Diversity of Recitation
In the beginning of the semester we spoke a lot about the Quran and how it is a text that is meant to be recited not just merely read. We spoke about the divine power and influence that the Quran has in the form of the sound of recitation and there is a set of rules that govern the way that the Quran is meant to be recited. While tajweed is important in Quranic recitation and is studied by many Muslims, recitation from country to country and person to person is very different. In class we saw recitations by women, children, people from non-Arabic speaking countries, and people from all different nationalities all of whom had very different sounds when reciting. To illustrate this multitude in sound and recitation by Muslims (while within the general rules of Tajweed) I decided to compile a recording of 7 different famous Quran reciters performing the first chapter of the Quran, Surat Al-Fatiha. The recording begins with all 7 reciters saying “Bismillah, ar-Rahman, ar-Rahim” and then follows with each reciter contributing one line of the opening chapter. The sound, speed, and tone that the Quran is recited in has a huge impact on the provocation of emotion and the emphasis of certain messages or themes from passages. In this piece I want to illustrate, through the unification of all these reciters recordings, the concept that even with diversity in sound, speed, tone, and pitch, the power of the recitation of Quran stays a divine form that still evokes emotions in and a sense of beauty to those who hear it.