A musical interlude

Sometime during 821,an elegant man disembarked a the port of Algeciras. His name was ibn al-Hassan ibn ‘Ala ibn Naffa, and he had arrived from Tunis on the invitation of the Umayyad Emir, al-Hakam I of Cordoba. Ben Naffa came to be better known by his Un nickname: Ziryab, the singing blackbird, either because his music resembled a bird’s, or for his dark complexión.

In: Critical Muslim. –april-june, 2013. –pp. 105-111

Full text: A Musical Interlude

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