The oldest Arabic music recording sits in Harvard's Peabody museum

Cut 130 years ago; these records demonstrate the early interaction between Arab art and American audiences, which left a lasting impact on both worlds.

The fanfare surrounding Qabbani's musical at the Chicago World's Fair boosted its popularity among the American art and theatre elite and made a star out of performer Malaka Surur.

The oldest Arabic music recording sits in Harvard's Peabody museum

Taissier Khalaf

last update on 03 Mar 2024

At the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University lies the oldest recorded documentation of Arabic music and singing.

One of the world’s first anthropology museums, the Peabody shares cultural heritage from around the world, and its Arabic arts collection was put together mainly by Professor Benjamin I. Gilman 130 years ago. Gilman died in 1933.

The story behind these records is one of early interaction between Arabic art and American audiences. It left an impact on both the United States and the Arab world.

It was the summer of 1893, and the World’s Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World’s Fair, was held to celebrate 400 years since Christopher Columbus ‘discovered’ the New World.

Harry Houdini performed there. Mozart’s piano and Lincoln’s speech were exhibited there. Nikola Tesla demonstrated his induction motors and generators there.

There was even a convention of the Parliament of World Religions — the first formal gathering of representatives of Eastern and Western spiritual traditions.

The fashion of the time was for folkloric trends, so the fair's organisers had asked participating countries to showcase their folklore, whether this was in terms of customs, traditions, music, or arts.

Enter Qabbani

Representing the Ottoman Empire was Syrian playwright Ahmad Abu Khalil Qabbani, whose plays in Damascus had been censored and even cancelled after complaints from the conservative Islamic establishment.

He incorporated folkloric segments in his eight performances during the six-month exhibition, featuring Eastern and folkloric songs, as well as popular Levantine dances like the dabke and the sword-and-shield dance.

Given that he represented the Ottoman Empire, he also brought a Turkish dancer from Izmir to perform the famous Zeybek dance.

The Qabbani Troupe called itself the Theatre of Eastern Customs, and their fame soon spread through stellar reviews in renowned American newspapers.

Each show attracted an audience of up to 4,000 at weekends despite the theatre being designed to accommodate a maximum of 2,000 people.

Pictures of the Qabbani Troupe were featured on promotional material and became the muse of those intrigued by the allure of the East and its wonders, music, and arts.

They performed the Qalamoun Drama — a play named after the Qalamoun Mountains north of Damascus.

The father of a lovestruck Salim from Qalamoun tries to cure him of his infatuation by taking him to a sorcerer, who declares that Salim is bewitched.

Ultimately, everyone agrees that Salim is madly in love and must marry his beloved. Cue a vibrant wedding celebration in the customs and traditions of Qalamoun.

At the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University is the oldest recorded documentation of Arabic music and singing.

Whose plotline is it anyway?

It became a sensation, with performances labelled "outstanding" by critics, who also noted its intriguing plot similarities with J. M. Barrie's The Professor's Love Story, showing in Chicago simultaneously.

A correspondent from Silver Cliff Rustler suggested that Qabbani sue Edward Smith Willard, the director of Barrie's The Professor's Love Story, for pilfering the plot from the Qalamoun Drama.

A heated debate erupted across the American theatre community about the uncanny resemblances between the two.

The Chicago Tribune reported that Willard visited the Turkish Theatre at the exhibition (accompanied by his heroine, Mary Boroz, and her husband, Louis Masson). He was stunned by the commonalities in the Eastern narrative and his own.

The article mentioned that Willard's drama at the Holly Theatre — which showed every evening — also featured a lead character grappling with a mysterious ailment that perplexes doctors and captivates the audience.

A clever lady swiftly deciphers the hero's quest for love, revealing this as the true cause of his sickness. It ends in a joyous union amidst enthralling wedding rituals.

Although plagiarism was the suggestion, this appears implausible.

The Qabbani Troupe received stellar reviews in renowned American newspapers and attracted huge crowds to their performances.

Rehearsals for Qalamoun Drama began in Beirut in 1892 (as evidenced by an Ottoman security report on the play), while The Professor's Love Story first premiered in Chicago during that same period. Its script was only published in 1894.

The fanfare surrounding Qabbani's musical boosted its popularity among the American art and theatre elite and made a star out of performer Malaka Surur.

A star is born

She performed the song Ya Youm Habeeb against the backdrop of the protagonist's melancholy and was nominated to represent the Ottoman Empire at the Fair's First World Folklore Congress, attended by 200 researchers from around the globe.

As part of the festivities, a folklore music concert was held at the Palace of Arts in Lake Park under the supervision of esteemed American composer Frederic W. Root.

The Ottoman Empire's enchanting performance featured Surur skilfully playing the qanun, with Latifa Khaskiya on percussion and Khawaja Khalil Zakaria on the oud.

Due to the tremendous success of the musical drama, the committee organised two additional performances in Washington Hall and Columbus Hall.

Accompanied by American pianist A.H. Baur, the musicians donned national attire and showcased the rich tapestry of their melodies.

Basking in the limelight of her participation at the 1893 Fair and the acclaim she received in the American press, Surur became known for her Arab singing in the Levant and Egypt, earning the nickname 'Idol of the Masses'.

Her collaboration with Abu Khalil Qabbani continued until 1900 when she married an Egyptian patron and moved to France to live with him.

In his memoirs, Egyptian theatre director Omar Wasfy wrote, "all people talked about was the new, beautiful singer and her enchanting, melodious voice that graced the stage with an alluring face".

Her name "echoed everywhere," he added.

The fanfare surrounding Qabbani's musical boosted its popularity among the American art and theatre elite and made a star out of performer Malaka Surur.

Seizing the opportunity

Word of their performances reached Harvard University, where researchers seized the opportunity to capture the enchanting tunes and compositions on nine phonograph cylinders, recorded on an Edison phonograph.

The archives show that the recording occurred at 8:45 am on 25 September 1893 and then again at midday that same day. The session was officially labelled the 'Gilman Collection.'

Despite the significance of these recordings, Prof Gilman — an expert in musical aesthetics, particularly of early music — failed to distinguish the melodies and sounds.

Some of the records lack the tones of the qanun or oud, rendering them void of musical value and compromising the opportunity to record songs on these cylinders.

Remarkably, the recordings feature the Egyptian Khedival Salute, performed by Surur. This had been Egypt's national anthem since 1869, during the reign of Khedive Ismail.

Wikipedia — A poster for the Fair in 1893 featuring a portrait of Columbus

The participation of the Qabbani Troupe in the 1893 Chicago World's Fair helped elevate theatrical and musical performances in Egypt and the Arab world.

It introduced elements like ethylene gas lamps for lighting and incorporated folklore segments from their heritage into their shows. In so doing, it paved the way for the evolution of Arab musical theatre.

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