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For the first time in the history of Arabic music, the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music is launching a new model of orchestra, or large ensemble, structured on an expanded version of the traditional Arabic takht. Traditionally, the takht consisted of four to five musicians, one for each traditional Arabic instrument.
During the twentieth century, Arabic music ensembles grew larger by increasing the number of certain instruments at the expense of others—particularly traditional instruments such as the oud and the qanun—without taking into account the natural balance between these instruments in terms of sound power. As a result, in order for these instruments, which often remained limited to a single player, to be heard, sound amplification became necessary. This was in contrast to other instruments such as the violin, whose numbers increased to more than ten players, and percussion, which sometimes reached three or more players in some ensembles. With the introduction of the electronic “Oriental organ” into these ensembles in the final quarter of the twentieth century, the traditional instruments of the Arabic takht were further marginalized.
The Arab Orchestra in Palestine aims to present a new musical statement to the Arab world and the world at large, to restore the status of traditional Arabic instruments, and to provide momentum and renewed vitality to Arabic music—particularly instrumental music—while encouraging its appreciation and stimulating interest in it. The orchestra also aims to shed light on Palestinian music and contemporary Palestinian composers. In addition, it seeks to contribute to the development of the Arabic music department at the Conservatory, as the orchestra includes around seventy male and female musicians drawn from students, faculty members, and professional musicians.
The sound produced by this large ensemble is new to Arabic music. Determining the number of players for each instrument is an ongoing scientific experiment based on the physics of sound, through which the Conservatory seeks to develop optimal formulas. The orchestra performs according to the principle of natural acoustic balance among different instrumental groups, without sound amplification or technical intervention. This experiment also includes knowledge of instrumental timbre and compatibility, and their cohesion with one another in terms of sound nature and musical register. All of this aims to provide composers with the necessary information to write specifically for this orchestra.
It is also worth noting that the orchestra seeks works written on the basis of the Arabic maqam system, with the distribution of roles and registers among instruments, and not necessarily those based on Western harmonic theory (“harmony”). The Conservatory hopes that this experiment will succeed and be replicated as a new model for large ensembles in Arabic music, whether in Palestine or throughout the Arab and Eastern world in general.