Habib Hassan Touma (Arabic: حبيب حسن توما) (12 December 1934 – 10 August 1998) was a Palestinian composer and ethnomusicologist who lived and worked for many years in Berlin, Germany.[1]
Habib Hassan Touma | |
|---|---|
حبيب حسن توما | |
| Born | December 12, 1934 |
| Died | August 10, 1998 (aged 63) |
| Nationality | Palestinian |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, ethnomusicologist |
Life and career
editHabib Hassan Touma was born in Nazareth on 12 December 1934. After graduating from Nazareth High School, he worked as a teacher in Arab communities in both Galilee and Nazareth. He then pursued further studies in music at the Rubin Conservatory of Music in Haifa and in pedagogy at the Oranim Academic College. He went on to do graduate studies in music composition with Alexander Uriah Boskovich at the Israel Conservatory of Music and then the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at the University of Tel Aviv.[2]
After completing his studies in Tel Aviv, Touma returned to teaching; working in the Ramatayim region at the French Mission School and the American Baptist Children's Village. He then left Israel for Berlin to pursue further studies at the Free University of Berlin. As a composer he was known for his blending of traditional Arabic music with Western classical music.[2]
Touma authored a number of books, essays and musicological studies on Arabic; Turkish or Iranian music, among them The Music of the Arabs, first published in 1975 in German and translated into several languages.[3] He was also a book review editor for the ethnomusicological journal The World of Music, published by the International Institute for Traditional Music in Berlin.[4] Among other studies based on his field work in Arabic countries, he published a description and photographs of the Work Songs of the Gulf Pearl Divers of Bahrain.[5] Another of his studies treated the Arabic musical influence on the Iberian Peninsula during the period of Al-Andalus.[6]
He died on 10 August 1998.[7]
Select bibliography
edit- The Music of the Arabs, trans. Laurie Schwartz. Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. (1996). ISBN 0-931340-88-8
- The Maqam Phenomenon: An Improvisational Technique in the Music of the Middle East (1971)
Compositions
edit- Maqam Bayati, Palestinian Music Publications.
- Rhapsodie Orientale, Palestinian Music Publications.
- Study #1 (For Flute), Palestinian Music Publications.
- Study #2 Combinations (For Flute), Palestinian Music Publications.
- Taqsim for solo piano, Palestinian Music Publications
- Suite Arabe for solo piano, Palestinian Music Publications
References
edit- ^ Hemetek 2014, pp. 27, 45 n.1
- ^ a b Gradenwitz, Peter (1996). "Touma, Habib Hassan". The Music of Israel: From the Biblical Era to Modern Times. Amadeus Press. p. 423-424. ISBN 9781574670127.
- ^ O'Connell, John (1990). "Review of Die Musik der Araber (The Music of the Arabs)". Asian Music. 22 (1): 154–156. doi:10.2307/834296. ISSN 0044-9202. JSTOR 834296.
- ^ "History of the Journal | the world of music (new series)". The World of Music. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
- ^ Touma, Habib Hassan (1977). "The Fidjrí, a Major Vocal Form of the Bahrain Pearl-divers". The World of Music. 19 (3/4): 121–127. ISSN 0043-8774. JSTOR 43560495.
- ^ Touma, Habib Hassan (1987). "Indications of Arabian Musical Influence on the Iberian Peninsula from the 8Th to the 13Th Century". Revista de Musicología. 10 (1): 137–150. doi:10.2307/20795088. ISSN 0210-1459. JSTOR 20795088.
- ^ "Touma, Habib, 1934-1998". Library of Congress. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
- Work cited
- Hemetek, Ursula (2014). Music and Minorities from Around the World: Research, Documentation and Interdisciplinary Study. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 9781443870948.