The word ‘Rabab’ is not alien to south Asians. The plucked stringed lute with a deep tone, native to Afghanistan and parts of India, often called rubab, has found significance in our music.
Sufi poet Rumi has spoken about the rebab’s ethereal sound as being the doorway to spiritual enlightenment. Huwal Ghafoor, az bang e rebaab mishanavam. Sedaa ye delneshin e behesht, az Rebaab mishanavam. Farq ast miyaan e shenidan e man o tu. Tu bastan e dar o man fath e baab mishanavam (He is all-forgiving’ are the words that I hear from the tone of the rebab. The heart-rending strains of paradise, I hear from the tone of the rebab. The difference between the way you listen and the way I do, is that for you, the doors of your heart close, for me, the doors open with the tone of the rebab). The last line indicates that those who consider music taboo in the name of religion, are missing out on its sublime, spiritual essence.
While in some Middle Eastern countries, the rabab is a spike fiddle, a boat-shaped rabeb existed during the Arab rule in Spain, namely the southern region of Andalusia. Known to be the ‘Golden Era’, this was a period of tremendous literary, artistic and spiritual interaction between the Jews and Arabs.
A unique style of music called ‘Tarab Andalusi’ developed during this period and one of the main instruments was the rabeb. Scholar Al Farabi mentions the instrument in his treatise ‘Kitab al Musiqi al Kabir’. It is supposed to be the forerunner of the European ‘Rebec’.
Resembles the Sarangi
With two gut or nylo-gut strings emerging from two wooden tuning pegs, the solid wooden body is made of a single piece of either cedar, lemon, mahogany or walnut, carved into an elongated ovoid shape. The belly is covered with finely tempered, taut goat skin and the instrument is usually played with a D-shaped horsehair bow. The rabeb closely resembles the sarangi and is played vertically by placing it on the player’s lap unlike the western violin.
It is said that after the inquisition, the Arabs and Jews fled to the Maghreb region of North Africa, namely Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia from Spain. So their rabeb has become an integral part of the Andalusian classical music played extensively by Moroccan Andalusian ensembles and the Tunisian ‘Malouf’ style that is said to be a descendant of Andalusian musical heritage.
While the Moroccan counterpart has a basal, soft and muted sound, which can be heard as a soothing accompaniment to Andalusian ensembles in the country, the Tunisian version is slightly more high-pitched, sometimes even a bit larger. Although several other instruments like the violins, flutes, Darbukas or Riq drums and Oud lutes are part of these classic orchestras, the rabeb does find its indispensible place. The traditional Arabic ‘Maqam’ scales rendered on the rabeb take you back several centuries into the labyrinths of Moorish Andalusia with the innate antiquity of its tone.
Maestros such as Anis Klibi of Tunisia have even mastered the art of solo playing, a certain ache rising from within the notes, captivating the listener’s heart. Since the violin, called ‘Kamanja’ in the Maghreb is preferred for its advanced tone and portability, there are a few upholders of the rabeb, and fewer manufacturers left.
The author, a multi-linguist, is an international music performer and composer
