MARSM UK in association with London Middle East Institute, SOAS present Oxford MAQAM live in London.

Hailed as “revolutionary” and “powerfully atmospheric” by Songlines magazine, Oxford MAQAM’s stunning renditions pay an influential homage to Egypt’s early musical theatre and the creative and stylistic developments of the ‘Nahda’ Era, the Renaissance of the Arab world.

In this concert, the UK’s premier Arabic ensemble returns to London’s Brunei Gallery in what is their tenth year of performing as a ‘takht’, a Middle Eastern ensemble of instruments. They will be presenting some old favourites as well as brand new pieces, including rarely heard nationalist and love songs from the repertoire of Egypt’s early recording era diva, Munira Al-Mahdiyya.

Following the success of their debut album “The Wax Cylinder Recordings”, the band is currently working on their second album for release next year: ”Oxford Maqam and the Villoteau Transcriptions (1809)’. This project is based on one of the earliest sources of written transcriptions of a modern Egyptian song – a source that was largely neglected in the Arab world until Zoheir ElShayeb’s recent translation.