ABSTRACT
In contrast to the Maghrib-‘the place where the sun sets’—the Mashriq, from a historic Arab perspective, is where the sun rises: that is, in the lands of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan and Egypt. The Mashriq-with its cosmopolitan urban centers such as Cairo, Beirut, and Jerusalem; its historic institutions, including the thousand-year-old Azhar University and mosque; and its aggressive development of the mass media in the twentieth century-has become in a sense a cultural heartland for the Arab world. Historically at the forefront of Arab political, economic, and cultural life, the Mashriq is home to centers of education that draw together a wide range of populations ranging from rural to international. Its large mosque and religious establishment train reciters of the Qur’a¯n and Christian priests. Its modern-day conservatories train symphonic orchestra musicians, members of national folk ensembles, and internationally known stage and session musicians. Historic centers of musical performance such as Aleppo continue to attract student musicians. Until the late twentieth century, most media productions originated in Cairo. Film, television, and recording studios were all located there, drawing performers from other parts of the Arab world who were seeking opportunities. Its relationship with Europe resulted in opera houses and musical theaters, which were sometimes settings of elegance and sophistication but at other times were vilified as institutions of the foreign oppressor. The mashriqi amalgam of musical richness draws from the rural and the “folk,” the European and the Turkish, and the historically Arab-and from its own versions of the “modern.”
