Halim El-Dabh
Halim El-Dabh | |
---|---|
Died | 2 September 2017 | (aged 96)
Occupation(s) | Composer, musician, musicologist, educator |
Spouses |
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Children | 3 |
Halim Abdul Messieh El-Dabh (
Early life
El-Dabh was born and grew up in
Early electronic music in Cairo
While still a student in Cairo, El-Dabh he began experimenting with
According to El-Dabh, "I just started playing around with the equipment at the station, including
Move to the United States
Coming to the United States in 1950 on a
El-Dabh soon became a part of the New York new music scene of the 1950s, alongside such like-minded composers as Henry Cowell, John Cage, Edgard Varèse, Alan Hovhaness, and Peggy Glanville-Hicks. He obtained U.S. citizenship in 1961.
Among El-Dabh's works are four ballet scores for Martha Graham, including her masterpiece Clytemnestra (1958), as well as One More Gaudy Night (1961), A Look at Lightning (1962), and Lucifer (1975). Many of his compositions draw on Ancient Egyptian themes or texts, and one such work is his orchestral/choral score for the Sound and Light show at the site of Great Pyramid of Giza, which has been performed there each evening since 1961.
El-Dabh's primary instruments are the piano and darabukha (an Egyptian goblet- or vase-shaped hand drum with a body made of fire-hardened clay), and consequently many of his works are composed for these instruments. In 1958 he performed the demanding solo part in the New York City premiere of his Fantasia-Tahmeel for darabukha and string orchestra (probably the first orchestral work to feature this instrument), with an orchestra under the direction of Leopold Stokowski. In 1959 he composed several works for an ensemble of percussion instruments from India, for the New York Percussion Trio.
Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center
After having become acquainted with
El-Dabh produced eight electronic pieces in 1959 alone, including his multi-part electronic musical drama
Making full use of all ten
Later life and career
Like Béla Bartók before him, El-Dabh conducted numerous research trips in various nations, recording and otherwise documenting traditional musics and using the results to enrich his compositions and teaching. From 1959 to 1964, the most significant of these trips included investigations of the musics across the length and breadth of Egypt and Ethiopia, with later fieldwork being conducted in Mali, Senegal, Niger, Guinea, Zaire, Brazil, and several other nations. During the 1970s, El-Dabh served as a consultant to the Smithsonian Institution and conducted research on the traditional puppetry of Egypt and Guinea.
El-Dabh served as associate professor of music at
El-Dabh is one the best known composers of Coptic descent and his works are highly regarded in Egypt, where he was considered the foremost living composer among that nation's "
Many of El-Dabh's scores are published by the C. F. Peters Corporation and his music has been recorded by the Folkways and Columbia labels. Previously unpublished works are also being produced by Deborah El-Dabh of Halim El-Dabh Music, LLC. The first biography of the composer, The Musical World of Halim El-Dabh by Denise A. Seachrist, was published by the Kent State University Press in 2003.
He was a frequent performer and speaker at both the WinterStar Symposium and the
He was a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity.[18][failed verification]
Ancestry and identity
A 2003 biography by Denise A. Seachrist describes the multilayered ethnic and racial identity of El-Dabh. As a young student in Egypt, he was inspired by the secularism and pan-Arabism of Gamal Abdel Nasser, but became disenchanted with Arab identity when Nasser failed to act against the institutionalized discrimination against Egypt's Copts. After he immigrated to the United States, El-Dabh encountered racism. Because he was of Upper (southern) Egyptian descent, he notes that he was darker-skinned than most Egyptian immigrants to the United States.[19]
El-Dabh was noted for his support for the African American community, and his activism on behalf of civil rights, which he says were motivated by his own experiences of racism. Throughout the late 1950s and 1960s, he donated or marched with various civil rights organizations. His ties to African American culture were deepened when he taught music and African American studies at Howard University.[20]
Personal life and death
Halim El-Dabh was married twice. His first marriage to Marybelle Hyde ended in divorce. His second marriage to Deborah Jaken lasted from 1978 to his death. He had two children with Hyde, his daughters Shadia and Amira, and one child with Jaken, his son Habeeb.[21]
Halim El-Dabh died at his home in Kent, Ohio on 2 September 2017, at the age of 96.[21]
Discography
Audio
- 1944 – The Expression of Zaar
- 1957 – Sounds of New Music. New York: Folkways.
- 1959 – Leiyla and the Poet
- 1961 – Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center. New York: Columbia Masterworks.
- 1989 – The Self in Transformation: A Panel Discussion. Cassette tape: Features Jeff Rosenbaum, Joseph Rothenberg, and Robert Anton Wilson. ACE.
- 2000 – Gilbertson, Nancy. Mediterranean Magic. Moravia, New York: Nancy Cody Gilbertson. Includes Mekta' in the Art of Kita', Book 3.
- 2000 – Olatunji Live at Starwood – Babatunde Olatunji & Drums of Passion (guest Halim El-Dabh). CD: Recorded at the 17th Starwood Festival in July 1997. ACE
- 2001 – El-Dabh, Halim. Crossing Into the Electric Magnetic. Lakewood, Ohio: Without Fear.
- 2002 – Halim El-Dabh Live at Starwood – Halim El-Dabh (With: Seeds of Time) CD: Recorded at the 22nd Starwood Festival in July 2002. ACE
- 2002 – El-Dabh, Halim Blue Sky Transmission: A Tibetan Book of the Dead (original cast recording) Cleveland Public Theatre, Halim El-Dabh, and Raymond Bobgan
- 2006 – Fan, Joel. World Keys. San Francisco, California: Reference Recordings. Includes "Sayera" from Mekta' in the Art of Kita', Book 3.
- 2016 – El-Dabh, Halim; Ron Slabe. Sanza Time.
Films
- 1960 – Yuriko: Creation of a Dance. Features a rehearsal of The Ghost, with score by El-Dabh
- 1967 – Herostratus. Directed by Don Levy. One scene features audio of El-Dabh's Spectrum no. 1: Symphonies in Sonic Vibration
- 2000 – Olatunji Live at Starwood – Babatunde Olatunji & Drums of Passion (guest Halim El-Dabh). DVD: Filmed at the 17th Starwood Festival in July 1997. ACE.
- 2002 – Halim El-Dabh Live at Starwood – Halim El-Dabh (With: Seeds of Time) DVD: Filmed at the 22nd Starwood Festival in July 2002. ACE.
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0-415-95781-6. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
- ^ a b "The Wire, Volumes 275–280", The Wire, p. 24, 2007, retrieved 5 June 2011
- ISBN 978-0-415-95781-6. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-415-95781-6. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
- ISBN 0-87338-752-X. Accessed 8 July 2011. From page 54: "Elated that his wife had finally agreed to join him in New York, El-Dabh sought more suitable accommodations for his family and located a house for rent in Demarest, New Jersey." From page 95: "Mary and the girls were delighted to return to the United States, and when El-Dabh purchased a home in Cresskill, New Jersey, Mary was optimistic that her peripatetic husband was finally ready to settle down."
- ^ ISBN 978-0-415-95781-6. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-415-95781-6. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
- ^ "The RCA Synthesizer & Its Synthesis", Contemporary Keyboard, vol. 6, GPI Publications, p. 64, 1980, retrieved 5 June 2011
- ^ a b c Feit, Josh (December 2001). "Have an Electronic Arabic Christmas: Halim El-Dabh, 'Crossing into the Electric Magnetic'". The Stranger. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-415-95781-6. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-415-95781-6. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-415-95781-6. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-415-95781-6. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
- ^ Prospal, JR. "ACE : Starwood Speaker Roster". www.rosencomet.com. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
- ^ "STARWOOD GUESTS". www.rosencomet.com. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
- ^ "ACE presents: Starwood 2002 – Program". www.rosencomet.com. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
- ^ "Spirit Drum: brought to you by ACE". www.rosencomet.com. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
- ^ Delta Omicron Archived 27 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Denise A. Seachrist, The Musical World of Halim El-Dabh (Kent: Kent State University Press, 2003): [page needed].
- ^ Denise A. Seachrist, The Musical World of Halim El-Dabh (Kent: Kent State University Press, 2003): [page needed].
- ^ a b Fox, Margalit (8 September 2017). "Halim El-Dabh, Composer of Martha Graham Ballets, Dies at 96". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
Further reading
- Bibliographic Guide to Dance by the New York Public Library Dance Collection.
- Freedman, Russell. Martha Graham: A Dancer's Life.
- Gilbert, Chase. America's Music, From the Pilgrims to the Present.
- Gill, Michael. Circle of Ash Archived 16 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine. 7 July 2005. Free Times article referencing Starwood Festival appearance.
- Hartsock, Ralph and Carl John Rahkonen. Vladimir Ussachevsky: A Bio-Bibliography.
- Holmes, Thomas B. Electronic and Experimental Music: Pioneers in Technology and Composition.
- Horne, Aaron. Brass Music of Black Composers: A Bibliography.
- _____. Woodwind Music of Black Composers.
- Howard, John Tasker. Our American Music: A Comprehensive History from 1620 to the Present.
- Landis, Beth and Eunice Boardman. Exploring Music.
- Seachrist, Denise A. The Musical World of Halim El-Dabh. Includes compact disc. Kent OH, USA: Kent State University Press, 2003.
- Shelemay, Kay Kaufman and Peter Jeffery. Ethiopian Christian Liturgical Chant.
- Smith, Gordon Ernest. Istvan Anhalt: Pathways and Memory. 1950.
- South, Aloha P. Guide to Non-Federal Archives and Manuscripts in the United States Relating to Africa.
External links
- Gluck, Bob. "… ‘like a sculptor, taking chunks of sound and chiselling them into something beautiful’: Interview with Egyptian composer Halim El Dabh." eContact! 15.2 — TES 2012: Toronto Electroacoustic Symposium / Symposium électroacoustique de Toronto (April 2013). Montréal: CEC.
- Soundcheck. "The Musical World of Halim El-Dabh." Interview on WNYC's Soundcheck program, 13 June 2003.
- Premiere performance of The Dog Done Gone Deaf (2007), from CBC Radio Two. (dead link as of 9 February 2014)