[Bilimsel Haber] CONF./CFP- Music in the Middle East (and Central Asia), Leiden, Dec. 12, 2009

[Gonul Pultar]

CONF./CFP- Music in the Middle East (and Central Asia), Leiden, Dec. 12, 
2009

Posted by: Gabrielle R. van den Berg <g.r.van.den.berg at hum.leidenuniv.nl>



Call For Papers

"Musical Traditions in the Middle East: Reminiscences of a Distant Past"
A Conference on Ancient and Modern Middle Eastern Musicology

Leiden University, The Netherlands
Thursday, 10 December 2009 to Saturday, 12 December 2009

Sung poetry has a very long tradition going back to ancient times. 
Famous modern vocalists from the Middle East include classical poems in 
their repertoire. Even their performances can be linked to the past by 
ancient texts describing concerts and rituals. Music and poetry 
flourished at the courts of Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. Iconography
depicts musicians and their instruments. Modern Middle Eastern 
instruments strongly resemble their Mesopotamian and Pharaonic Egyptian 
predecessors.

Arab, Persian and Turkish theorists from the past, such as the famous
mediaeval philosopher al-Farabi, studied Arabic translations of 
treatises on the modal system in Classical Greek, which in turn trace
their origins from ancient Middle Eastern musical theory. They adopted
Classical Greek terminology for the modal theory and developed their own 
theory.

This three-day conference explores poetry set to music in its broadest
sense. It will include various forms and genres of art, folk and 
religious music from all regions in the area. It will deal with ancient 
music from Egypt to Mesopotamia and examine the question of the 
continuity of their traditions. Contributions will be invited from 
leading experts in the field and some scholars and some performers from 
the Middle East and related areas will be invited to participate. The 
subject will be approached from different angles, with sessions on the 
texts of the songs, performance technique, music and identity, musical 
instruments and ensembles and ancient music as revealed by archaeology.

The conference is open to all other researchers in the field, from the
Netherlands and abroad, including students (undergraduate and graduate) 
and also to performers. It will be of particular pertinence to the work 
of two newly established institutes in Leiden, the School of Middle 
Eastern Studies (SMES) and the Academy for Creative and Performing Arts 
(ACPA), in enabling them to exchange the results of their research in an 
international context. Further ongoing cooperation between these 
institutes and other interdisciplinary projects are envisaged.

Scholarly papers on topics within the field are invited from
specialists in Middle Eastern studies, to include Assyriology,
Egyptology, Byzantinology as well as Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Kurdish, 
and Berber, conforming with the high standards established in earlier 
Leiden conferences.  Abstracts of about 200-300 words should be sent to: 
t.j.h.krispijn at hum.leidenuniv.nl before Monday, 2 November 2009.

Further information can be found on the website

http://mustradme.weblog.leidenuniv.nl/2009/03/10/title-125

Organizing committee:

Dr Gabrielle van den Berg
Professor Joep Bor
Theo Krispijn
Renée Kalvelagen
Dr Anne van Oostrum

For further inquiries please contact Anne van Oostrum
(a.h.van.oostrum at hum.leidenuniv.nl) or Gabrielle van den Berg
(g.r.van.den.berg at hum.leidenuniv.nl)

Dr Gabrielle van den Berg
University of Leiden, Faculty of Humanities
School of Middle Eastern Studies / Persian
Witte Singel 25 / P.O. Box 9515
2300 RA Leiden
The Netherlands

E-mail: g.r.van.den.berg at hum.leidenuniv.nl




Distrib. by: Central-Eurasia-L - Announcement List for Central Eurasian 
Studies