‘Abd al-Ḥayy Ḥilmī-Lā yā ‘ēn (Baidaphon) / عبد الحي حلمي-لا يا عين

[fredlag@noos.fr]

عبد الحي افندي حلمي
دور / لا يا عين
لحن عبده الحامولي

‘Abd al-Ḥayy eff. Ḥilmī
dōr / Lā yā ‘ēn
maqām bayyātī
comp. ‘Abdūh al-Ḥāmūlī

The famous piece sung by Ḥāmūlī to deplore the demise of his son Maḥmūd.
We already have a version of this piece by ‘Abd al-Ḥayy on Gramophone here, this is the Baidaphon version.

[AmrB]

I would like to remind you all of Suleiman Abu Dawud's heart-wrenching Saba rendition that was most generously made available to us by Abu Marawan earlier this year here.

This version, however, is a welcome addition to the compendium of Nahda "lamma"-ology.

[fredlag@noos.fr]

]This version, however, is a welcome addition to the compendium of Nahda "lamma"-ology.

Also known as badadadanology

[fredlag@noos.fr]

Just a quick addition :
- coming back to Sulaymān Abū Dāwūd's rendition, I realize we failed to note on the SAD thread that his rendition is not only ṣabā but also offers dōr 1 and dōr 2 of the piece. I have always wondered if turn of the century singers, when singing the pieces that actually have lyrics for a dōr 1 and a dōr 2, chose which lyrics they wanted to interpret (I vaguely remember a radio recording by Ṣāliḥ ‘Abd al-Ḥayy that uses the alternative lyrics for a well known piece), i.e. sung either dor 1 or dor 2, or if, as we sometimes hear on rare 78rpms, sung both if they were in a good mood.
- Both the SAD recording and the Ḥilmī recordings have a wonderful taqsīm by Sahlūn. On the Hilmī one, Sahlūn alludes with one single accidental note to ṣabā, although his taqsīm is evidently bayyāti. But I love this wink which comes in the first second of his impro.
- Now a more debatable opinion : I think SAD's rendition is superb, masterful and utterly moving. I love his voice. But I would advocate that the difference between an excellent singer like SAD and a myth, a legend, a cosmic phenomenon like Ḥilmī could be summed up in this Baidaphon recording by the letter mim in "ya gamil" at 1'23-24, the short break between ga-and -mil, and the stress on the mīm. The trick is repeated at 2'24 when Ḥilmī reiterates the madhhab after being asked to by a mutayyibati/instrumentalist. The ultra short break before the ‘ayn of ya ‘ēn is also breathtaking. There is something in Ḥilmī's savoring of each consonant that epitomizes his art, I feel.

[أبو علاء]

I too like very much this version that I find typically "hilmiesque" to use your own word.

(I vaguely remember a radio recording by Ṣāliḥ ‘Abd al-Ḥayy that uses the alternative lyrics for a well known piece)
- Both the SAD recording and the Ḥilmī recordings have a wonderful taqsīm by Sahlūn. On the

He did it with matta' hayatak bi-l-'ahbab, and, if my memory serves me well, it so happens that SAD also has two Odeon recordings of this dawr featuring each a different ghusn.
Matta' hayatak seems to have been the dawr for which the singers frequently to hesitate between two ghusns as Sayyid (Sa'id according to Mustafa) Qasim recorded the dih da-d-dala' ghusn even skipping the madhhab. The reason behind this quasi exception could be the fact that the base melody of each ghusn is different from the other. Undhur likhillak is based on a development in rast while dih da-d-dala' development is in bayati.

Hilmī one, Sahlūn alludes with one single accidental note to ṣabā, although his taqsīm is evidently bayyāti. But I love this wink which comes in the first second of his impro.
- Now a more debatable opinion : I think SAD's rendition is superb, masterful and utterly

Sahlun here adds his own genius to Hilmi's. Although relatively short as it is generally the case for this kind of conclusive taqsims, his is particularly moving and aligned on Hilmi's mood. I think I spotted another saba "wink" apart from yours and a well placed more salient one in shuri.

[Najib]

Stunning. I feel he so focuses on the micro-aesthetics till the degree you'd think he's singing more of a mursal style rather than anything that is bound by the dawr's wuhda cycle.