The Oud

Naseer Shamma

Naseer Shamma was born in 1963 in Kut, a village on the Tigris river in Iraq. He began studying the oud at the age of 12 in Baghdad, following in the footsteps of Jamil and Munir Bachir. He received his diploma from the Baghdad Academy of Music in 1987. He began to teach oud after three years at the academy, as well as continuing his own studies. Shamma has composed music for films, plays and television, and has written a unique oud method for one hand - this is designed for children injured during the Gulf War. Between 1993 and 1998 he taught oud at the Higher Institute of Music in Tunisia, and in 1999 he took the post of Director of the Arab Centre for the Oud in Cairo. He also has a website.

Ishraq
(Musicaimmagine MR 10019)

Naseer Shamma's first CD recording is a classic example of Iraqi oud playing. The tracks are extended improvisational pieces, each based on a particular maqam. Shamma plays a traditional six-string oud on this recording. The title Ishraq is an Arabic word that indicates the sending forth of the sun's first rays at dawn.

1. Min al-qalb (From the heart) kurdi 9:41
2. Fawq al-nakhl (Over the palm tree) hijaz 12:26
3. Ishraq (Dawn) kurdi 5:36
4. Qussat kurdiya (Kurdish story) dasht 8:35
5. Lawha (Suffering) khanabat 14:18
6. Halam al-hanin (Nostalgia) 'ajam 13:00
7. 'Adhuba (Transparent feeling) mkhalef 8:24

Le Luth de Bagdad (The Baghdad Lute)
(Institut du Monde Arabe 321009)

Naseer Shamma uses a six-string oud on this CD tuned (low to high) FCDGCF, which gives him a beautifuly expressive sound. The climax of the CD is a piece named after the al-Amiriyya shelter in Baghdad where a group of children died in the Gulf War. The piece was performed live in the shelter on the first anniversary of the tragedy.

1. Min adh-Dhakira (Memories) 1986 Maqam Ajam 8:56
2. Qissat hubb sharqiyya (An oriental love story) 1994 Maqam Awj 7:50
3. Nasamat 'adhba (Soft breezes) 1987 Maqam Dasht 5:22
4. Sukun al-layl fi Baghdad (A quiet night in Baghdad) 1991 Maqam Nahawand 8:43
5. Min Ashur ila Ishbiliya (From Assur to Seville) 1989 Maqam Ajam 5:24
6. Salat babiliyya (Babylonian prayer) 1991 5:50
7. Ughniya 'iraqiyya (Iraqi song) Maqam Bastanihar 7:48
8. Hiwar bayn al-Mutanabbi was-Sayyab (Dialogue between two poets) 1988 Maqam Nahawand 7:41
9. Al-'Amiriyya (The shelter at al-'Amiriyya) 1991 Maqam Ajam 15:17

Maqamat Ziryab
(Pneuma PN 480)

This CD presents a selection of taqasim and compositions that Ziryab brought from Baghdad to Cordoba over a thousand years ago. It also features Naseer Shamma's singing debut on the last track - a beautiful song with oud accompaniment. This is an extremely difficult CD to find - I eventually managed to obtain a copy from DiscoWeb.com.

1. Dau' ar-Ruh (Light of the Soul) Maqam Hijaz 11:09
2. Hilal as-Saba 8:04
3. Dance of the Horse Maqam Nahawand 13:26
4. Awshar Maqam Awshar 6:18
5. Discourse of the Soul Maqam Ajam 7:32
6. Maqam Rast 10:20
7. Zada al-Garam (Love Grew) Maqam Nahawand 7:28

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