Abdallah Chahine -- Baktub Ismak
At the age of 80, Abdallah Chahine is one of the best-known pianists in the Arab world, and one whose mastery continues to delight his listeners. Perhaps his greatest contribution to Arabic music, however, is his invention of a piano capable of playing the quarter-tones which feature in some Arabic modes. The basic mode, Rast, uses a scale made up of 24 quarter-tone intervals arranged thus: -
Whole tone; three-quarter-tone; three-quarter-tone; Whole tone; Whole tone; three-quarter-tone; three-quarter-tone.
Compare this with the European major scale, made up of 12 semitones arranged thus:-
Whole tone; whole tone; semitone; whole tone; whole tone; whole tone; semitone.
Arabic piano music differs from the European equivalent in style, also, in that it is purely melodic: both hands play the melody at an interval of one or more octaves.
On this record, Abdallah Chahine plays music in ten Arabic modes; each item begins with a free improvisation (Taqsim), followed by a well-known folk tune. In four of the modes - Bayat, Rast, Sika and Saba - quarter-tones can be heard. (from the liner notes)
