El bolbol gani we qalli 1/2

[fredlag@noos.fr]

According to Abd al-Aziz Anany, who never quoted a source, it was a known fact that when Shaykh Yusuf al-Manyalawi agreed to sing Qabbani’s "El bolbol gani we-qalli" at a private concert, he demanded one hundred golden pounds. The fee was extremely high, but quite possible. This anecdote illustrates, whatever the truth be, the very special status of this dor at the beginning of the century, a dor which was Manyalawi’s "specialty" if you will.
Of course, the Khawaga Vogel (that was before Mansour Awad became the artistic director of Gramophone’s Cairo branch) had Manyalawi record his best piece for Gramophone, 6000 pounds for 50 double-side records, 120 pounds a record, an excellent deal.
Compared with all the other recorded versions of this piece, Manyalawi’s is unquestionably the richest. Whereas Safti’s and Abu Dawud’s rendition help outlining the composer’s intention, Manyalawi acts as a composer himself in his reading of the piece, adding all sorts of wonders.
Typical Manyalwi layali with his famous qafla (1’40), the madhhab (not as clearly suznak and tahmila rast-esque than Safti’s), but some higaz coloring at times (2’52). Obviously, Shaykh Yusuf had sung this piece dozens of times, see the way he plays with the rythm in the madhhab (3’30>3’40), placing syncopation (is that English?), climbing up the degrees at 3’41, being his usual playful singer.
Serious matter begins with the very long suznak section on the second side and leh ya hamam, with higaz/muhayyar much more developped than with other singers, turning bayyati at 5’24 than back to higaz>rast suznak.
Wonderful leh-s in the 6th minute, completely original. Fakkarteni bel habayeb in gins higaz, with a nice ultra short allusive qafla, very Manyalawiesque at 7’15, notice the takht hailing Abu Haggag (= Yusuf). Highest peaks of the piece in this section, qafla rast kerdan, rast baladi on leh ya hamam.
On the third side, I love his short ah just before the ya hamam qafla at 9’20. The leeehs are beginning to be dove-like, an idea he will immediatly : at 10’20 begins the legendary section of the?hadil el-hamam, in which the /b/ of betnawwah turns into a vibrating /v/ imitating the chant of a dove. ?
At 11’20 begins the bayyati/husayni section. nice /m/ at 10’24, fantastic lehs, Manayalwi never tires, he doesn’t let the madhhabgeyya do anything (lazy bones). The 4th side, at 13’45, the habayeb sound like havayeb. Sika/awg section at 13’50, quite short, corresponds to haltara nerga3 el awtan, huzam > gins higaz fantastic qafla at 14’28. hank suggested on gharayeb (15’20), an invention of his, elaborate qafla at 15’50, transition to za3lan with those extremely ornate sentences in higaz/muhayyar (16’23, just try to sing it like him, really hard to recreate), the ultimate bayyati muhayyar za3lan leh, every qafla shakl tani, the 16’37 one is insane, and then, the sound engineer from London tells the shaykh with a nod ?"wrap it up, this has been going on for 17 minutes already", and the shaykh thinks "are you kidding? It feels like I’ve just started and I still have so much to add", but it’s to late and its time to end it in suznak, let’s just fool around with the rythm and syncopation at 17’30 with ghaara-aamak, and there’s not time for the least taqsim bamb, not for a single ya lel, it’s over.
I always feel exhilarated with this version, feel like dancing with him...

الشيخ يوسف المنيلاوي
دور/البلبل جاني وقاللي
Gramophone 012427/28/29/30 recorded january 1909 (there are actually two versions, the second with another matrix nb, this is probably the latest i.e. technically best and I don't own the second).
انتبهو إلى قسم «هديل الحمام» المشهور بين الدقيقة العاشرة والحادية عشرة
الوثيقة الخفيفة هي نفس التسجيل بتركيز أقوى

[أبو علاء]

Just downloaded and started listening before I go to bed. Isn't that dulab strange that begins in pure higaz (is this ok, Fred?:) ) as though it was made to introduce a piece in higaz or in... shuri. The closing notes on rast sound like a last minute change of mind!
The first "El-bulbul gani" does sound, though in a less pronounced way, like Safti's, "tahmilesque", but the second one is more wisely restrained to standard rast.
The layali around min 6 and onward are typical manyalawi stuff. The fakkarti lih bi-l-habayib min 7' 10" is unprecedented as far as I can remember. I liked very much that ya ya hamam around min 9' 20" that looks the same kind of suspended (intermediate) qaflah branded manyalawi as the latter.
And that gawab ya hamammmm slightly after min 7' 40", does it take the dor's amplitude up to 2 octaves?
The bayati section around min 12-13 sounds on the fringe of saba, doesn't it? It is as though the singer's monologue has reached the apex of his tragic feeling. But what a marvellous radical change of tone with a joyful suznak as a translation of the brighter perspective foreseen through the interrrogation: ya hal tara nirja'i-l-'awtan!
Yes, Fred, that last section is a shear delight including for 'amm Yusif himself who was obviously not prepared at all to make a long story short. And, yes again, this performance overshadows any other one I've heard up till now (and probably the last one, although I haven't heard it yet:) ). Good night!

[Najib]

I think I need two posts for this dor.

1st I think that Manyalawi's expansive performance of this dor is legendary.

In fact I feel that he kind of split the dor into several sub-dors, and I feel that it was pre-meditated not bint el sa3ah. Yes the medhabgiyyah didn't do much, but the musicians worked really hard.

If you listen to the beginning of the second disk 4'23 (and the third at 8' 50) you feel like the musicians are starting a fresh new tahmilah rather than a mere continuation of the previous disk.

I don't know this what I felt anyway.

[alshame]

مشكور عزيزي فريد على هذه التسجيلات والمعلومات النادرة جدا (ربنا يقدرنا على مكافأتك)

[Najib]

Notice the fantastic fight between him and the qanun between minutes 14'27 and 15'02. Qanun is playing hicaz on neva, and 3ammy Yusuf who starts Neva but finishes every qafla on Cargah and therefore doing a transposed Nikriz (on Cargah) rather than purely hicaz on neva, then the Qanun keeps pulling up on hicaz neva. Genius stuff.

Yes Abu 3ala there is a hint of Saba (not dominant at all) where you mentioned.

[fredlag@noos.fr]

Ok, this is so confusing, you're refering to higaz/nawa meaning that u consider the fundamental degree is rast, this should be made clear.
In my description, they would be fighting between higaz/muhayyar (Aqqad) and nawa-athar/3agam (Manyalawi).
Actually, I suspect none of us is right and the fundamental is neither rast (too low), nor nawa (too high) but probably intermediary, perhaps a transposition on Gaharkah? Nidaa, if you're reading this, what do you think ?

Najib, Abu Ala', what do you hear in the 5'50 > 6'20 section ? (instrumental version starts at 6'43). Am I being delirious hearing kurdi ?

Yes Najib, I agree with you, this whole dor is not ebn el sa3a, although there must be some improvised parts, Shayk Yusuf is a composer here, the dor is a joint venture Qabbani/Manyalawi. I wish I had the second version to compare.

[أبو علاء]

Fred, I don't think there is any kurd in that part, but just rast, maybe tainted by jaharkah, but nothing else than rast.
Same as to your observation, Najib. I don't hear any nakriz (nor nawa 'athar in ya hal tara). That tara repeated twice seems to be declined in bayati as though he was singing shuri and not suznak. Such declination would fit in my interpretative scheme trying to relate the melody in that section with the lyrics semantics by outlining the interrogation in ya hal tara.
Now, of course, here again, I'm speaking (in both cases) of what I hear without any "scale benchmark" so to speak.

[Najib]

I'm talking agnas here.

5'50 reciprocated by 6'43

Yes goin down with Kerdan on top he does Kurd (gins) on Neva (note) and finishes down with a rast (gins) on rast (note)

Well spotted!

I'm sure there will be a makam for this Rast at the bottom and Kurd on Neva on top.

I'll be back with the Hicaz - Nikriz stuff. Let's give Abu 3ala time to catch up.

[Najib]

I see Abu Ala has already caught up.

bien sur habibi there is a hint of Kurd on neva on the way down, please listen again.

I was talking Nikriz the gins and not the makam.

Ye3ni do Re Mi(b) Fa(#) Sol, and in our case it's transposed do we're talking

Fa Sol La(b) Si Do whilst the Qanun is doing Sol La(b) Si Do (Hicaz on Neva).

[أبو علاء]

I suppose you mean thhe second lih of a each series of three lihs . Now I can see. But that gins question is beyond my competence, Najib. Anyway, maybe my descritption of that tara is erroneous. Sure there's more than simple higaz or suznak about it, but I still can't perceive nakriz there.

[Najib]

Regarding the Octaves the dor spans it's one and a half Do Rast Karar to Gawab Fa (tiz Cargah).


back to the Nekriz And the cargah that 3ammy yusuf uses is exactly one note lower than the Qanun's neva

And also sorry for the confusion above but the Nekriz is the name of the Gins in Turkish while the Arabs use neva eser to name the same notes.