Takht (music)

"Takht" ("bed", "seat", or "podium") (Persian: تخت; Arabic: التخت) is the representative musical ensemble, the orchestra, of Middle Eastern music. In Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan, the ensemble consists of the "oud", the "qanun", the "kamanjah" (or now two), the "ney", the "riq", and the "darabukkah" (Touma 1996, p. 140).

The melody instruments play heterophonically in octaves or perform solos. Instrumental forms include "bashraf", "sama'i", "tahmilah", and "dulab". The ensemble may be joined by a male or female vocalist and a group of four to six singers who provide the refrain sections. Vocal genres performed include "dawr", "muwashshah", "layali", "ma'luf", "qasidah", and "mawwal" (ibid).

While the "takht" typically comprised between two and five musicians, a similar, but larger ensemble (numbering eight or more) is called a "firqa". [http://books.google.com/books?id=TF-5mvvS13oC&pg=PA203&lpg=PA203&dq=music+firqa&source=web&ots=UZJ4hWGAYF&sig=M4rr6rL-IeWapRfuc_rjUMmAl0A&hl=en] [http://books.google.com/books?id=TF-5mvvS13oC&pg=PA203&lpg=PA203&dq=music+firqa&source=web&ots=UZJ4hWGAYF&sig=M4rr6rL-IeWapRfuc_rjUMmAl0A&hl=en]

ource

*Touma, Habib Hassan (1996). "The Music of the Arabs", trans. Laurie Schwartz. Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. ISBN 0931340888.

See also

* Takht-e-Sulaiman Mountain peak in Sulaiman Mountains in Balochistan, Pakistan