Lebanese pop music, or was it the Golden Age of Traditional Lebanese Music Sometimes Updated to Embrace Western Song Structures While Still Featuring Ancient Arabic Instruments Like the Oud (a Middle Eastern/Asian guitar-like lute0, the Mijwiz (a double-pipe, single-reed clarinet), the Durbakke (a goblet drum), the Riq (a tambourine-like frame drum) and especially the Buzaq (a long-necked lute). Carla Fleyhan of Brazil’s “Jornal Jovem” characterizes (and surely idealizes) post-World War II, pre-Civil War Lebanon, as, “Friendship, love, peace, safety, charity, life on the pond, joy, and happiness, but above all this the arts: this is how life was in Lebanon.” Good? (In this video watch beloved Lebanese vocalist Fairuz, known for her popular modern music, perform a traditional tune with Nasri Shamsedine.)
