Aleppo-SANA
His passion for the oud and the enchantment of the sound of its strings since childhood was the main motive for the oud maker and musician Naeem Sukkar, to embody his dream of owning his own oud from the creativity of his fingertips after he mastered the playing and honed his talent at the hands of the great people of Aleppo art and music. This stringed instrument in Arab and European countries.
Ibn al-Shahbaa said about the oud in an interview with a SANA reporter: The oud is a musical oriental instrument with a sweet sound, and it is the basis in the eastern takht.
Sukar reviewed the components of the oud and the wood from which it is made, explaining that the oud instrument has several sizes, including the quarter, half, three-quarters and full, according to the desire of the person who wants to own this instrument, as it was previously made using only two strings, then the third and fourth strings were added to it, and it is said that Ziryab added The fifth string, after which the artist Farid al-Atrash added the sixth string, and some of them put the seventh string and it is called the seventh oud, and his voice becomes wider, and currently the vocal range of the oud is two and a half octaves.
And about his love for the oud instrument, Sukkar said: It started from a young age, when he was working on drawing the oud instrument on the walls of his house and writing under it this is Naeem’s oud. The great Ibrahim Sukkar, and he learned to play under the hands of the musician Muhammad Ragab. He also gained experience from the old oud makers in Aleppo, including Gerji Hayek, Michel Khawam, Antoine Abras, Wanis Mobayed, Naim Dalal, and Jamil Qandalaft, who made the Farid al-Atrash oud.
Sukar talked about the types of ouds, including the so-called oriental, which has a firm bass and its voice is melodious and melodious, and is used in orchestras and playing while singing. It needs work for two months, and its manufacture begins with the sound box or bowl. In the second stage, the chest or face is made, and in the third stage the ulna, then finishing and installing accessories for the oud such as keys and strings. After that, the oud is tuned and tested by playing it, achieving smoothness with that and not stressing the player by bringing out the tune.
He pointed out that a number of professionals playing the oud in the Arab world and the world own his ouds, and communicate with him from Canada, Australia and Germany, and from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt and Tunisia.
Sukar expressed his desire to pay more attention to the Oud instrument, for fear of its industry becoming extinct by making sure to teach young generations of this profession and play it, given the delicate feeling that this instrument gives to those who play it, expressing his joy that the element of making and playing the Oud has been registered on the UNESCO Heritage List. The human being is another element of the intangible cultural heritage, of which Syria is proud of its originality and its exquisite craftsmanship.
Qusai Razzouk
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