Dating from antiquity, the oud is a mainstay in Middle Eastern music. The oud, a pear-shaped instrument, has 11 or 12 strings grouped into 5 or 6 double-stringed courses. The fingerboard is unfretted, allowing the performer to play in quarter-tone scales. In this concert recording from 1963, Kasmis El Fino plays two short and two long untitled compositions, demonstrating his skills in slow, free-rhythm improvisation (“Taksimes”) and in changing from one nagham (tonal scale) to another (“Tagheer”).

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