Sahra or musical evening brings together musicians from the Nile Delta in the group Mawawil. These performers play a wide repertoire of the traditional music of the Nile Delta. The music reflects the daily life of peasants through love songs, wedding songs and the king of popular songs, the mawwal or narrative ballad.

The mawwal has links to historical forms of Arabic song and poetry, and the singer demonstrates his skill with non-metrical melodic improvisation on a poetic narrative text and melody.

The musicians of Mawawil play the rababa (a double-stringed spike fiddle made from half of a coconut shell covered with fish skin and a bow strung with horse hair), the kawala (an end-blown, oblique flute with six holes) and the arghoul (an ancient double clarinet characterized by two pipes of unequal length. The second pipe serves as a drone and can be lengthened by adding pieces. The player uses the technique of circular breathing to produce an uninterrupted sound). The arghoul can be traced back to Pharaonic times as it is exactly depicted on wall paintings of the temples of the third dynasty. Amin Shahin is one of the few remaining arghoul players in Egypt, since the death of arghoul master, Moustafa Abd al Aziz in 2001.

Doors open at 7:30pm.
Tea and Karkade are served
E-mail: makan@egyptmusic.org