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Concept
Music of Palestine
Summary
The music of Palestine (الموسيقى الفلسطينية) is one of many regional subgenres of Arabic music. While it shares much in common with Arabic music, both structurally and instrumentally, there are musical forms and subject matter that are distinctively Palestinian.
In the areas now controlled by both Israel and Palestine, multiple ethnic groups and religions have long held on to a diversity of cultures. Mandatory Palestine population with Arabs (including urban and rural Muslim classes, Arab Christians, Druze and Muslim Bedouin) constituted the largest group, followed by Jews (including Sephardim, Mizrahim and Ashkenazim), Samaritans, Circassians, Armenians, Dom and others. Wasif Jawhariyyeh was one oud player, famous for his post 1904-diary.
Early in the 20th century, Palestinian Arabs lived in cities and in rural areas, either as farmers or as nomads. The fellahin (farmers) sang a variety of work songs, used for tasks like fishing, shepherding, harvesting and making olive oil. Traveling storytellers and musicians called zajaleen were also common, known for their epic tales. Weddings were also home to distinctive music, especially the dabke. Popular songs made use of widely varying forms, particularly the mejana and dal'ona.
Music of Israel#Israeli Arab music
After the creation of Israel in 1948, large numbers of Arab Palestinians fled to, or were forced into, refugee camps in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The most popular recorded musicians at the time were the superstars of Arab classical music, especially Umm Kulthum and Sayed Darwish. The centers for Palestinian music were in the Palestinian towns of Nazareth and Haifa, where performers composed in the classical styles of Cairo and Damascus. A shared Palestinian identity was reflected in a new wave of performers who emerged with distinctively Palestinian themes, relating to the dreams of statehood and the burgeoning nationalist sentiment.
In the 1970s, a new wave of popular Palestinian stars emerged, including Sabreen and Al Ashiqeen.
Official source
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