10 Facts About Sabri Moudallal

Sabri Moudallal was a singer and composer of traditional Syrian music, as well as a businessman.

Sabri Moudallal was born in the Al-Jalloum neighborhood in Aleppo in 1918.

Sabri Moudallal grew up in a musical environment, attending Sufi Zikr ceremonies with his father, who sent him to Qur'anic school to memorize the Qur'an and study Quranic recitation, the musical recitation of the holy text.

Sabri Moudallal has stated that the first piece he was taught by al-Batsh was al-Batsh's very own composition for the muwashshah Kahhal as-Sihr Oyunan in the Bayat maqam.

Sabri Moudallal eventually came to work as a muezzin at the Great Mosque of Aleppo.

Sabri Moudallal's repertoire consisted primarily of sacred Islamic music, and he was best known for his vast knowledge and mastery of the muwashshah, an old Andalusian poetic form which he studied under al-Batsh, but he was known to perform secular music as well.

Sabri Moudallal was well known for his mastery of the waslah form, a type of suite common in classical Arabic music.

Sabri Moudallal played a central role in popularizing the traditional musical style of Aleppo throughout Syria and internationally, along with his younger and more popular contemporary, Sabah Fakhri.

Sabri Moudallal was the original performer of several well-known Syrian songs, such as Ib'atli Jawab, which he first performed in 1949, later to become well known through its rendition by Sabah Fakhri, who regularly included it in his performances.

Sabri Moudallal was known for his circular breathing technique, which enabled him to breathe while singing, thus making it possible to sing for long periods of time without a pause.