Baroque Is Coming to the Music of Islam

I am familiar with thousands of musical albums and works of various genres. Nothing opens human hearts like harmonious and highly ornamented Baroque musical works in which the voices of singers intertwine with the sounds of instruments. A few years ago, while considering certain issues, I said that Baroque is everywhere. I meant “known everywhere”. I immediately heard a collective statement from Souls: “No, it is not everywhere”

It made me wonder why, from a musical perspective, Baroque music emerged in Europe, and why it is still not possible in Arabic, Islamic, Hindu music? I searched there, in the civilizations of Asia, for works that have at least some semblance of Baroque. There are certain beginnings. However, one must understand the idea of creating anything. Nothing and nowhere will arise without the will and support of God. A Baroque composer in Europe heard this music and heard the voices of soloists, of the choir. His talent consisted in the ability to write it down on musical notation paper

I found several Islamic composers with works full of Baroque touches. It is difficult for me to determine when their abilities will become widespread enough to displace the omnipresent “sha-la-la” type works in Asia, limited in their lyrical layer to declarations of love to all male or female listeners. When will this happen? We do not know, perhaps it may take 50, perhaps 100 years. Creating the first serious Baroque work in Islamic music is difficult because the music of the East differs from the music of the Middle East and India

Baroque music in Europe arose mainly thanks to specific historical conditions, the development of musical techniques (especially counterpoint and harmony), the availability of new instruments, and the exceptional role of music in court and church culture. In Arabic, Islamic and Hindu cultures, Baroque in the classical European understanding has not emerged so far, which results from different aesthetic and technical assumptions as well as the historical musical forms of these civilizations

The development of counterpoint and polyphony, that is the ability to conduct many independent voices, was crucial and resulted from the centuries-long European tradition of church and secular music, especially since the Renaissance. The major-minor system and basso continuo were formed, giving Baroque music its characteristic harmony, depth of bass, and the possibility of virtuosic instrumental writing. Rich ornamentation, contrasts, emotionality and the polyphony of musical forms became distinguishing features

Limitations of Arabic, Islamic and Hindu Music in Relation to Baroque

• Arabic and Islamic music traditionally relies on modality (maqam), monody (single melodic line) and improvisation, without developing the extensive polyphony and counterpoint typical of European Baroque
• Indian classical music (both Carnatic and Hindustani) likewise remains predominantly monodic: its main axis is raga and tala, with emphasis on melodic line and rhythm rather than on simultaneous harmonies that provided the foundation for European polyphony and harmonic language
• Arabic and Indian music do not use the major-minor system or an extensive basso continuo, which made it possible to build harmonic tension and rich musical textures
• Instrumentation. In Baroque Europe, string and keyboard instruments (e.g. violin, harpsichord) made complex, multilayered sonorities possible; the instrumentation of classical Arabic or Indian music favors different solutions – emphasis on expression and solo performance rather than ensemble polyphony
• Musical culture – the function of music in the East (especially vocal and relational – prayer, contemplation, storytelling) differs fundamentally from that in Europe (large-scale forms, music for elites and audiences)

Summary

Baroque known from European and South American music will appear in its harmonious beauty, perhaps also in polyphony, across Asia when God creates its foundations and forms. There are indications that this will occur within a perspective of 200 years

In the text I include a work by Sami Yusuf. It was recorded in France with the participation of a church organ

Another composer has a talent for creating ornate, polyphonic music and texts for every occasion. From wishes of well-being for a newborn child, through other occasional themes, to elevated religious works known in Islam as Nasheed

Opublikowano: 11/08/2026
Autor: Sławomir Majda
Kateogrie: Religions, priests, sects, idolatry, vows.

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