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Ethnographic Flute Recordings of the Middle East

This page provides a listing of ethnographic and reference recordings from the Middle East that are related to world flutes. They are sorted chronologically.

Please refer to the Ethnographic Flute Recordings Overview Page for background on these listings.

Ethnographic Flute Recordings from the Middle East

These entries are sorted by the date (sometimes approximate) of the recording.

The term “collector” is used to indicate the researcher who oversaw the effort to record the material. In many cases, this person also serves as the recording engineer, although this role is typically not specified.

In the case of the publication of multiple editions of the audio material on different media (for example, LP, cassette, and compact disc), only the most recent edition is cited. However, the text of liner notes from earlier editiions is sometimes provided. Click on the citation tag to see the listing of all published editions.

[Dede-E 1945] Neyzen Hacı Emin Dede (performer) (1883–1945). Acem Taksim «Persian Improvisation». Solo flute (Turkish ney), Sufi culture. Recorded before 1945, Length: 2:39.
» Background description in Sufism, Music and Society in Turkey and the Middle East ([Hammarlund 2005]).

Excerpt from Acem Taksim (excerpt)


[Bedouin 1955] Unknown Bedouin performers; Deben Bhattacharya (collector). Bedouin Melody played on a Shabbaba Flute. Flute and Drum, Beduin culture. Recorded 1955 or 1960, Bedouin camp between Jordan and Iraq, Length: 3:37.
» Published in Bedouins of the Middle East — Field Recordings by Deben Bhattacharya (1955, 1960)1 (EUCD1910 [Bhattacharya 2004]), track 2, Amazon.com Song ID: 236553234.

1ARC Music general album description: Field recordings made in 1955 and 1960 by ethnomusicologist Deben Bhattacharya. Recorded in Bedouin camps in the desert no-man’s land between Jordan and Iraq. Communal coffee grinding and drinking ritual in the tents after sundown.


[Erguner 1995-02] Kudsi Erguner (performer). Safa (dans le makam Hidjaz) «Safa (in the Hijaz makam)». Solo flute (Turkish ney), Sufi culture. Recorded September 1995, France, Length: 11:08.
» Recording published in La Flûte Sacrée des Derviches Tourneurs «The Sacred Flute of the Whirling Dervishes»1 ([Erguner 1995]), track 2.

Excerpt from Safa (dans le makam Hidjaz) (excerpt)

1Liner notes: This classical music is based on a modal system called maqam, literally meaning “location” or “place”. The maqam is made up of a scale of notes that have a specific relationship between themselves. The melody follows a specific hierarchy of scales. The maqam system does not have equally tempered scales but has scales using different intervals depending on which maqam is being played. The maqam system makes it possible for musicians to express their creativity while exploring the innumerable ways of passing from one to another, as well as leaving them to imagine the transpositions and combinations between them. In order to master the maqam, the musician must above all master the melodic structure of the characteristic musical phrases called seyir and their intervals. This is acquired through learning the repertory.

The taksim is an improvisation within the maqam. The musician freely follows the itinerary of the specific maqam without having to follow a specific rhythm. This form of improvisation is used to introduce a composition or to create a bridge between two compositions. The taksim is also used to show off the style and technique of each musician. In Sufi music, both to play and to listen to a taksim is a form of meditation ...


 
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