Istikhbars and Improvisations

[Machine Translation] In Andalusian classical music, pianos of Western origin were at the bottom of the heap, and Scandrani's performance method, which was almost as if it had been pioneered by him, was considered heretical. The reason for the heresy is that piano solo playing was unthinkable in Andalusian classical music concerts before Scandrani, and it was unthinkable for anyone else to play "Istikbal" (one of the styles of Andalusian court music) on the piano, which caused controversy at the time. Algerian classical music is a mixture of Andalusian court music, which originated in the Arab and Islamic dynasties of Spain, and Turkish classical music, and is also influenced by Western, African indigenous, and Jewish influences, and is characterized by the integration of Eastern and Western cultures. Istikbal" is a prelude to a suite of court music called "Nauba" (or "Nuva"), which has several modes (types). In this work, one mode is first played and presented thematically, followed by a set of variations, for a total of nine sets of modes. The obvious appeal of this work is the graceful intersection of Orient, West, and Africa on the keyboard, where the sounds produced by the piano become a single delicate line that moves back and forth between the East and West worlds.

アンダルシア古典音楽で西洋由来のピアノは末席、このスカンドラニが開拓したも同然の演奏法でその作品は異端扱いされたそう。なぜ異端かといえばこの人以前のアンダルシア音楽のコンサートでピアノ独奏はありえず、「イスティクバル」(アンダルシア宮廷音楽の様式のひとつ)をピアノでやるなど余人は考えつかず、当時、物議をかもしたという。アルジェリアの古典音楽はスペインのアラブ・イスラム王朝が起源のアンダルシア宮廷音楽とトルコの古典音楽が混同し、西洋/アフリカ先住民/ユダヤ系の影響も受け、東西文化の統合が特徴とされる。「イスティクバル」は宮廷音楽の組曲様式「ナウバ (またはヌーヴァ)」の前奏曲で、幾つかのモード (型)がある。本作では、ひとつのモードをまず主題的に演奏・提示し、その後、変奏を行って1セットとし、合計9セットのモードを収録。本作の分かりやすい魅力はオリエント/西洋/アフリカが鍵盤上で優雅に交差するさまで、ピアノからつむぎ出される音が一本の繊細な線となって東西世界を行き来するかように動き回る。