the project

Ten years in the making, The Music of Islam series recorded in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Yemen, Pakistan, Indonesia, Iran and Qatar represents the most comprehensive sound documentation available to Westerners today, of a world religion dating back to 1/622. Although governed by strict rules for fourteen centuries, contact with other cultures has radically affected Islamic music throughout history. As the world enters the XV/21st century the timing of this collection serves an even larger purpose, documenting the traditions that have survived and will continue to survive for centuries to come. Today, one fifth of the world's population, over one billion people, are Muslims, occupying a large territory stretching from the Atlantic shore of north and west Africa, through west, central, and south Asia to island southeast Asia, and attracting an increasing following in India, western Europe, north America, east Asia, and southern Africa. This is a global presence which cannot be ignored.

With 17 CDs in 15 volumes, The Music of Islam boxed set artistically presents nearly 20 hours of diversely rich Islamic music recorded throughout the Islamic Belt with over 800 pages of synoptic scholastic text written by leading scholars and ethnomusicologists from around the world. Creating a class of its own, and perhaps setting a new standard, The Music of Islam is an unequalled sound document destined to live beyond our time and, regrettably, most likely surpass the very existence of some of the people and cultures featured.

Volume One: Al-Qahirah, Classical Music of Cairo ( 13140)

Volume Two: Music of the South Sinai Bedouins (13141)

Volume Three: Music of the Nubians (13142)

Volume Four: Music of the Arabian Peninsula (13143)

Volume Five: 'Aissaoua Sufi Ceremony (14144)

Volume Six: Al-Maghrib, Gnawa Music (13146)

Volume Seven: Al-Andalus, Andalusian Music (13147)

Volume Eight: Folkloric Music of Tunisia (13148)

Volume Nine: Mawlawiyah Music of the Whirling Dervishes (13149)

Volume Ten: Qur'an Recitation (13150)

Volume Eleven: Music of Yemen (13151)

Volume Twelve: Music of Iran (13152)

Volume Thirteen: Music of Pakistan (13153)

Volume Fourteen: Mystic Music Through the Ages (13154)

Volume Fifteen: Muslim Music of Indonesia, West Sumatra and Aceh (14155)

The Music of Islam Sampler (13159)

the artists

The Music of Islam is the result of a vision going back over a decade to Michelle Zackheim's visual art project The Tent of Meeting (see Harmonic Meetings 14013) which inspired Eckart Rahn to record 200 musicians in 9 countries on 3 continents over 10 years; the finished project can surely be regarded as recorded music history.

New Zealander David Parsons, an accomplished musician and acclaimed producer and Prof. Margaret Kartomi of Australia, the leading expert of Indonesia's music cultures, have captured the very essence of each area; the people, culture and music.

The musicians and reciters recorded in the series are masters of their chosen art, regionally and worldwide, with numerous years of intense study (or a lifetime devotion to studying) from a long lineage of great composers, reciters, mystics and spiritual leaders. Each is truly a divine gift, not only to their respective cultural history, but to the world at large.

While all volumes feature commonly played Arabic instruments, some volumes include instruments specific to their musical heritage.