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Ah Ya Hilu

A famous wedding song from Syria & Palestine, but also performed in Tarab settings. This performance actually uses the Zeffa rhythm typical in weddings. The melody is simple and beautiful, and the dark turn to hijaz (the Bayati Shuri pathway) at the end gives it that special something--making the return to Ajam at the beginning of the melody all the sweeter. The incomparable Mohamed Kheyri, one of the finest singers I've ever heard, transforms this seemingly ordinary song.
See the following analyses: Jins Bayati, Jins Nahawand, Jins Ajam, Jins Hijaz, Bayati Pathways: Nahawand & Ajam, Bayati Pathways: Hijaz

Maqam Bayati

Traditional

Performer: Mohamed Kheyri

Ah Ya Hilu (complete recording)

(The complete recording opens with a doulab not included in the analysis below.)

01

02

03

(or Ajam 6)

04

alternate parsing

05

(or 2nd ajam 3/6)

06

07

08

a.k.a. "Shuri"

09

10

11

condensing 04-06, alternate parse

12

13

Shuri

14

15

16

As above, feeling of Husseini 5 and Ajam 3

17

melody variant, dipping to octave below of Ajam

18

19

20

21

melody variant, using bayati on the octave

22

23

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