Traditional music and dance
The tradition of pearl fishing is one of the pillars of Qatari cultural identity. And unsurprisingly, the poetry, songs and dances of the marine world are also central to the country's folklore. Collective songs were an integral part of every sea voyage, usually sung to encourage or entertain crew members. Some of these songs are still part of the popular repertoire, and it's anything but rare to hear a Qatari humming them.
That said, Qatar's most emblematic traditional practice is undoubtedly theardah.
Both a poetic genre, with its finely chiselled stanzas, and above all a bravura dance of martial origin, the Qatariardah is a cousin of the Emirates'ayyala in its configuration, but differs from it in its more nervous, more dynamic execution. Two rows of men brandishing sabres (increasingly replaced by rifles) face each other, repeating verses in turn. Between them, musicians play various percussion instruments, such as theal-ras, a large drum, in harmony with the men's voices. In ancient times, theardah had the particularity of presenting the poet perched on the shoulders of a participant, the better to impress the enemy with the height of his voice. He would then land on the ground to declaim a phrasing intended to galvanize his comrades. This practice has now disappeared, to be replaced by one in which percussion instruments respond to each other, "muscling" and accelerating the rhythm. Still very popular, this dance is often performed at social, religious or patriotic events. The texts recited or vocalized are generally drawn from the popular repertoire and consist of short versified pieces.
Present in other Gulf countries, ṣawt is also heard in Qatar , a complex form of urban music performed on the oud (the emblematic short-necked lute found throughout the Arab world and in Armenia) and mirwas (hand drum). One of Qatar's most respected ṣawt singers is Ibrahim Ali.
In addition to the oud and mirwas, Qatar also plays the rebaba, a hurdy-gurdy common in the Arab world and Southeast Asia (also known as rebab), as well as the ney, a reed flute, or percussion instruments such as the daf, a frame drum, or the tabl, a timbale.
The Dhow Festival, where the famous pearl-fishing competitions are held, and the Souq Waqif Spring Festival, featuring music, theater, dance and open-air shows of all kinds, are two great places to see traditional songs and dances.
Popular music
On the radio, on TV and, indeed, just about everywhere, what you hear most is khaliji . Literally meaning "music of the Gulf", khaliji is contemporary music, a veritable pop of the Persian Gulf, combining modern productions with traditional music such as liwa (from neighboring Emirati) or ṣawt. Qatar has seen the emergence of a number of important khaliji singers, such as Fahad Al Kubaisi (1981), the country's most prominent khaliji star, whose fame extends far beyond Qatari borders.
In another genre, Dana Al Fardan has established herself as the first Qatari singer-songwriter to achieve national recognition by singing in English. While she is best known for her very Western pop with strong Arab accents, she also composes many contemporary classical pieces, regularly performed by the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra (of which she is the cultural ambassador). Full of surprises, she has notably adapted the poetry of Khalil Gibran in a musical, Broken Wings, which sold out at London's Theatre Royal Haymarket.
Classical music
Qatar does not have a tradition of classical music in the Western sense of the term, but it does have a dynamic ensemble: the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra. Founded in 2007, the orchestra performs both Western and Middle Eastern works, striving to bring both repertoires to a highly cosmopolitan audience. Extensive resources have been put in place to ensure the quality of the ensemble, enabling international recruitment of musicians and the possibility of attracting big names such as the famous Lebanese musician Marcel Khalife, the orchestra's artistic director until 2010, or welcoming prestigious conductors such as Lorin Maazel every year.
