Music From the Heart of Arabia
Music of the world
There are very few recordings devoted to Yemen's music, yet very rich. Yemen is a real conservatory of ancient music of the Arab civilization. Songs and lutes in the mafraj (music fairs) of Sanaa (the capital) where we consume qat, a plant with euphoric effects. Archaic lighthouses on the shores of the Red Sea, found in Egypt, East Africa, Iraq and Qatar. Percussion and big orchestra, evoking the tarab of Zanzibar, in the region close to the Indian Ocean. Art music and festive music follow one another along the beaches, illustrating the vivacity of traditions in Yemen, whose navigators transmitted the influences to the Comoros, Madagascar or Indonesia.
