F'il Waha - At The Oasis
Recorded By
Helm

Overall Rating: (on a scale of 1 to 5 stars)

This CD contains a varied collection of music played on assorted traditional instruments by Helm, the band that accompanies the popular San Francisco dance company named Hahbi 'Ru. Several of the songs on this album are ones that Hahbi 'Ru uses in its performances of Middle Eastern folkloric dances. Some of the songs are traditional melodies, while others are original compositions by the members of Helm following the traditional style.

What I Liked:

• The musicians use a number of different traditional instruments, but stay true to the folkloric sound throughout. The result is that you could assemble an entire show from this collection of songs -- they sound good with each other, yet the diverse instruments and rhythms would provide nice variety within a full-length production.
• There is a mix of different rhythms. This includes some songs that are simple enough to be nice for beginners, yet others such as F'il Waha and Waqt il Asil that would enable more experienced dancers to demonstrate the range of their skills.
• I was delighted to discover that this collection contained a song (Waqt il Ashil) in the samai rhythm that was composed by one of the members of Helm. I've been fascinated by this difficult rhythm for a long time, due to many years of musical training, and I admire anyone with the musical skill to compose a song that uses it.

What I Didn't Like:

• About half of the songs are longer than 4 minutes. This makes them harder for dancers to use, because often we must assemble shows that are no longer than 10 minutes, so if we want to do a 3-part (fast-slow-fast) routine, then we need to figure out how to cut songs that are longer than 3 or 3 1/2 minutes. Also, it's not easy to teach choreography to long songs because students find it hard to memorize the steps to a song that's much longer than 3 minutes.

Helm is the band that joins Hahbi 'Ru on stage every year for Renaissance Faire performances in the San Francisco area, and it is also the band that accompanies Hahbi 'Ru on its videos.

Some of the songs on this album are traditional music. Others are original songs composed by the members of Helm based on Middle Eastern rhythms. All songs fit well with an ethnic flavor, regardless of whether they're long-time Middle Eastern favorites or fresh material. I don't think I would have known which was which just from listening - I needed to check the liner notes to find out. The traditional songs do not represent any one particular locale - they have been drawn from a number of places throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

F'il Waha features a variety of musical instruments, all of them acoustic. Even the percussion is varied, using several different styles of drums. Some of the instruments used on this album are well-known among dancers: the mizmar, kanoun, and ney. Others, however, were new to me. As a result of listening to this collection and contacting Mark Bell of Helm with some questions, I learned that a kawala is a type of flute similar to the ney, and a zumara is a reed instrument.

Helm is a small ensemble. On any given song, there are no more than 3-4 musicians playing at once. This gives the intimate feeling of listening to a group of friends playing around the campfire. This music would lend itself well to American Tribal Style dancing, folk dance choreography, historical re-enactment events where CD players are allowed, and any other situation where music with a historical flavor is appropriate.

You will probably like this collection if:

• You have a passion for music with a traditional, ethnic flavor.
• You're already a huge fan of the San Francisco dance companies Hahbi 'Ru and FatChance Belly Dance, and you'd like to use some of the same music they do.
• You have attended a dance workshop taught by John Compton and/or Rebaba and you'd like to have a copy of the music - some of their songs are on this album.
• You like the sound of a small band playing on acoustic instruments, especially mizmars and flutes.
• You enjoy the deep, heavy sound of a drum known as the tabla baladi.
• Your favorite costuming style involves coins, tassels, turbans, tunics, and other folkloric elements.
• You enjoy a variety of Middle Eastern rhythms, including more challenging ones like karsilama (9/8) and samai (10/8).
• You enjoy dancing in the context of historical re-enactment events such as Renaissance Faires and Society for Creative Anachronism.

You probably won't care for this music if:

• You're firmly part of the beads and sequins crowd.
• You dislike mizmars and zurnas.
• You have a passion for 20th-century Arabic music played by 40-piece orchestras of the type that the famous Egyptian dancers used.
• Your favorite musical style is the modern-day pop music played in nightclubs.
• You like a lot of electronic synthizer sound in your music.
• You're biased toward using music from "over there" that Middle Eastern people know and recognize. Some of the songs on here are traditional, but many aren't.

Some of the songs on this collection are well suited for beginner practice and classroom use, with simple melody lines and rhythms. If cut to 3 1/2 minutes or less, they could also be good for beginner performance and choreography. Others use more complex rhythms such as samai or have melody lines with breaks that would be better suited to more experienced dancers.

Song Title

Length

Nationality

RealAudio Clip?

Translation?

Comments

I've known John Compton, one of the founders of the Hahbi 'Ru dance ensemble, since the mid-1980's. We met through a mutual friend, and have touched base at many dance events over the years. After one of their Renaissance Faire appearances, John invited me backstage with him to meet the musicians and the other dancers, and that's when I first met Mark and Elizabeth Bell, the lead musicians of Helm. We've had a nodding acquaintance since, though I don't claim to know them well.

Mark sent me a copy of this CD for review. We've had some follow-up e-mail discussions regarding questions I had about it.

If you'd like to read my review of a video that uses music from this album, see:

• Hahbi 'Ru Live! Uses two of the songs on this album, Insabah and Lorke Lorke.

Helm is based in the San Francisco area, in the United States (Pacific time zone). To contact them:

Phone: (+1) (415) 258-9421
E-Mail: helmmuseeka@earthlink.net

General: | Home | Shira's Classes | E-Mail Shira | About Shira | Shira's Photo Gallery | Shira's Performances | Troupe | Mailing List |

Belly Dancing Information & How-To's: | About Belly Dancing | How-To's | Middle Eastern Culture | Belly Dancing Fun & Frolic | Belly Dancing Poetry & Art | Reviews: Books, Music, Videos | Find Belly Dancing Teachers/Performers | Tech Talk | Links |

Shopping: | Mugs, Shirts, Mouse Pads | Videos | Toys | Books | Music |

Using This Site: | Table Of Contents (Site Map) | Search This Site | Survey | Behind The Screens |