Arabic Music of the Eastern Mediterranean: An Overview of the Maqam System in the 19th and 20th Centuries

In this lecture, Nemat Battah will present an overview of the Maqam system as used in the eastern Mediterranean repertoire of the 19th and 20th centuries. Participants will be introduced to the structure and function of the maqam in this musical tradition, with a detailed exploration of one specific maqam. Special attention will be given to microtonality, a vital feature of the system. Following the lecture, a workshop will offer hands-on experience: participants will learn one classical Arabic song and one folk song from the same area, both based on the featured maqam.

Nemat Battah is a Palestinian-Jordanian singer, oud player, composer and educator. She is currently based in Helsinki, Finland, where she is a lecturer and Vice Head of Sibelius Academy’s Global Music Department. Nemat is trained in traditional Arabic music. In her own music she explores and navigates her experiences of transgenerational war trauma as a person of Palestinian heritage whose family was forced into exile from Palestine to Jordan in 1948. She also collaborates with internationally renowned artists in Finland and abroad.

Open to all students (only fretless instruments, percussionists, and singers)