by Genevieve Williams
"And oh it's so beautiful It's like the fourth of July It's like a Christmas tree It's like fireflies on a summer night. And I wish I could describe this to you a little better. But I can't talk very well right now cause I've got this damned gas mask on…."
Laurie Anderson, "Night in Baghdad"
Over the years, and especially over the last several months, Baghdad has been in the news a lot. Looking at the images of bombed-out buildings, looting, and tanks rolling down the streets, it's easy to forget that this is the site of one of the oldest cities in the world. Although Baghdad proper was only founded in 762 CE, the region where the city is situated, at the confluence of the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers, is generally considered the cradle of civilization. Formerly the ancient kingdom of Mesopotamia, the area became known as Iraq, and in the seventh century became a part of the Muslim caliphate. Founded by one of the Abbasid caliphs, Baghdad was for a time the largest city in the Middle East, western Asia, and Europe. During the reign of the caliph Harun ar-Raschid, the city attained near-legendary status; it is during this period that the collection of classic stories known as the Thousand and One Nights is set.
Although since that time Baghdad has lost much of its glory, it remains an important cultural center and a source of inspiration for composers and songwriters of all cultures.
Among Western audiences, Baghdad is well known as the setting for much of the Thousand and One Nights, the collection from which favorites such as "Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp" and "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" are drawn, and the publication of which in English inspired a host of symphonic, operatic, poetic, and literary works. These tales are the source material for the symphonic suite Scheherazade, named for the narrator of the stories, by Russian Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, a prolific composer who influenced Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky. After musically relating three of the tales, the suite concludes with a series of short segments, one of which is titled "Festival in Baghdad," the setting for the overall work.
The Thousand and One Nights also inspired the nineteenth-century German composer Peter Cornelius. Taking a leaf from Mozart's book, Cornelius composed the comic opera Der Barbier von Baghdad (The Barber of Baghdad), which opened to considerable protest--not because of the opera or its composer, but because of its conductor, the composer Franz Liszt, who had a talent for controversy. Nonetheless, the opera, a comic love story with an intelligent title character, was eventually accepted as a classic, as well as something of a counterbalance to the severe, lugubrious works of Richard Wagner. Meanwhile, over in France, François-Adrien Boieldieu composed Le calife de Baghdade (The Caliph of Baghdad), a romantic comedy of which only the overture is now performed.
But of course Baghdad is not only an inspiration to Western musicians. Fusion dance group Third Planet, whose members hail from Kurdistan, Italy, Algeria, and India, recorded "Baghdad Raï." Raï, originally a Bedouin folk form, took on an urban flavor in Algeria in the 1970s; an adaptive genre with diverse instrumentation, it's perfect for an instrumental homage to the city. Similarly multi-cultural in approach is the Lebanese diva Fairouz, whose beautiful voice and willingness to transcend genre lines drew comparisons to Sarah Vaughan. Her "Baghdad Wal Chouarra" was a special composition, in keeping with her practice of beginning concerts in foreign countries with a song dedicated to the host country. Likewise, Algerian-born musician Hamid Baroudi combines North African and European musical tropes on "Caravan II Baghdad." Though not enormously well-known in the States, at least not yet, Baroudi regularly hits the European world music charts, and "Caravan II Baghdad" was a number-one hit in Algeria in the early 1990s.
Then there's Naseer Shamma, an oud player from Al-Kut, Iraq. The oud, a stringed instrument resembling a lute, is the basis for much Middle Eastern music. Shamma's "Sukûn Al-Layl Fî Baghdad" ("A Calm Night in Baghdad") is a gently stirring instrumental piece, evocative of a quiet night in an ancient city. In a similar vein is "Layali Baghdad," an oud piece by musician and composer Omar Bashir. One of his earlier recordings, the solo instrumental piece wanders in improvisatory fashion, like the classical Arabic vocal style from which it takes its name. And Iraqi-Israeli oud player and peace activist Yair Dalal acknowledged the city's connection to the world with "Bagdad-Barcelona."
Baghdad's allure crosses cultures and genres. Take, for instance, the example of jazz pioneer Horace Silver, who along with Art Blakey, Stan Getz, and others, revolutionized jazz music with the development of the fast-paced, relaxed hard bop style. In 1959, on his Blowin' the Blues Away album, Silver recorded "Baghdad Blues," which combined Middle Eastern and jazz aesthetics long before the pan-world music movement made that kind of experimentation impossible to avoid. Nor was Silver the only jazz musician to be so inspired. Herbie Mann, the flutist who began with jazz, then incorporated pop and world music, has an intriguing instrumental medley called "Baghdad/Candle Dance," while keyboardist Jim Schweigert incorporates light jazz, progressive rock, and a bit of Latin into "Baghdad Boogie."
Then there's Scandinavian fiddler Hege Rimestad, with her "Dreaming of Baghdad," taking the traditional Nordic instrument on a surprising musical journey, with the addition of Middle Eastern percussion instruments and rhythms, plus a few playing techniques and accompaniments that make her violin sound like a Turkish fiddle. English singer-songwriter Kate Bush recorded the ethereal, fairylike "Kashka from Baghdad," with an emphasis on mysteries and hidden things: "At night they're seen/Laughing, loving/They know the way/To be happy/They never go for walks/Maybe it's because the moon's not bright enough/There's light in love you see." Similar in tone and mood is the New York Room's "Veils of Baghdad," a lush bit of dream-pop from a band given to otherworldly musings. Then there's "Flor de Bagdad" from Los Amantes de Lola; although sung in Spanish, its exploration of the dichotomy between the fantasy of Baghdad and the reality comes through--just as it does in Laurie Anderson's "Night in Baghdad."
Like the Thousand and One Nights, the Baghdad portrayed in many of these pieces is that of a distant, mythical past. Like every other city, it is a place with legends attached.
Genevieve Williams is a freelance writer specializing in music, book reviews, and film. She is a former music editor for Amazon.com and a regular contributor to Blues Revue.
