Ahmed Piro avec l'orchestre de Rabat dirigé par Ahmed Bennani RTM années 1960 Noubat Mezmoum

Ahmed PIRO (PERON) et l'Orchestre Gharnâtî de Rabat sous la direction d'Ahmed BENNANI Source RTM (MAROC) années 1960.
(archives personnelles d'Ahmed EL Aïdi)

Muntakhabat de la Noubat AL Mazmoûm et Chadharat de la Noubat AL Maya.

منتخبات من نوبة المزموم وشذرات من نوبة الماية


The "Gharnati" Arabo-andalusian, Moorish music or Andalusî Music Tarab from Gharnâta is a version of the Andalusian musical style, thought to have originated in Granada, Spain (Al-Andalus), and developed after 1492 in Algeria, although there was probably remains of it in Morocco, under the Merinids following the fall of Almohad Seville, given the enduring relations between Merinid Morocco and the Nasrid kingdom. Muhammad V seeked refuge in Fes with his Prime minister Ibn Al-Hatîb. This latter's poems are still decorating the Alhambra's walls along with his successor's Ibn Zamrak.The Moroccan dynasty of Merinids tried to reconquer AL-Andalus anyways but ultimately failed in the Battle of the Rio Salado (.معركة طريف)التاريخ 30 أكتوبر 1340 (جمادى الأولى 741 هـ)) Octobre 30th, 1340.
The Merinids had suffered a disastrous defeat and moved back to Morocco although they tried the year after to reconquer Al-Andalus but to no avail.
Never again was a Moroccan Muslim army able to invade the Iberian Peninsula. The war with Granada continued for ten more years during which Alfonso XI made a few small territorial gains from the western part of Granada. Most importantly, the town of Algeciras (the Green Island in Arabic), a valuable bridgehead held by the Merinids was finally retaken after a two-year siege in 1344. This siege attracted volunteers from all over Europe due to extensive publicity. An attempt to recapture Gibraltar from the King of Granada was frustrated however and Castile had to settle for isolation of the citadel from the rest of Muslim territory when peace was agreed in 1350, after the death of Alfonso XI in his camp during the Great Plague. Gibraltar was not captured until 1462.
Only after the disastrous Portuguease defeat of king Sebastiao (Three kings died on that day!!) on Moroccan soil on August 4th 1578 that Morocco planned with Queen Elisabeth I to try again to reconquer Christian spain. But the project failed. It is said that the Moroccan ambassador to Queen Elisabeth I, 'Abd_al-Ouahid ben Mass'oud inspired Shakespear's Othello...

https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%85%...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_...
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bataill...)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abd_el-...

Back to the music now, it is though true that Algerians kept the Music from Granada lovingly. It is a somewhat "very sad" music but beautiful and refined. maybe the Muslims of Granada knew it was a matter of time before they would vanish or maybe i'm just speculating...
Unlike the more typical Moroccan style of Andalusian music, gharnati uses a small ensemble and emphasizes solo singing. The style, specific to the cities of Rabat and Oujda, was brought to Morocco by Algerians from Tlemcen and Algiers, fleeing French colonial rule after1830. But let us not forget that Morocco ruled DIRECTLY Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain) for centuries, so when one speaks about arabo-andalusian music Morocco comes first in thoughts. Another important detail is that the last "Moorish" Andalusî King Abu'Abdillah or Boabdil came to seek refuge in the Merinid Capital in Morocco: Fes after he surrendered the city in 1492 to the Catholic kings. (His arrival to Fes was recorded in 1493 and his tomb seemed to have been found by Spanish scientists in Fes in the Mausoleum of Bab Al Mahrouq, The burnt Door).Dna samples might be taken from the remains provided the Moroccan Islamic authorities give the green light. The one mentioning his name found in Tlemcen is of his uncle AL Zaghal who fled from Malaga to Tlemcen.

http://www.abc.es/cultura/20130302/ab...

The repertoire of gharnati is organized in suite form, a series of vocal and instrumental pieces that follow one another according to a specific order (nûba). A complete nûba consists of a measured orchestral overture (tushia) that establishes the mode; an instrumental interlude with a lively rhythm performed at the beginning of each vocal piece (kûrsi); a first vocal piece performed by a soloist in a slow 2/4 or 4/4 rhythm (msaddar); an unmeasured instrumental and vocal solo performance (istikhbar); a second vocal piece employing the same 2/4 or 4/4 rhythm (btayhi); a third vocal performance in a faster version of the same rhythm (darj); a fourth vocal piece in a 10/8 or 5/8 rhythm (insirâf); and a final vocal performance sang in unison by the ensemble over a fast 6/8 rhythm (makhlas).

Enjoy!

(sources Wiki, the net and a bit of me ;-))