Rifaat Garrana

Muhammed Rifaat Garrana, born in Cairo on 29 January 1924, is a significant figure among modern Egyptian composers. Together with Abdel-Rahim and El-Shawān, he belongs to the second generation of Egyptian composers who adopted the language of Western music, and his output is distinguished by a pronounced national character.

He began playing the trumpet at the age of twelve and later trained at the Institute of Theatre Music in Cairo, graduating in 1948. He studied composition with Hickmann and Minato, and afterwards worked as a music teacher in schools. In the 1960s he conducted the television orchestra and subsequently became head of the music department of television. In 1966 he received the state prize for composition.

His music frequently draws on melodic elements from Arab folk and traditional music. Over time, in works such as the symphonic poem Dhikrayãt fi Tchekoslovakia, his harmonic language became more dissonant, probably under the influence of contemporary Czech music, although dissonance is not an essential structural device in his work. His finest formal territory appears to be programme music.

Among his scores, the Concerto for qānūn stands out as the first in his country to use this instrument with a symphony orchestra. In its third movement it is based on a melody of Islamic chant, the call to prayer, presented in antiphonal and recitative form. For the soloist, Garrana demands a new technique, with two plectra on each hand instead of one as in tradition.

His catalogue includes symphonic poems, symphonies, concertos, choral works, and music for film and radio. His legacy lies in the search for an Egyptian musical identity within the modern symphonic idiom.