Music in Saudi Arabia tunes into a new and modernised futurehttps://en.majalla.com/node/294536/culture-social-affairs/music-saudi-arabia-tunes-new-and-modernised-future
Music in Saudi Arabia tunes into a new and modernised future
Opening up a new generation to training in the artform will reshape the Kingdom’s cultural scene, and a new set of refreshed festivals in cities are already popular
AFP
People attend the Soundstorm music festival, organized by MDLBEAST, in Banban on the outskirts of the Saudi capital Riyadh on December 16, 2021.
Music in Saudi Arabia tunes into a new and modernised future
Times are changing for music in Saudi Arabia. After introducing art education in schools and universities, theatres in the Kingdom are now hosting Arab and international artists.
It is helping set the stage for the development of home-grown talent, sowing seeds for a bigger industry for future musical acts in major music festivals, and pushing the industry toward new horizons.
The long journey that the industry is on in the country – to preserve the identity of Saudi music while also modernising it – has been started by the General Entertainment Authority, set up in 2016, and the Music Commission, established in 2020.
They will also help take Saudi music to the world stage, as well as bring some forms of world music, via domestic artists, to audiences at home. Opera will be included, within the framework of the most prominent international festivals.
A show called Masterpieces of Saudi Music will be held at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris and there was another concert run by the Music Commission just days ago in Mexico.
Annual festivals led by entirely Saudi bands are a clear indication of society's acceptance, as understanding of the cultural value of music grows. The goal is to build on the established traditions of Saudi artists who have graced the country’s music scene since the 1950s.
Annual festivals led by entirely Saudi bands are a clear indication of society's acceptance, as understanding of the cultural value of music grows.
A nod to the greats in the name of theatres
High-profile moves include dedicating a museum to the famous Saudi musician Tariq Abdul Hakim in Jeddah in 2020, and opening the Music Research Centre as a historical nucleus for research and writing in the field of Saudi music and song history.
Additionally, the Kingdom's largest artistic theatre was named after the legendary Saudi performer and composer Talal Maddah.
As well as honouring the great names of the past, this comprehensive Saudi modernisation project is also giving music new impetus through public celebrations and local festivals in cities and participation in international cultural festivals.
This constitutes a critical part of the link between an under-celebrated past and a future in which Saudi Arabia will showcase Arab and world art, becoming a pioneer in production and development of talent.
People attend the Soundstorm music festival, organized by MDLBEAST, in Banban on the outskirts of the Saudi capital Riyadh on December 16, 2021.
History of Saudi music
The documented history of music in the Kingdom goes back by around 120 years. Now – with music becoming a reinvigorated part of cultural identity, alongside other forms of art – it is a good time to tune into this heritage.
Between 1903 and 1905, the first record was made by the Dutch consulate in Saudi Arabia. It featured voices singing songs accompanying the Hajj rituals, and singing songs together that appeared to be related to social rituals.
The pioneer of the 1950s scene was Tariq Abdul Hakim (1912-2012), who studied and composed music that evoked the spirit of special memory. He was a farmer who memorised songs passed down through his ancestors singing before him.
He received a princely scholarship to study music in Egypt and then established the Saudi song in terms of melody and lyrics via Egyptian, Lebanese and Syrian Arab singers.
Abdul Hakim took traditional songs, passed down by ear, and set them down in music on paper, documenting and consolidating the form of Saudi music. All of his tunes, up until the 1970s, were the product of a reflective spirit and an emotional connection to the region's identity and heritage.
Then Talal Maddah captivated the Arab audience with his mastery of performing three couplets within the melodies of the songs he wrote, and the songs he sang and composed.
Another artist, Muhammad Abdu, also played a significant role in preserving the spiritual essence of Saudi and Arab "tarab", an Arabic word that channels the emotional effect of music and has become the genre's name.
This tarab tradition intertwines poetic expression and melodic composition, serving as an inward meditation and a personal journey through gradually unfolding emotional states.
Tariq Abdul Hakim— a pioneer of Saudi music — took traditional songs, passed down by ear, and set them down in music on paper, documenting and consolidating the form of Saudi music.
Unique identity
A move from contemplative spirituality within the music has given the Saudi sound a harmonious and unique identity.
This has preserved a musical model with a range of techniques, incorporating the feeling and the lyrics of the songs as a mechanism to encapsulate life, time, joy and emotions. All of this has evolved while the songs feature simple, accessible lyrics to express everyday moments in a captivating way.
Up to the turn of the century, Saudi musical identity seemed to belong to two worlds: the older world closer to the spirit in the long melodies with varied, powerful and influential couplets, as opposed to the modern, fast-moving world.
Saudi singer Dalia and US dj Steve Aoki perform on stage during the Jeddah World music Festival on July 18, 2019, at the King Abdullah Sports City in the coastal city of Jeddah.
Traditional songs were characterised by the length of the octave and the musical phrase, the way they channelled emotional states and the connection of the melody with the poetic methodology of blending language and melody. For the modern world, songs have been produced with clear Saudi characteristics, but also with a fresh form of production and creativity.
The current Saudi rush towards music doesn't stop at traditional obstacles. It seeks to strike a balance between upholding Arab artistic values, while also celebrating music in Saudi Arabia, which has big ambitions to become the musical centre of the region.
The current Saudi rush towards music doesn't stop at traditional obstacles. It seeks to strike a balance between upholding Arab artistic values, while also celebrating music in Saudi Arabia, which has big ambitions to become the musical centre of the region.
The Kingdom's vision of the future is centred on state-of-the-art and open infrastructure and the ability to unlock the new, homegrown talent that has been waiting for the change. Thousands of people have enrolled in the private institutes opened up for relevant courses in record time.
Some institutes have already achieved amazing results, such as the graduation of four hundred students annually in Jeddah.
There is also growing interest in attending festivals and celebrations in the cities.
The changes underway in the Kingdom will one day produce a new interaction between society and music, beyond the interaction of thousands of young people who enter it as an industry. One day it will reshape how music is consumed and alter the forces that reshape it.
There will be a new musical culture, in the way the pioneers of Saudi music created a cultural interaction of their own. This is already underway in the success of festivals, especially local festivals, and the response they evoke in Saudi cities.
