Oud Solo: “Sama’i Bayati” – Farid al-Atrash, Egypt (Traditional/Formalized)

A modal structure of introspective agency, where the oud becomes an acoustic philosopher, and the performance enacts a ritual dialogue between emotion, tradition, and improvisational presence

Thinking Through Alfred Gell (1945-1997)’s Art and Agency

Introduction

The oud, an ancient fretless lute, is the central instrument of classical Arabic music. In the form of Sama’i, an Ottoman-derived composition typically in 10/8 rhythm (Sama’i thaqil), the performer renders a multi-sectioned piece structured to allow both composition and improvisation.

Farid al-Atrash (1910–1974), a Syrian-Egyptian virtuoso, was not only a beloved singer and composer, but also a legendary oud player whose solo in “Sama’i Bayati” (based on the maqam Bayati) stands as a masterclass in modal eloquence. For Alfred Gell, such a solo performance is not just an expression—it is a field of action where technical mastery, modal form, and cultural memory combine to act upon the listener.

Art as Index of Musical and Emotional Agency

In Art and Agency, Gell stresses that artworks are not representations but indexes of intentionality. Sama’i Bayati performed by Farid al-Atrash:

Is a manifestation of the artist’s modal knowledge, aesthetic sensibility, and technical fluency,
Uses maqam Bayati, associated with soulfulness, contemplation, and earthy melancholy,
Enacts emotional nuance not through narrative, but through the shaping of musical lines that embody thought and feeling.

Every phrase is a signature, a trace of thought-in-action. The solo becomes a sonic calligraphy of intent, unfolding in real time.

Maqam and Ornamentation as Active Agents

The maqam system is not just a tonal palette—it carries emotional and philosophical weight:

Bayati is often said to evoke sincerity, a grounded sadness, or spiritual yearning,
Farid’s manipulation of microtones and modulations within Bayati causes the listener to feel, not analyze,
The modulation to nearby maqamat, such as Hijaz or Nahawand, generates emotional contrast and narrative flow.

Gell would interpret these modal shifts as causal tools—they do not describe emotion; they make emotion happen through modal logic enacted in time.

Distributed Agency: Performer, Instrument, Form, Listener

As in Gell’s theory of distributed intentionality, agency in Sama’i Bayati circulates:

Farid does not merely play—he converses with the instrument, drawing from inherited modal traditions,
The oud, fretless and intimate, responds with tactile nuance, turning gesture into timbral resonance,
The listener—in live or recorded settings—enters the performative circuit, anticipating sayr al-maqam (modal path), feeling tension and release,
The form (Sama’i) itself carries its own agency—its 10/8 meter, modulating khanat (sections), and open 4th movement for improvisation invite dialogic interaction.

Together, these agents create a temporal field where emotion, memory, and structure are co-constructed.

Improvisation as Ritualized Action

In the Sama’i form, especially in the fourth movement (taslim), the performer is invited to improvise freely. Farid’s genius lies in how he:

Respects formal structure while bending it through spontaneous phrasing,
Creates melodic arcs that move from tension to calm, echoing emotional transformation,
Uses timing, silence, tremolo, and dynamic inflection to create a meditative space.

Gell would view this not as musical embellishment, but as ritual action—each improvised gesture is a trace of presence, acting upon the audience with intentional force.

Temporal Structure and Affective Architecture

The Sama’i form offers:

Introduction: slow, lyrical, setting the emotional tone.
Four khanat (sections), each with taslim (refrain), varying in rhythmic intensity and modal focus.
Room for personal interpretation, especially in transitions and ornamentation.

Gell emphasized that artworks act upon time—and here, Farid’s phrasing causes time to dilate and contract:

Moments of silence feel heavy with intention,
Sudden tempo shifts re-engage the listener’s attention,
Prolonged phrases suspend time, while crisp rhythms rekindle it.

The result is a time architecture, shaped not by pulse, but by emotive narrative.

Enchantment Through Controlled Intimacy

Gell’s idea of enchantment via technology applies acutely here—not as spectacle, but as subtle mastery:

Farid’s fingers glide across the strings with quiet authority,
Every pluck carries emotional implication,
The oud becomes an extension of inner life, transmitting unspoken memory and longing.

The audience is not dazzled—they are drawn in. This is not virtuosity for display, but technique as intimacy—as a shared presence between player and listener.

The Oud as a Philosopher's Instrument

The oud itself—its shape, resonance, and timbral depth—becomes:

A vessel of poetic voice in absence of words,
A ritual object: fretless and warm, capable of subtle inflections and deep resonance,
An agentive tool, whose microtonal nuance enables the player to speak without speaking.

Gell would say the oud is not just an instrument—it is a performative agent, a vocal body without tongue, indexing intentionality through every vibration.

Conclusion

From Alfred Gell’s anthropological perspective, “Sama’i Bayati” as performed by Farid al-Atrash is not merely an oud solo—it is a ritual event of modal agency, where instrument, form, performer, and memory collaborate to sculpt emotional terrain in sound.

This music does not entertain—it acts upon the self. It is a sonic enactment of quiet longing, a conversation with history, and an agentive embodiment of musical thought. The performance is not heard—it is inhabited.