About the tunes

Longa. A Turkish dance form adopted into the Arab classical repertoire. The longa
typically has several khana sections alternating with the taslim refrain. Traditionally the
khanas were accompanied by the duple fox meter, and the taslim was set to malfuf, with
the 4th khana set in a triple or compound meter for contrast.

Longa Riyadh; A famous longa by Egyptian oud master Riyadh al Sunbati, also known
as Longa Farahfaza. This recording (Simon Shaheen: Turath) has the traditional rhythmic
accompaniment by a single riqq (Arabic tambourine). Basic maqam is Nahawand
transposed to G, with a modulation to G Nikriz.

Shahnaz Longa: Another famous longa (by Adham Effendi), this one performed in a
Turkish Romany style (Barbaros Erköse Ensemble). It includes an extended section with
improvised solos. Basic maqam is Shahnaz (like Hijaz Kar transposed to D), with
alternating modlualtions to G minor.

Longa Nihavent: A Turkish longa (by Tanburi Cemil Bey) performed by contemporary
jazz musicians (Burhan Ocal and Jamaladeen Tacuma:Groove alla Turca). This is a
simple longa in C Nahawand, set a Latin jazz adaption of the the Chiftitelli groove.

Breeze in Bisaan (Simon Shaheen and Qantara; Blue Flame): An original contemporary
longa by Simon Shaheen. It modulates back and forth between D Hijaz and D
Nahawand.

Sama’i. An Arab classical piece set in the khana/taslim form with first three khanas and
taslim each composed with 4 measures of the 10/8 Samai thaqil rhythm. The fourth
khana is set in a quick triple meter for contrast.

Samai Bayati by Ibrahim al-Aryan. A famous samai in bayati with a modulation to G

Rast.

Samai Nahawand by Safar Ali. A famous samai in Nahawand in Nahawand with

modulation to G Hijaz Kar.

Samai Nahawand by Ali Jihad Racy. An original samai in Nahawand with modulation to
G Hijaz Kar.

Contemporary tunes. Many contemporary Arab popular and dance tunes follow a
similar section format to these classical pieces.

Nassam Alayna: This is standard of the Lebanese icon Fairuz written by the Rahbani
Brothers. It is in Kurd, transposed to A.

Manara (Charbel Rouhana: the Art of the Middle Eastern Oud): An original piece by a
contemporary Lebanese composer. It is is Hijaz with a characteristic modulation to G
Rast, It uses the popular dance rhythms maqsum, ayyoub and chiftitelli.
Zeina: A belly dance standard, made famous in the film Afrita Hanem (1949) starring
Lebanese singer and oudist, Farid Al-Atrash and dancer Samia Gamal.