The violin was retuned to better suit and reflect the register of the preexisting bowed instruments, changing the open strings from E,A,D,G to D,G,D,G and other tunings of fifths and fourths, thus making the timbre darker and richer. In the middle east today the violin is a featured instrument in every ensemble, probably the most well adapted foreign instrument. Middle Eastern culture embraced its fuller, more vocal timbre and gradually it replaced the rebab and kemanche in most styles. At the time the violin was introduced via trade through the Mediterranean in the nineteenth century, it was the most prominent bowed stringed instrument in the west, and the most portable. It is the violin, however, that has become the most prevalent bowed instrument in the Middle East. A bowed instrument typically fills out a small ensemble, called a takht, which includes an oud (a lute like instrument) a qanun (zither), a ney (Arabic flute) and hand percussion such as the riq (tambourine) or the darabukka (goblet drum). Although the timbre of these instruments is quieter and more nasal than a viola, the range is often very similar for example, the rebab tunes to the viola’s D and G. All of these instruments have two to four strings, tuned in fifths or fourths. Bowed stick fiddles and bowed lyres such as the rebab, kemanche, and jozeh have existed in the Middle East thousands of years, dating back to the early civilizations of Iraq and Iran. The Middle East (including Turkey, the Gulf States, and North Africa) has the longest known tradition of bowed string playing in the world. Little did I know that the Middle East has a long tradition of viola-like instruments! This leaves room for an instrument like the viola to have a more prominent role. Middle Eastern music is homophonic, with each instrument embellishing upon the melody, creating its own idiomatic voice. The scales I heard were mostly in C, G, and D, which fit very comfortably on the viola.
#A LUTE LIKE ARABIC INSTRUMENT FULL#
I heard for the first time a string sound that sat predominantly in the middle register, taking full advantage of a dark, rich, lyrical timbre. When I first started investigating world music on the viola, I immediately was drawn to Middle Eastern music. The Viola in Middle Eastern Music a Fitting Sonority Journal of the American Viola Society, Volume 23 Number 1
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