Bringing Kurdish Music to the West

Abstract

This document will examine the music of two Kurdish composers, Dalshad Said and Brahim Shexo. It will begin with a biography of each composer that discusses important influences and elements of their musical styles. Because Kurdish music is not well known outside of Kurdistan, the document will also provide a brief history of Kurdistan and its musical culture to give the reader some context. This will include a short description of Middle Eastern musical instruments and a discussion of significant current and past Kurdish musicians and musical ensembles. In order to develop a meaningful analysis of Dalshad's and Shexo's music it also will be necessary to introduce a small amount of Middle Eastern music theory.