Anthology Of World Music: The Music Of Islam And Sufism In Morocco

This beautifully laid out program of music displays both the ambiguity and power that music expresses in Muslim society in Morocco. Starting with a call to prayer and a singing from the Quran (the two types of music sanctioned by the fundamentalist branches of Islam), the seven tracks in this set trace orthodox works and the mystical musical brotherhoods that gave birth to the familiar gnawa music. Perhaps the prize of the set is an art music called al-milhun. This sung poetry, accompanied by string instruments and percussion, best shows how folk and classical music become almost inseparable genres in many cultures, allowing both secular growth and religious devotion to the past to thrive side-by-side. This is yet another well-documented recording from the UNESCO Anthology of World Music being reissued on Rounder. --Louis Gibson

Browse Our Catalog.

View More In Africa.