2ème Festival Algerien de la Musique Andalouse 1969 Volume 1 [5 of 6]
Musique Classique Arabe -
Maroc-Libye-Le Caire-Tunisie-Turquie
Alger • Constantine • Tlemcen
Label: Mehradjane RTA Production
Production de la Radiodiffusion Television Algerienne
Disque 5
Side A [Matrix No - RTA 5 LPL 4817 380]
El Djazairia El Moussilia (Alger)
Direction Hamidou Djaïdir
Nouba Raml
M'Cedder - Ya rakbet el Bellar
Derdj - Hadith Gharib
Ensraf - Ya chabih Dhaï el Hilal
Khlass - Ya Mouquabil
Side B [Matrix No - RTA 5 LPL 4818 380]
Troupe er Rachidia (Tunisie)
Direction Salah el Mahjdi
Extraits de Malouf Tunisien
Here we have the fifth LP with two more legendary musicians. First side is devoted an ensemble led by the popular târ player El Hadj Hamidou Djaïdir who had very long career and accompanied many of the best artists during his lifetime. On the second side of the LP we find Salah El Mahdi, musicologist, chef d'orchestre and composer from Tunisia.
From a TV show in 1959
From left to right:
El Hadj Hamidou Djaïdir,Târ,
Mahmoud fils de Larbi Bensari, flute
Bachir Zerouki, mandoline
Cheikh Larbi Bensari, rebeb, kwitra & alto.
El Hadj Djaïdir Hamidou
The percussionist El Hadj Djaïdir Hamidou born in Algiers the 26th of January 1923 and died the 14th of May 2004. He joined the music association El Djazairia in 1937, encouraged by his uncle and by his friend and violinist Mustafa Kasdal Abdelkrim Mehamsadji when they were both apprentices to become shoemakers. After a short spell of playing mandolin he took up the darbouka and his first teachers then were Mahieddine Lakehal and AbderRezaq Fakhardji, two monumental figures of the Çan'a Algiers.
From the late thirties and onwards he was a sought after master percussionist that accompanied many of the great' and gained a lot of his popularity when playing with Lili Labassi in the fifties. He held many positions at the Radio Algiers and from 1973 he was the bandleader and permanent member in the orchestra of the cultural and musical association Mezghennaat.
Salah El Mahdi
Salah El Mahdi (صالح المهدي) whose real name was Mohamed Salah Ben Abderrahmane Ibn Mehdi Chérifi, born on the 9th of February 1925 in Tunis, he was a musicologist, chef d'orchestre and composer from Tunisia who supposedly also composed the National anthem of Tunisia. I understand that there must be several versions as one is alleged to have been composed by the Egyptian Zakaria Ahmed and another by a Syrian composer. I do not know which one is referred to.
Another photo of Salah El Mahdi
maybe taken closer to the times of these recordings.
More to read about him here in the French Wikipedia.
To enjoy a small video clip where he proves himself to be a good oud player and in command of a rich and sonorous voice I suggest you click here the sound is not fantastic but the music is good.