Distinguished Visitor Shaykh Mohamed el-Helbawy
Shaykh Mohamed el-Helbawy
Concert: March 17, 8:00, Convocation Hall
Workshops: March 7-17, 2005
Shaykh Mohamed el-Helbawy is an Egyptian master of the traditional Arabo-Islamic vocal arts, and a highly versatile artist. Besides being widely acclaimed in the arts of Qur'anic recitation (tajwid) and the call to prayer (adhan), Shaykh el-Helbawy also excels in the venerable art of inshad dini (religious hymnody). These melodically intricate chants include improvisatory solo supplications called ibtihalat, and a composed repertoire known as tawashih diniyya, featuring elaborate counterpoint between solo and group. Shaykh el-Helbawy has also memorized a vast corpus of the mystical hymnody accompanying Sufi rituals (inshad Sufi), and has mastered the traditional tonal resources of Arab music (maqamat).
During his 10-day visit to Edmonton (March 7-17, 2005), Shaykh el-Helbawy will engage the university and city community through a variety of activities, including lecture-demonstrations, classroom visits, workshops, performances, and daily rehearsals with a group of committed musicians and singers. Participation in all of these activities will be open to the general public. In addition, performance and teaching visits will be arranged for various religious institutions, for the greater benefit of the Edmonton community. His stay will culminate in a public concert by the to-be-convened Inshad Ensemble on Thursday, March 17th, 2005, in Convocation Hall. Through musical appreciation and participation comes cultural understanding, and respect, grounded in deeply felt experience. Facilitating intercultural musical experience is therefore an important "applied" aspect of musical research and study. It is anticipated that Shaykh Mohamed el-Helbawy's performances, lectures, and workshops will greatly enhance non-Muslims' appreciation of the values and achievements of the Islamic and Arab worlds, while also helping Canadian Muslims and Arabs to better understand a portion their own cultural heritage.
| Time | Activity | Location |
| 6:30-9:30 | Inshad Ensemble -- rehearsal #1 | 3-47 Old Arts Building, Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology |
Tuesday, March 8
| Time | Activity | Location |
| 10:00-11:30 | Public workshop: "The Sounds of Arabic: performing in the Arabic language" | 3-47 Old Arts Building, Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology |
| 2:00-3:30 | Public lecture-demonstration: “Islam and its vocal arts" |
3-47 Old Arts Building, Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology |
Wednesday, March 9
| Time | Activity | Location |
| 10:00-11:30 | Public workshop: "The Arabic melodic modes (maqamat) in recitation" | 3-47 Old Arts Building, Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology |
| 1:00-2:30 | Public lecture-demonstration: “Modal improvisation and word-painting in the Islamic vocal arts” |
3-47 Old Arts Building, Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology |
| 3:00 – 5:00 | Inshad Ensemble – rehearsal #2 | 3-47 Old Arts Building, Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology |
Thursday, March 10
| Time | Activity | Location |
| 10:00 - 11:30 | Public lecture-demonstration and workshop: "Melodic composition for religious hymns" | 3-47 Old Arts Building, Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology |
| 2:00 - 3:30 | Public lecture-demonstration: “Religious recitation and the Egyptian tradition” |
3-47 Old Arts Building, Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology |
| 6:30 - 7:00 | Multicultural Night Recitation Presentation | Lansdowne Elementary School |
| 7:30 - 9:30 | Inshad Ensemble -- rehearsal #3 | 3-47 Old Arts Building, Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology |
Friday, March 11
| Time | Activity | Location |
| 12:00 - 1:00 | Qur’anic recitation, followed by adhan for worshippers at Friday prayers |
MCE mosque, 10721 – 86 Avenue |
| 3:00 - 5:00 | Public lecture-demonstration: “The tradition of the recited Qur’an” |
3-47 Old Arts Building, Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology |
Saturday, March 12
| Time | Activity | Location |
| 2:00 - 5:00 | Inshad Ensemble -- rehearsal #4 | 3-47 Old Arts Building, Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology |
| 6:30 - 8:30 | Workshop: “Qur’anic recitation, part 1” | MCE mosque, 10721 – 86 Avenue |
Sunday, March 13
| Time | Activity | Location |
| 3:00 - 6:00 | Inshad Ensemble -- rehearsal #5 | 3-47 Old Arts Building, Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology |
| 8:00 - 10:00 | Workshop: “Qur’anic recitation, part 2” | Egyptian Students Association, Basement of Vanier House, Michener Park (U of A student residences), entrance on 122 Street just north of Whitemud Drive |
Monday, March 14
| Time | Activity | Location |
| 10:00 - 11:30 | Public lecture-demonstration: “Introduction to the Call to Prayer and Islamic Hymnody” |
3-47 Old Arts Building, Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology |
| 2:00 - 3:30 | Workshop: "The Islamic call to prayer (adhan)”” | 3-47 Old Arts Building, Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology |
| 6:30 - 9:30 | Inshad Ensemble -- rehearsal #6 | 3-47 Old Arts Building, Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology |
Tuesday, March 15
| Time | Activity | Location |
| 9:30 - 11:00 | Workshop: Islamic hymnody (tawashih and ibtihalat), part 1 | 3-47 Old Arts Building, Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology |
| 12:30-1:30 | Lecture-demonstration for Intermediate Arabic class | Closed to public |
| 2:00– 3:30 | Public lecture-demonstration: “Sonic dimensions of Islamic mysticism (Sufism)” | 3-47 Old Arts Building, Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology |
| 7:30-9:30 | Public lecture-demonstration: Religious recitation, across faiths (including Shaykh Mohamed el-Helbawy, and Munir Bichai of the Coptic church of Edmonton) (MEAS event) | 3-47 Old Arts Building, Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology |
Wednesday, March 16
| Time | Activity | Location |
| 9:00 - 10:00 | Public lecture-demonstration: "Contemporary Movements in Islam," with Dr. Earle Waugh | Business B-12 |
| 1:00 - 3:00 | Public workshop: Islamic hymnody, part 2 | 3-47 Old Arts Building, Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology |
| 6:30 - 9:30 | Inshad Ensemble Dress Rehearsal (#7) | 3-47 Old Arts Building, Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology |
Thursday, March 17
| Time | Activity | Location |
| 10:00 - 11:00 | Public lecture-demonstration | Augustana College, Camrose |
| 2:00 - 3:30 | Public lecture-demonstration: "The liturgy of the Hamidiyya Shadhiliyya Sufi order" |
3-47 Old Arts Building, Canadian Centre for Ethnomusicology |
| 6:00 | Sound Check | Convocation Hall, for Inshad ensemble members only |
| 8:00 | Final Concert: Shaykh Mohamed el-Helbawy and the Inshad Ensemble | Convocation Hall |
