Study 'ud #5 Isal Ruhak Simon Shaheen سيمون شاهين

In 1985-86 Simon Shaheen recorded 34 examples of repertoire for ‘ud students as a part of the Folk Arts Apprenticeship Fellowship Grant awarded to Esther Warkov by the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts. These examples include classical genres (sama‘i, bashraf, tahmilla, longa, muwashah), compositions by mainstream Arab composers, and taqasim improvisations-all performed as models for ‘ud students.
Recorded on tape cassettes, the examples were digitized in 2016 by the University of Washington Ethnomusicology Archives upon Esther Warkov’s request. Esther Warkov, Ph.D. and ethnomusicologist, is issuing these 34 examples for the benefit of ‘ud students. These recordings also document Shaheen’s approach to student level ‘ud repertoire at that time.
Prior to receiving this grant in 1985, Esther Warkov met with Simon Shaheen from October 1979 to March 1980, before he immigrated to the United States. Warkov also interviewed Simon Shaheen’s father, the distinguished musician Hickmat Shaheen, at the family home in Haifa, Israel, where she was a regular guest.
While in Haifa, Warkov observed Arab musical life in the region, attended haflat (parties with live music) with the Shaheen family, recorded Simon’s rehearsals, public performances, and playing sessions for friends.
One such session was with qanun virtuoso Avrham Salman. Recorded in 1980, this session recording can be heard on the Music for Peace in the Middle East KZbin Channel. One qanun taqsim from this session can be heard on Taqasim: Instrumental Improvisation in Near Eastern Traditions for the Anthology of Musical Traditions in Israel and includes an analysis of modulations to other maqamat. bit.ly/1TjorE9
In 1980 Simon Shaheen recorded an extended ‘ud taqsim in maqam hijaz for the publication Taqasim: Instrumental Improvisation in Near Eastern Traditions for the Anthology of Musical Traditions in Israel (recordings and commentaries by Esther Warkov). This recording includes a selection from a concert Shaheen gave in Haifa in 1980 with Taiseer Elias, then a rising star, and now a renowned performer, conductor, and educator. bit.ly/1TjorE9
The Shaheen family’s contribution to musical life is discussed in “An Introduction to the Social Organization of Urban Arabic Music in the Israeli Arab Community” in Esther Warkov’s doctoral dissertation entitled The Urban Repertoire of Jewish Professional Musicians in Iraq and Israel: Instrumental Improvisation and Culture Change. (Read bit.ly/1niES7r beginning at p.333). Before recording the 34 examples in 1985-6, Shaheen also recorded 10 examples of ‘ud repertoire in 1980 that will be part of this series.
In 1979-80 Simon Shaheen also recorded several interviews with Warkov about taqsim improvisation which are available at the University of Washington Ethnomusicology Archives and at the National Library of Israel Archives.
Warkov received recordings of Shaheen’s concerts through 1992. All together, the recordings provide a unique glimpse of Simon Shaheen’s musical aesthetic from 1979 -1992.
“Simon Shaheen’s student repertoire is valuable for students who want learn classics from the Arabic music repertoire. But his taqasim, especially those performed and recorded at intimate gathering in 1980, are profoundly moving. Simon Shaheen generously gave the gift of his music so we listeners could experience an exalted state known as tarab. Although almost 40 years have passed, these experiences are unforgettable because Simon Shaheen transported us to a world that transcends time.”
-Esther Warkov, Ph.D., 2017