Search - Matar Muhammad :: Tribute to a Master of the Buzuq

A Superb Album from the King of the Buzuq!

Rizgar | Sweden | 12/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"
It will not be a surprise to hear the fantastic taqsims in this album if the listener already knows Matar Muhammad. He was one of the greatest buzuq players of all time. A Lebanese Gipsy who suffered much in his life, but whose extraordinary talent overcame every obstacle and made him one of the greatest musicians in tha Arab world.



The first and third taqsims are mainly traditional, but Muhammad, with his genius and miraculuos playing technique present them in an unprecedented form. The music on the second track seems to reflect the pain of departure and longing with a steady tempo and a very touching melancholy. The first part of the fourth track is derived from a popular song by Abdul Halim Hafez followed by a long and masterful taqsim.



Matar Muhammad, sometimes called the "King of the Buzuq", Muhammad Abdul Karim, or "Prince of the Buzuq" along with the Kurdish buzuq player and present-day "Prince of the Buzuq" Seîd Yûsif are the three greatset masters of this instrument in the 20th century whose achievments have given it a prestigous position in Middle Eastern music.



I highly recommend this album for anyone interested in the art of taqsim and Middle Eastern music!"