Search - Various Artists :: Rough Guide to Bellydance

Classical raqs sharqi music

Shantell Powell | Kitchener, ON, Canada | 09/04/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had heard of the Rough Guide series of anthologies, but until I looked them up, hadn't realized they were so prolific or extensive. The Rough Guide to Bellydance is an eclectic collection of music composed especially for raqs sharqi (also known as Danse Orientale or more colloquially as belly dance).The CD has fifteen instrumental tracks, any which would be ideal for performances. The music originates in various countries, like Turkey, Egypt, Syria, the United States, Lebanon, and Germany. Songs range from peppy drum solos to ciftetellis, and some have the old-fashioned sound of Oum Kulthum's music. It runs the gamut from folk pieces to classic solo dancer showcases. In the case of Ahmad Fouad Hasan's "Dimashq", the track has the sound of a big Arabic-Andalusian orchestra and appears to have been remastered from decades-old master tapes. None of these pieces are modern-sounding, so should appeal to more traditional dancers. Each of the tracks are excellent, so should appeal to pretty much everyone!Mahmoud Fadl's "Aament Bellah" is the CD's longest track, weighing in at a hefty twelve minutes. It follows a masmoudi rhythm, and with an accordian, tells an Egyptian story of poverty and pain alleviated by the power of music and dance. By the end, the drums have worked themselves up to a fever pitch.The next piece, "Enta Omri" by Jalilah and Mokhtar Al Said, is a very emotional song first written for the legendary Oum Kulthum. "Enta Omri" translates to "You are my life", and was written by Abdel Wahab. Both the melody and rhythm beg to be danced to in the Egyptian style.Mohamed Matar's "Adawar" showcases the Lebanese buzuq and zill-playing. With its rather staccato phrasing, I think it would be a very fun piece for performance.Omar Faruk Tekbilek follows the karsilama rhythm with "Laz". It's a time signature foreign to western listener's ears, but a very common one in Turkey and Romany.Kemani Cemal Cinarli has another Turkish rhythm western ears may not be familiar with: a slow, heavy ciftetelli. It is an 8-beat rhythm, and is closely related to the Egyptian wahda kabira rhythm. The melody, however, is the star of this piece. The violin draws the dancer up, up, up, extending through the ribs, undulating through the abdomen, and sliding out through outstretched arms.Armando El Mafufo's "Arruga La Camisa" is the most fun piece on the CD. It's also the only track with voice, although the voice is used more like a punctuation than for singing. It, maybe more than any other song on this CD, makes me want to work out a dance routine. The changes in the drum solos are often enough that dance couldn't really be ad libbed. No, this challenging piece requires a strong familiarization.In sum, my favourite pieces on the album are the drum solos, but that is personal taste and does not mean the other tracks are somehow weaker."

Good introduction

E. L. White | New England, USA | 02/07/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This CD exposes the listener to some great music. Overall the sound quality is good, and so is the music. Some tracks I liked less than others. I am looking at these songs in terms of their usefulness to me as a dancer, so keep that in mind. :)



The first song, Tahiya's Dance, is excellent. This is a great entrance song. Good sound quality and doesn't sound synthesized. Music is varied to keep things interesting. This is the kind of song every belly dancer should have at his/her disposal.



Marhaba is a 1.5 minute drum solo, which is very useful for any dancer who needs a short and sweet drum solo to insert into their routine. My only complaint about this piece is that it isn't varied enough to make a really interesting drum solo.



Dimashq, while being a very nice song, has poor sound quality. It reminds me of the sound on an old black and white movie. It sounds distant. I really do like the song, but the sound quality isn't good enough for me to use it for anything. So it's good exposure to something new, but not really usable.



Aament Bellah is another great song. Love the music, good sound quality. The music is slow with nice juicy, heavy beats to play with and a playfully sensual melody to use as well. It speeds up and slows down several times and changes to keep things interesting while still retaining the same feeling. It even has a small drum solo part near the end. There is lots of play room in this song. I have seen sword balancing done to this song and it fits very well. The song ends by fading out, which is kind of odd. Perhaps the full song was much longer?



Enta Omri, always a classic. Again, great sound quality. Starts out with a lovely slow section, then jumps into upbeat and fun with a lovely melody and playfully subtle drum beat. Nice variety in instruments and sound. Plenty of variety in possible dance moves.



Ala Jsrel Low Ziyyi sounds like it was recorded in a room with a vaulted ceiling. The sound quality is a little off. I suppose it's still usable, but something about it just doesn't sound right to me. Plus there is this random instrument that sounds like it is synthesized and it doesn't fit in with the classical music feel the rest of the song has. I can't really see ever using this for anything.



Adawar is a very nice song. It's not my style to dance to, but I'm sure it could be more useful for another dancer. It stars out kind of slow and easy, then speeds up quickly at the end for an exhausting finish. The sound quality is good and the music is well varied. It's fun to listen to.



Laz is another great song. Good sound quality, good variety. Very high energy, kind of a gypsy feel to it. a nice little song to have available.



Kirkpinar Çiftetellisi is an amazingly slow and sensual song. Perfect for balancing, candles, veil, floorwork, or just slow and snaky dancing. This song also fades out.



Rakiya's Tabla is another short drum solo similar to Marhaba. This one has better variety and is more usable.



Ana Wehabibi is a kind of playfully mournful song with lots of emotion and good variety. In some parts it almost sounds eerie, like it's sneaking up on you. Great song to have a little fun with your audience, or be a little playfully sassy with.



Arruga la Camisa is interesting, but not very useful. It sounds like some guys with drums goofing off on a street corner. It kinda sounds Brazilian in some parts. This song just doesn't work for me as a whole. Just when I start to like it, it changes and does something I don't like. It might be possible to cut it up and use some parts as little drum solos between songs.



Aini Bet Ref is another great song with variety. It sounds a little bland, but it's still sounds good and is useful.



The Happy Sheik is just odd. It sounds like a zoot suit song. It doesn't even sound like bellydance music. I have no idea why this song is included on this CD.



The last song, Raqset el Banat, is a fun a lively drum solo with great sound quality and variety. This one is a little over three minutes long, for the dancer with a lot of control and even more energy!



Overall this CD has good variety and some very useful music, but a few of the tracks will probably never be used for anything. But that's typical of bellydance CDs, so you take what you can get. :)



"

Great CD, Variable Music

E. L. White | 05/28/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This cd is a just as it says, a guide. It has several different types of music for different kinds of belly dance (sword, tribal, cabaret, etc). I love the order of them too, you could put the CD in and do an entire show to it since it alternates between fast and slow songs. #9 is a beautiful, sensual, slow piece, #4 is a great song too, starts out slow -perfect for floor work - and builds up faster into almost a drum solo. The entire CD is instramental, so if you like vocals, its not for you. Its also fairly traditional and "cabaret" sounding, not very "night clubby" or "pop music". I think everyone could find a few songs they like on it. Good investment."