Ezz El-Din Bashir Forum in Doha discusses the future of Sudanese song

Doha – Khaled Al Baloula

Since independence, cultural activity has been linked to civil and community initiatives and not to official state agencies, which contributed to its prosperity and great cultural production. Ezz El-Din Bashir Cultural Forum in Doha is one of those cultural windows through which those interested in the cultural activity in Doha, whether citizens, residents or visitors, can view it. The late Ezz El-Din Bashir (may God have mercy on him) was one of those interested in awareness and enlightenment. He died years ago in the United States. This forum was held in memory of him with a generous initiative from his brother, the journalist and writer Al-Tayeb Bashir, who confirmed that this forum witnessed multiple cultural events that brought together pioneers of thought and culture in Doha Al-Khair.
On Saturday, the forum celebrated the visit of the journalist and cultural critic Abdul Latif Al-Mujtaba to the city of Doha, and the forum was honored by the academic and novelist Dr. Hassan Al-Bakri, the writer and Dr. Hashem Mirghani, professor of languages ​​and criticism at Sudanese universities and visiting professor at a number of Arab institutes and universities, and the critic Muhammad Al-Rabi’ Muhammad Saleh, former editor-in-chief of Doha Magazine. Professor Amir Siddiq Mahmoud, journalist at Al Jazeera Channel, Professor Samia, journalist at the Sudan Academy for Communication Sciences, and legal advisor Abdullah Al-Taher, who led the audience with beautiful singing.
The discussion was initiated by Khaled Al-Baloula, speaking about the experience of the artist Abdul Karim Al-Kabli in sung poetry in classical Arabic after the artist Abdullah’s performance of the song (Dhaneen Al-Waad). He pointed out that Al-Kabli is considered one of the pioneers who pioneered this field, and his name is almost associated with it whenever they touch on this type of sung poetry. His choices varied between different poetic schools and different eras, such as Abu Firas Al-Hamdani (Sticks of Tears), Al-Wawa Al-Dimashqi (It Rained Pearls), Ibrahim Al-Arrayedh (Pearl of Egg), Asia and Africa, Taj Al-Sir Al-Hassan, My Love of My Life by Al-Hussein Al-Hassan, Shaza Zahr by Mahmoud Al-Akkad, and other poets.
Abdul Latif Al-Mujtaba added that this type of eloquent singing does not stop with Al-Kabli, but extends to other artists Sayed Khalifa (Oh Her Voice), Abdul Aziz Muhammad Daoud in (The Temple Bells and You Are With Me), Othman Hussein, Zidane Ibrahim, Hassan Khalifa Al-Atbarawi, and Muhammad Wardi, as the field is wide enough for a large number of them. He spoke of the same experience and talked about the importance of documenting the classical singing experience in Sudan so that it does not disappear.
Dr. Hashim Mirghani confirmed that he sees no reason to worry about the disappearance of the Sudanese song, as the singing experience in Sudan has been preserved through successive generations and various modern and traditional media. There is a documentation experience carried out by the Faculty of Music and Drama at the University of Sudan, the Sudanese Radio (Hana Omdurman), and its descendants from the state radio stations, Sudan TV, and the Nile Channel. Al-Azraq, Al-Shorouk Channel, and the cassette experience, in addition to modern media such as YouTube, Telegram, and others.
“We are faced with how to market our singing experience to an audience outside our geographical framework. Unfortunately, we focus on specific parties and strive to find a foothold with them in their media institutions or with their audiences, but we have not succeeded in that. The mood is different and the perception of us is different, unlike there is a crowd of people interested in other societies taste and interact with the Sudanese song and its pentatonic scale, and it receives great attention from them without us seeking that. In West or East Africa, you find Sudanese singing in shops and popular markets, as well as in Eritrea, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, and others.” Amir Siddiq.
Dr. Hassan Al-Bakri pointed out that the Sudanese song in its Omdurmani model, which was formed from the bag songs and the singing experience of the fifties and sixties and its extension to the new generation by the end of the eighties, in my personal estimation, has reached its end and there is a new singing model that is beginning to be created. Call it what you want, the “Zink” song, the “rap” song. “I believe that Mahmoud Abdel Aziz and his fellow singers have encoded that experience and songs from the countryside and local communities have now begun to show the experience of those who had mercy on them.” Al-Bakri said.
Muhammad Al-Rabi’ Muhammad Saleh agreed with him in this, as he pointed out that the metaphorical song that is covered by singing for the homeland, the beloved, and the absent lover has begun to disappear, and there is a new generation that has begun to express its singing taste, and to form its conscience with singing different from that which has prevailed for many decades, and this singing carries contents and values ​​​​that express the rhythm. The fast-paced society we live in now.
Khaled Al-Baloula referred to the experience of the poet Saad al-Din Ibrahim, Abdul-Wahab Halawi, and Mahjoub Sharif, who presented poetic experiments that flow into the same idea expressed by al-Bakri and al-Rabi’, such as the experience of “haiku” poetry, which Saad al-Din calls three-second poetry and recorded on Sudan TV under the name al-Masha’il, and the song Hajja Amna, which It was sung by the Aqd Al-Jallad band, as it is considered a type of poetry that realistically expresses the problems facing society and its daily living needs.
Abdul Latif Al-Mujtaba reviewed the experience of group singing, which he considered to be one of the pioneering experiences in the process of Sudanese song, and the experience of duets and the experience of collective groups such as Aqd Al-Jallad, Saura, Namariq, Sukkat Safar and Ray by Othman Al-Nu and others. He explained its distinctive role in enriching the Sudanese singing experience and considered it a return to singing in its old form.
Al-Mujtaba also touched on the poets of the bag combining the two linguistic levels between classical and colloquial with all fluidity and beauty, and attributed it to their linguistic sources, and pointed out that the sources of their education are isolation, where he learned the Holy Qur’an and the Arabic language, and we notice the classical and Qur’anic expressions in their poetry, such as one of them saying (The trees are the pens of all, and the Nile is the ink if it is written.) My longing for you is innumerable.)
The discussion was spontaneous and came without protocols. Interventions came in an endless stream after every song performed by Abdullah Al-Taher, who showed prowess in performing in different vocal levels, as Amir Siddiq described him, and a fine taste in choice. Al-Taher denies himself the status of an artist, and confirms that he is a connoisseur of joy, just like others.