‘Hamziyya’ is a multi-layered piece that brings together music inspired by an Algerian mystical chant with a melody suggestive of the English folk tradition. In the interweaving of these musical expressions the listener can hear how traditional music is always in harmony, never dissonant. ‘Hamziyya’ was initially released on Sami Yusuf’s album Barakah, but this is a completely new arrangement with a never-before-heard Taqsīm composition in the Intro.
The Intro was performed for the first time at the 2019 Fes Festival of Sacred Music. In it each solo instrument explores a unique maqam or musical mode: Sīkah (qanun), Bayāti (bağlama), Rāst (ney), Hījāz (oud), and eventually returning to Rāst. Each of these modes is known to have a distinct emotional effect on the listener. Here the transitions from one mode to another are arranged to evoke various stages of an inner journey.
The lyrics come from portions of the thousand-verse Hamziyya (poem rhyming in hamza) by the renowned Palestinian scholar Yusuf Nabhani (d. 1932). Because it describes the Prophet’s life and character, it’s frequently recited during Mawlid celebrations of the Prophet’s (pbuh) birthday.