Dahmane Ben Achour – Musique Classique Algérienne – Noubat Edd'il / Noubat Elhsine – Les Artistes Arabes Associés N 72503, reissue of the 1965 Pathé STX 204 release (LP)
Dahmane Ben Achour (1912-1976), born into a modest family in Ouled Yaïch, near Bilda, some 45 km (28 mi) from Algiers, was a major 20th century master of Algerian Nuba – also called Arab-Andalusian classical music. After studying at his grandfather's Koranic school, Ben Achour worked as a hairdresser in Bilda, while expressing a consuming passion for music on the steel-string fretted mandole. In the early 1930s he joined the El-Adabia music association in Bilda headed by Chérif Bencherchali, and there met master musicians, including violinist Hadj Medjbeur (1898-1977), who would play lead violin in his orchestra.
Ben Achour honed his musical skills, learning the rhythmic and poetic subtleties of Arab-Andalusian music – and the Algerian Arubi and Hawzi subgenres – under the tutelage of Bencherchali, Medjbeur and the great musicologist Mahieddine Lakehal (1885-1945). Thanks to his musical lyricism and his deep, delicate and mellifluous voice, by the early 1940s he had made his mark on the Algerian music scene and was asked to join Mohamed Fekhardji's (1896-1956) orchestra in 1946. This superb 1965 album, reissued on the essential label Les Artistes Arabes Associés, features some of his finest recordings.
The refined civilization created during the Muslim rule of Spain embraced many domains, from science to religion, metaphysics, poetry, music, architecture and the arts, at a time when cities like Cordoba, Seville and Granada hosted and incorporated Moorish, Arabic, Hispanic, Christian and Jewish cultures in a spirit of openness and tolerance.
Following the Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula in the 15th century, this musical heritage of a golden age migrated to North Africa, where it continued to thrive and in time became an intrinsic part of the Maghreb’s identity.
Dahmane Ben Achour (1912-1976), né dans une famille modeste à Ouled Yaïch, près de Bilda, à 45 km d'Alger, fut un grand maître de la Nouba algérienne – également appelée musique classique arabo-andalouse – du XXe siècle. Après avoir suivi l'école coranique de son grand-père, Dahmane Ben Achour exerça le métier de coiffeur à Bilda, tout en exprimant sa grande passion pour la musique en jouant de la mandole à cordes pincées. Au début des années 1930 il rejoint l'association musicale El Adabia dirigée par Chérif Bencherchali, qui lui permettra de rencontrer des grands musiciens, tel le violoniste Hadj Medjbeur (1898-1977), qui deviendra par la suite son bras droit dans son orchestre.
Dahmane Ben Achour perfectionne son art et apprend les subtilités rythmiques et poétiques de la musique arabo-andalouse – et des sous-genres algériens Aroubi et Hawzi – sous la tutelle de Chérif Bencherchali, Hadj Medjbeur et du grand musicologue Mahieddine Lakehal (1885-1945). Grâce à son lyrisme musical et à sa voix profonde, suave et délicate, il s'impose sur la scène musicale algérienne au début des années 1940 et est appelé pour faire partie de l'orchestre dirigé par Mohamed Fekhardji (1896-1956) en 1946. Ce superbe album de 1965, réédité sur l'incontournable label Les Artistes Arabes Associés, présente certains de ses meilleurs enregistrements.
La civilisation raffinée créée pendant la domination musulmane de Espagne excellait dans de nombreux domaines, allant des sciences à la religion, la métaphysique, la poésie, la musique, l'architecture et les arts, à une époque où des villes comme Cordoue, Séville et Grenade accueillaient et s’enrichissaient des cultures maure, arabe, hispanique, chrétienne et juive dans un esprit d'ouverture et de tolérance.
Suite à la reconquête de la péninsule ibérique au XVe siècle, ce patrimoine musical issu d'un âge d'or migre alors vers l'Afrique du Nord où il continue de prospérer et devient même peu à peu une partie intégrante de l'identité maghrébine.
Mohamed Khaznadji Musique Classique Algérienne - Noubat Ed Dhil – Les Artistes Arabes Associés N 72830 here
Partal palace, Alhambra, built by the ruler of the Emirate of Granada Muhammad III (1302-1309):
%205%2030.jpg "Partal palace, Alhambra, built by the ruler of the Emirate of Granada Muhammad III (1302-1309) from Al-Andalus - The Art of Islamic Spain, edited by Jerrilynn D. Dodds, The Metropolitan Museum of Arts, 1993 — the exhibition catalog for the 1992 shows held both at the Alhambra, Granada, and the The Metropolitan Museum of Arts, New York")
.jpg "The construction of the Djamaa el Kebir Mosque in Algiers in the 11th century bears witness to the architectural heritage of Islamic Spain from Al-Andalus - The Art of Islamic Spain, edited by Jerrilynn D. Dodds, The Metropolitan Museum of Arts, 1993 — the exhibition catalog for the 1992 shows held both at the Alhambra, Granada, and the The Metropolitan Museum of Arts, New York")
%20-18%2023.jpg "Pisa Griffin, height 107 cm (42 in), Italy, 11th century. Despite its Islamic Al-Andalus origin, the enigmatic Pisa Griffin — the largest Islamic metal sculpture known — was installed atop the cathedral in Pisa during the 11th or 12th century until 1828 from Al-Andalus - The Art of Islamic Spain, edited by Jerrilynn D. Dodds, The Metropolitan Museum of Arts, 1993 — the exhibition catalog for the 1992 shows held both at the Alhambra, Granada, and the The Metropolitan Museum of Arts, New York")
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