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British Library Sound Archive  - The 1932 Cairo Congress of Arab Music
24 Oct 2026 · London

British Library Sound Archive - The 1932 Cairo Congress of Arab Music

The British Library is home to the UK’s Sound Archive, a treasure trove of living history containing more than 7 million sounds including music, spoken word, oral history, wildlife and the environment dating back to the birth of recorded sound in the 19th century. Discover more at www.bl.uk

Recordings from the 1932 Cairo Congress of Arab Music. The Congress had the aim to share, discuss, and document musical forms and repertoires from the Middle East and North Africa region. As part of this effort, recordings were made of musicians and ensembles from Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Türkiye, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. 162 shellac records of these performances were later released on the His Master’s Voice label.

Selection and mix by Michele Banal, from original discs digitised by the British Library Qatar Foundation Partnership Programme. Track titles are followed by matrix numbers.

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Tracklist

  • Muḥammad Al-Qubbānjī (Iraq)
    Khudh Al-'aysh Wa-Ighnam Pt 1 (0K 849-1)
  • Darwīsh Al-Ḥarīrī (Egypt)
    Badá Wa-Fī Kaffuh (0K 1072-1)
  • 'Umar Fā'iḍ Al-Ju'aydī Ensemble (Morocco)
    Fa-Lā Qūwwah 'indī (0K 923-1)
  • Tunisian Ensemble Led By Khumayyis Tarnān And Muḥammad Ghānim
    Ta'līlat Al-Maṭāhir (0K 861-1)
  • Algerian Ensemble Led By Al-'Arabī Bin Ṣārī
    Istikhbār Wa-Layālī (0K 833-1)
  • Fawzī Al-Qalṭaqjī (Syria)
    Taqsīm Qānūn Rāst Wa-Sīkāh (0K 990-1)
  • Mesut Cemil (Turkey)
    Khulq Sharqī (0K 916-1)
  • Mawlawiyya (Egypt)
    Āyīn: Al-Salām Al-Rābi' (0K 974-1)
  • Singers Of The Badawīyah Laythīyah Order (Egypt)
    Al-Dhikr Al-Laythī: Ja'alanī Gharāmī (0K 954-1)
  • Iraqi Ensemble Led By Muḥammad Al-Qubbānjī
    Yā Yūsuf Al-ḥusn, Pt 1 (0K 835-1)
  • Yūsuf Pataw (Iraq)
    Taqsīm Santūr ṭāhir Wa-ḥadīdī (0K 957-1)
  • Dāwūd Ḥusnī (Egypt)
    Farīd Al-Maḥāsin Bān, Pt 1 (0K 1027-1)
  • Algerian Ensemble Led By Al-'Arabī Bin Ṣārī
    Ḥarq Al-ḍaná, Pt 2 (0K 828-1)
  • Mesut Cemil (Turkey)
    Mandrā (0K 915-1)
  • 'Umar Fā'iḍ Al-Ju'aydī Ensemble (Morocco)
    Lā Farq Allāh Shamal (0K 924-1)
  • Annūsah Al-Miṣrīyah And 'Awālim Ensemble (Egypt)
    Al-Laylah Al-ḥinnah (0K 1098-1)
  • Tunisian Ensemble Led By Khumayyis Tarnān And Muḥammad Ghānim
    Nawbat Rāst Al-Dhīl, Pt 3 (0K 805-1)
  • Iraqi Ensemble Led By Muḥammad Al-Qubbānjī
    Yā ṣāḥ Rab'ī Jafūnī, Pt 2 (0K 942-1)
  • 'Umar Fā'iḍ Al-Ju'aydī Ensemble (Morocco)
    Atānī Zamānī (0K 919-1)
  • Tunisian Ensemble Led By Khumayyis Tarnān And Muḥammad Ghānim
    Washim Yā Wishām (0K 906-1)