Saturday, July 01, 2006

Mujawwad or Murattal?

Came across a wonderful recitation of part of Surah Yusuf by Shaykh Mahmood Ali al-Banna who, according to Kristina Nelson in her The Art Of Reciting The Qur'an, is cited by Shaykh Muhammad Mahmood al-Tablawi as one of his inspirations.

For a detailed insight into Surah Yusuf, check out Sheikh Abbas Jaffer's erudite tafsir into the nuances of the chapter.

Nelson also brought my attention to another reciter I was unaware of:

Shaykh Muhammad Rifat [1882-1950]. His father was a merchant. Shaykh Rifat is unanimously considered the best reciter of this century. He is admired for his musicality, his mastery and understanding of the art of recitation in all of its aspects, his spirituality and uprightness, and his right intent. Shaykh Rifat was the first reciter to broadcast his recitation (1934), and his voice and style, as well as his general character, have been a model of the ideal reciter to generations of Egyptians and others ever since. Music critic and composer Suleiman Gamil specifies aspects of Shaykh Rifat's style such as the unpredictability of the melodic line and the resonance of his voice. Others point to his mastery in correlating melody to meaning (taswîr al-ma'nâ). In addition to recordings made by the Radio, there exist a great number of recordings made by Zakariyyâ Muhrân Bâsâ and Muhammad Khamîs which his son, Mr. Husayn Rifat, is dedicated to making available to the public.
Here are some links to his recitation: Surah ar-Rahman and al-Waqi'ah, Surah al-Isra'.

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