Thread by @Silpayamanant

Adventures in compiling bibliographies: Arabic #MusicTheory edition. PART IV

So playing around with organization and presentation. I brought this about this a bit with @postarabesque at our talk about the Bibliography during the Beirut Marathon. This is just a draft screenshot.

Any background images I eventually use will be of my own instruments from the Middle East--the oud in the header is just a placeholder until I finish the rosette on my oud. And yeah, I know some of yo might know my oud is Turkish, but humor me, ok? :)

Ultimately, the idea is to have a resource online for folk's interested in the history of Arabic #MusicTheory & to give a sort of timeline/list of known works as well as a catalogue of earliest known extant versions in various collections. Resource page is for later translations.

First thread discussing Syriac Chant traditions



#MusicTheory

https://x.com/Silpayamanant/status/1313336116964208640

Second thread discussing the overlap with Jewish music traditions and my experiences performing in many of those.



#MusicTheory

https://x.com/Silpayamanant/status/1314192660605939714

Third thread talks about the Graeco-Arabic translation movement during the Islamic Golden Age.



#MusicTheory

https://x.com/Silpayamanant/status/1316001821979222017

Ok, I’ve got my range and cut off points for the Arabic #MusicTheory Bibliogrophy.

While there few extant works fr the early Umayyad I can’t ignore the Qiyān & early figures like Ziryab. The latter date takes into account the full Abassid era into the height of the Ottoman era.

So I've decided how to organize the Arabic #MusicTheory site for presentation/navigation. It will comprise three main parts.

1) Timeline
2) Catalogue
3) Resources

Arabic #MusicTheory Timeline 1/3

While the earliest figures (e.g. ibn Misjaḥ d. ca 715) didn't write works (that we know of), they'll be included if a significant music theoretical contribution is attributed to them.

Arabic #MusicTheory Timeline 2/3

Works that we know of, but are no longer extant will also be included. For example, none of the four works about music by Yūnus al-Kātib are extant, but will be in the timeline.

Arabic #MusicTheory Timeline 3/3

The Timeline won't consist of just works composed in or translated into Arabic. Works translated from the Arabic will be included if they fall within the 650-1650 range.

Arabic #MusicTheory Catalogue

The Catalogue section will function as most catalogues but will focus on earliest surviving copies of the extant works and where they are located.

Arabic #MusicTheory Resources

The Resource section will be closest to an actual Bibliography and will prioritize other published Bibliographies, Indexes, and Cataloges of Early Arabic Music and selected general works on Early Arabic Music.

The Timeline will definitely be the centerpiece of the site--I think it will be useful for folks to see the sheer breadth of literature in written in Arabic and about Arabic Music written/published during that 1001 year period!