Mansour Zalzal : Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mansour Zalzal

Arab musician (died after 842)

Mansour Zalzal منصور زلزل
Birth name	Mansour
Also known as	Zalzal
Died	after 842 Abbasid Caliphate
Genres	Arab music, Zalzal
Occupation(s)	Musician
Years active	830s – 842

Musical artist

Manṣūr Zalzal al-Ḍārib (منصور زلزل; died after 842 CE) or simply Zalzal, was an Iranian musician during the early Abbasid period.^[1] The renowned musician Ishaq al-Mawsili was his student;^[2] he declared Zalzal to be the most outstanding lutenist of his time.^[1]

He contributed musical scales that were later named after him (the Mansouri scale, Arabic, المقياس المنصوري) and introduced positions (intervals) within scales on the fretboard of an oud (neutral 3rd frets, between major 3rd frets and minor third frets), called wusta-zalzal.^[3]^[1] Mansour is credited by the Encyclopedia of Islam with making improvements on the design of the barbat lute, which was then called the ūd shabbūt.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Farmer, H. G. (2001). "Zalzal". Grove Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.30802. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
^ Neubauer, Eckhard (2001). "Mawṣilī, al- family". Grove Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.51032. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
^ Wright, Owen; Poché, Christian; Shiloah, Amnon (2001). "Arab music". Grove Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.01139. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
^ First Encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913-1936. Leiden: Brill. 1993. p. 986. ISBN 90-04-09796-1. (d. 791)...invented his 'perfect lute' or ūd shabbūt