Glimpses of North Africa's Musical Past: 1930-1956

by Gharamophone

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1.	Khailou Esseghir and Sion Bissana - Hattab El Hattab (Tunisia) 02:45	buy track
2.	Ratiba Chamia - La y guiliah - Part I (Tunisia) 03:08	buy track
3.	Ratiba Chamia - La y guiliah - Part II (Tunisia) 03:03	buy track
4.	Lebrati dit Sassi - Ya Saki Baki (Algeria) 02:38	buy track
5.	Armand Elmaghribi - Dar Elbida - Part I (Morocco) 02:39	buy track
6.	Louisa Tounsia - Ouinek-Ouinek (Tunisia) 02:56	buy track
7.	Salim Halali - La Fille du Désert (Algeria) 03:07	buy track
8.	Zohra El Fassia - Kif Youassi - Part I (Morocco) 02:57	buy track
9.	Zohra El Fassia - Kif Youassi - Part II (Morocco) 02:44	buy track
10.	Khailou Esseghir and Sion Bissana - Cheghel (Tunisia) 03:00	buy track

about

The tracks assembled on this album provide but a taste of what North Africa once sounded like in the age of the shellac record. While far from comprehensive, the ten recordings––which span three decades and three countries (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia)––cover a range of musical genres and include all manner of instrument: from the classical Andalusian repertoire to popular song and from mandolin to mizwid (the Tunisian bagpipe). In addition, some of the most renowned male and female artists of the era are featured here. Sassi (Track 4), for example, was known in his time as “the seal of the mandolinists.” Ratiba Chamia (Tracks 2 and 3) was compared in her day to Egyptian icon Um Kulthum. Salim Halali (Track 7 ) was once described “as the greatest Arab male voice of the postwar period.” Finally, although all of the musicians on this compilation are Jews––a testament to their outsized role in the production of Arabic music in the first half of the twentieth century––it should be made clear that their output was always regarded as “Arab” rather than as “Judeo-Arabic.” In this way, North Africa’s musical past reminds of what is sometimes easily forgotten: of Jewish-Muslim identities not opposed or hyphenated but intertwined.

You will hear many things on these recordings: shoutouts to performers, the chirping of birds, spoken introductions identifying record label (Istwanat...) and performer(s), and above all, breathtaking music. You will also no doubt notice that a couple of these records were particularly well-loved by their original owners and are therefore particularly worn. Where necessary, I have done my best to touch up the relevant tracks with some light restoration work but in most cases have left recordings as I first heard them.

To my knowledge, none of these sides have ever been reissued and yet, the music and the musicians behind it are hardly forgotten. Their sonic traces are everywhere. Their powerful memories are ubiquitous.

In keeping with Gharamophone’s mission, this album is available to stream for free. For those who would like to support the site’s efforts to collect and make available some of the earliest North African recordings, please feel free to contribute. And if you like what you hear, drop me a line. With your support, there may be more such compilations in the future.

Bonne écoute.

credits

released December 14, 2020

Cover image: Louisa Tounsia on 1930s postcard (Personal collection of author).

Song titles reflect original French transliteration or spelling.

Transfers, restoration, and notes by Christopher Silver.

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Gharamophone Montreal, Québec

Gharamophone.com is dedicated to preserving North Africa’s Jewish musical past, one record at a time.

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