The song of a nation reflects the soul of its community. Music has the ability to bring people together. To unite them from their hearts. In every corner of the globe, music can be heard as expression of society. Here’s an overview of the music that beats in Algeria.
Algerian music is a diverse representation of its people. The history of Algerian music has its roots in Andalusian style. Although the songs were influenced by Andalusian music, Algerian musicians definitely put their own personal North African spin on it. Traditional music in Algeria is saturated with culture and beauty. Sha-biii is a popular style of melodious folk music that offer up poetic storytelling of Algerian life. El Hajj Muhammad El Anka was famous for this style of music. Born on May 20, 1907 in Algiers, he made a name for himself as The Grand Master of Andalusian classical music. When he was thirteen years of age, El Anka’s talent was first recognized by orchestra leader sheik Mustapha Nador. Nador immediately folded the young teen into his group as a Tardji(tambourine player). While playing with the orchestra El Anka learned to play his favorite instrument, the mandolin. After a while, he took charge of organizing festivals and events for the orchestra when sheik Nador died. In his lifelong musical career, El Hajj Muhammad El Anka wrote close to 360 songs and produced approximately 130 records. Algerian Sha-bii music holds a tradition of sharing a moral message with the beauty of orchestral sounds. People still adore his music today.
Nuubaat, a musical style with an Ottoman influence, also gave rise to hawzii and rabaab. Hawzii is typically sung in the regional dialect of Northwestern Algeria. Many of the lyrics are taken from famous poets of the 16th to 19th century such as Ben Triki and Ben Salha. In the Berber region of Kabylia, the sounds of Kabylian folk music can be heard. Kabylian folk music is also enjoyed in France. Newer to the musical scene of Algeria is Rai. Algerian music is enjoyed worldwide for its diversity and beauty.