Halim El-Dabh - Leiyla and the Poet

Leiyla and the Poet (1959)

Halim El-Dabh produced eight electronic pieces in 1959 alone, including his multi-part electronic musical drama Leiyla and the Poet, which is considered a classic of the genre and was later released in 1964 on the LP record Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. His musical style was a contrast to the more mathematical compositions of Milton Babbitt and other serial composers working at the center, with El-Dabh's interest in ethnomusicology and the fusion of folk music with electronic sounds making his work stand out for its originality. According to El-Dabh: “The creative process comes from interacting with the material. When you are open to ideas and thoughts the music will come to you."

Leiyla and the Poet uses purely electronic sounds sparingly but obtains most of its effects by applying the tape manipulation technique of speed transposition, and electronic reverberation, to the instrumental and vocal materials prepared and recorded by the composer. The work is an incident from a work in progress, Electronic Drama, No. 1. Mr. El-Dabh's libretto, inspired by the ancient Arabic ode Majnum LeiyIa, is concerned with a madman and a poet who attempt to persuade Leiyla to follow different paths, either that of a free woman or that which would bind her to unbreakable ties. The chorus, when uttering words recognizable and unrecognizable, inflicts opposing ideas on the drama's three characters.

Art by Dia Azzawi