Making the Great Book of Songs : Compilation and the Author's Craft in Abû I-Faraj Al-Isbahânî's Kitâb Al-aghânî

This is the first systematic literary study of one of the masterpieces of classical Arabic literature, the fourth/tenth century "Kitob al-aghon- "("The Book of Songs") by Ab I-Faraj al-Isbahon-." Cover MAKING THE GREAT BOOK OF SONGS: Compilation and the author’s craft in Abū l–Faraj al–Isbahānī’s Kitāb al–aghānī Copyright CONTENTS PREFACE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1 MODERN RESEARCH ON THE KITĀB AL-AGHĀNĪ 2 ABŪ L-FARAJ’S LIFE, TIMES AND WORKS 3 ABŪ L-FARAJ ON SONGS AND SINGERS 4 ABŪ L-FARAJ ON POETRY AND POETS 5 ABŪ L-FARAJ ON PROSE, AKHBĀR AND THE ARRANGEMENT OF MATERIAL 6 ARTICLES ON SONGS, EVENTS AND RELATIONSHIPS 7 ARTICLES ON PERSONALITIES 8 CONNECTIONS BETWEEN ARTICLES: The common fund of material 9 THE FRAMEWORK OF INTRODUCTORY SONGS: Ordering the articles EPILOGUE: Prospects for further research APPENDIX 1: Concordance of the Dār al-kutub and Būlāq editions of the Kitāb al-aghāni APPENDIX 2: List of contents of the Kitāb al-aghāni APPENDIX 3: List of Kitāb al-aghāni personalities referred to in this study NOTES SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX OF PEOPLE AND PLACES INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND TERMS This is the first systematic literary study of one of the masterpieces of classical Arabic literature, the fourth/tenth century Kitâb al-aghânî (The Book of Songs) by Abû I-Faraj al-Isbahânî. Until now the twenty-four volume Book of Songs has been regarded as a rather chaotic but priceless mine of information about classical Arabic music, literature and culture. This book approaches it as a work of literature in its own right, with its own internal logic and coherence. The study also consistently integrates the musical component into the analysis and proposes a reading of the work in which individual anecdotes and poems are related to the wider context, enhancing their meaning "This is the first systematic literary study of one of the masterpieces of classical Arabic literature, the tenth century Kitab al-aghani (The Book of Songs) by Abu l-Faraj al-Isbahani. Until now, the 24 volume Book of Songs has been regarded as a rather chaotic but priceless mine of information about classical Arabic music, literature and culture. This book approaches it as a work of literature in its own right, with its own internal logic and coherence. The study also consistently integrates the musical component into the analysis and proposes a reading of the work in which individual anecdotes and poems are related to the wider context, enhancing their meaning."--Jacket