Reconsidering North African Lutes: ʻūds And Kwītras In La Musique Arabe Dans Le Maghreb

Résumé: This article explores North African lutes in Jules Rouanet’s La musique arabe dans le Maghreb (Rouanet, 1922, p. 2829, 2920, 2927). In particular, it draws attention to the fuzzy boundaries between Tunisian ʻūd, ʻūd ‘arbī, and Algerian kwītra. In combining techniques such as analysis of texts and artefacts in the Musical Instrument Museums of Brussels (MIM), I consider the diverse ways in which the instruments are constructed, transmitted, and designed. While I chart aspects of the instrument and local factors that help make a cultural classification of it, I underline the Africanness of certain Maghribi instruments that are typically thought about as part of the ʻūd family. Finally, a close reading of those instruments shows a way of approaching North African organology that is distinct from the post-Cairo Congress consensus (1932).

Publié dans la revue: Turath