Muwassah, Zajal, Kharja

In 822 AD Ziryab moved from Baghdad to al-Andalus bringing the latest musical fashions from the east, and established them in the peninsula. Two decades later, during the first decade of the reign of the Umayyad emir 'Abd-Allah (888-912 AD) legendary blind poet Muqaddam b. Mu'afa al-Qabri invented the genre of strophic composition muwassah , which spread widely and quickly. Heijkoop, a conductor, composer, and independent researcher in Hispano-Arabic culture; and Zwartjes (Spanish language and linguistics, U. of Oslo) cite 2,714 books and articles on the genre, its development, and its influence throughout the Islamic and Christian worlds. They also provide a selective discography. Annotation c2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Otto Zwartjes is full professor of Spanish language and linguistics at the University of Oslo.