Tarab

In Arab culture, at the ineffable point where music meets emotion, lies ?arab. Often glossed as the ecstasy experienced and expressed when performing or listening to singing, instrumental works, and recitations of poetry, ?arab is both a practice and an orienting concept central to musical aesthetics and spirituality characteristic of Middle Eastern cultures.

Gathering fifteen essays by scholars of music, affect, literature, religion, and education, ?arab extends the study of ?arab historically, geographically, and sociologically. Historical essays explore ?arab’s role in the medieval Middle East and the Ottoman Empire. Turning to the modern era, authors examine ?arab and related concepts in Egypt, Albania, and Iraq, and among Turkish Roma and Lebanese Maronite Christians. The contributors also address contemporary practitioners and the intersections of ?arab and maqam, belly dancing, music streaming, and university music ensembles. Situating this unique cultural concept in a global context, these studies enrich the story of ?arab and provide new insight into music’s powerful emotional appeal.