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C M E M M E |
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Cornell Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Music Ensemble |
Course Info:
The Cornell Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Music Ensemble Requirements: Approval by instructor. Experience in singing and or a musical instrument. The ability to read music notation or learn quickly by ear is strongly recommended. Course Description: CMEMME performs traditional Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Greek and other music from the Middle East (a.k.a. Near East). Ensemble rehearsals consist of learning and analyzing repertoire from the folk, popular, and classical genres, and several performances are given throughout the semester. Course materials include recordings, notation, and text transliteration. Instruments used by CMEME include voice, oud (lute), qanun (zither), nay (cane flute), keman (violin), tabla (goblet drum), riq (tambourine), and duf (frame drum), as well as Arabic accordion, Saxophone, clarinet, upright bass and cello. |
CMEMME Bio Nikolai Ruskin and Martin Hatch founded the Cornell Middle Eastern Music Ensemble (CMEME) in the summer of 2002 with the purpose of exploring Middle-Eastern musical traditions. The first rehearsal took place in a barn on Professor Hatch's farm, where a group of 12 musicians gathered on Monday nights from 7-9pm. By Fall 2002 the ensemble became part of the Cornell curriculum as a one-credit ensemble course. The ensemble now numbers at about fifteen to twenty participants each semester. They are living up to their name by continuously expanding their repertoire to include a broader range of music from various cultures in and around the Middle East, including Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Greek, Armenian, Hebrew, and other music from the region. In the fall of 2006 CMEME was officially renamed the Cornell Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Music Ensemble, reflecting an increased interest in Turkish, Greek, and Armenian music by the ensemble. In the spring of 2007 musical direction was taken over from Nikolai (who had moved to Brooklyn) by Atakan Sari. The presence of CMEMME has created a growing interest in music from the Middle East, as well as a network of friends who share a love of the music. Cornell's diverse student population makes it possible for CMEMME to explore a wide variety of music. The ensemble's membership includes Ithaca residents, Cornell students and faculty of diverse nationalities and cultures, who all contribute by assisting with translations, gathering recordings, and coaching the non-native speakers with diction for singing. CMEMME also collaborates on events with student cultural groups to bring music to a wider audience on campus. The Cornell Middle Eastern Music and Mediterranean Music Ensemble is supported by the Department of Near Eastern Studies, the Music Department, and the Martin Hatch Foundation. About Middle Eastern Music The musical traditions of the Middle East (a.k.a. Near East) share certain characteristics, known in Arabic music as maqam and iqa'. The term maqam describes a system of modes whose intervals are measured quartertones (or microtones). The maqam is characterized by certain phrasings and central tones that make each mode unique. Iqa' is the term for a wide variety of rhythmic patterns played on percussion instruments that form the ground on which the melody is played. Although there are many common characteristics that define the music of the Middle East, there is also a wide variety of regional variations of tone intervals, rhythms, and language dialects, all of which give each style a unique flavor that takes a lifetime to fully master. CMEMME strives to understand and share this rich variety of music with their audience. |