Quote:
Excerpt from Hamza El Din 1929-2006
Born in Toskha, Nubia, in Egypt, Mr. El Din began playing oud while studying engineering at the University of Cairo. He also studied at the King Fouad Institute of Middle Eastern Music. Learning of plans to build the Aswan Dam, he quit his engineering job in Cairo and set off to preserve Nubian music before the people were dispersed. With his oud, an instrument unknown in Nubia, he traveled from village to village by donkey, gathering songs. He was playing in traditional Arabic style; it wasn't until his music acquired a distinctly Nubian flavor that it caught on.
"One day I felt the oud had a Nubian accent,'' Mr. El Din told The Chronicle in 1995. "I played for people in my village and they were mesmerized. I knew I had something.''
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While it was an interesting choice to document Nubian music on an instrument that was unknown to the region, the recordings presented on this album are wonderfully soulful and portray a natural affection for the music. There is a real warmth to Hamza El Din's vocals and the tracks that didn't quite grab me were probably the instrumentals. I wouldn't say every track is a gem but there are enough here to make this a worthwhile addition to any world music collection.