Music For The Oriental Dance

Recorded by Aisha Ali in Alexandria, Cairo, and Luxor in 1977, this album presents three examples of Egyptian raqs sharqi dance sets played on traditional instruments such as qanoun, oud, nay, riqq, mazhar, and tabla. Special care was taken to avoid the addition of western electronic instruments, already popular in Egypt at this time. The featured musical composition is “Hani.”

1. Raqs Sharqi – Alexandria – Mohammed Ibrahim Ensemble – Each section of this medley of popular dance tunes contains an introduction, a taqasim, and a drum roll ending, providing a variety of performance lengths. -17:35
2. Raqs Al Asaya – Alexandria – M. Ibrahim Ensemble -A Belady piece, ideal for the asaya (cane) as well as the sword dance – 7:15
3. Raqs Sharqi – Cairo – Mohammed Aly Street Orchestra, Ahmed Khawatem – Recorded in a tent in the Giza desert. 13:01
4. Raqs Baladi – Cairo – The Mohammed Aly Street Orchestra playing the popular Baladi piece “Hamama” – 3:42
5. Raqs Sharqi – Luxor – Maestro Chabib Ensemble playing a variety of Egyptian dance songs. Recorded on a boat on the Nile. – 17:08

Audio Samples:

Raqs Sharqi (Alexandria) (288 K)

Raqs al Asaya (Alexandria) (358 K)

Raqs Sharqi (Cairo) (353 K)

Raqs Baladi (Cairo) (248 K)

Raqs Sharqi (Luxor) (318 K)