No te basta Istikhbar Dhil
Amantes del fuego de la pasion Silsila Dhil-Hsin, Qasida de Ibn Tuati
Flores de primavera, Taqsim viola
Ha alcanzado su mano, Istikhbar Dhil

Classical Arab music was born in Baghdad during the Caliphate of Mahdi Ibn al-Mansur in the year 775. Ziryab brought this music to Spain where it became established independently of the oriental world and a new style evolved as a result of the fusion with the music already present in the Iberian Peninsula. Ibn Baya (Avempace, d.1138) was the true creator of the Arab-Andalusian school, which developed until the fall of Granada in 1492 and is still found across the whole of the Maghreb in its original form, give or take a few losses and additions. Today, Constantine is the cultural capital of eastern Algeria. Its musical heritage, passed down through the oral tradition, is well known and has been memorised by all the traditional musicians in the region, including the towns of Annaba and Guelma. This heritage is based on two repertoires: the classical and the popular, both with an essential role in the social and intellectual life of Constantine. The classical repertoire is known as the maluf or Arab-Andalusian music. There is debate about the origin and meaning of the word maluf. Work of art, composition, “ma’ulifa samá uhu” (what is usually listened to). The maluf includes the cultured, refined, classical music that is performed in the area including Tunisia, Libya and the Constantine region in Algeria. In addition to chant, the traditional classical formation has 5 instruments, the ´ud al-´arbi (a four-course lute tuned in “embraced” fifths), djuwáq or fhal (small oblique reed flute), kemandja (viola), darbuka (drum in the shape of a goblet) and tar (tambourine). The silsila (or chain) is a succession of linked poems, preceded by an istikbar. The istikbar is a spontaneous improvised chant that reflects the singer’s feelings at the time. It has four parts, a beginning, the development, djwab and an end or qufla. Between these parts come improvised instrumental responses, the lute playing first, then the fhal and then the viola.