Arabian riff

$\relative c''{ \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"oboe" \clef treble \numericTimeSignature \time 2/4 \set Score.tempoHideNote = ##t \tempo 4 = 120 a8 b8 c4 b4 a4 a8 b8 c8 e8 b8 c8 a4 }$

The basic melody

"Arabian riff", also known as "The Streets of Cairo", "The Poor Little Country Maid", and "the snake charmer song", is a well-known melody, published in different forms in the 19th century.^[1] Alternate titles for children's songs using this melody include "The Girls in France" and "The Southern Part of France".^[2]^[3] The melody is often associated with the hoochie coochie belly dance.

^ ^a ^b Benzon, William (2002). Beethoven's Anvil: Music in Mind and Culture. Oxford University Press. pp. 253–254. ISBN 978-0-19-860557-7. Archived from the original on 2024-03-22. Retrieved 2019-11-17. In compiling his collection of melodies Arban clearly wanted to present music from all the civilized nations he could think of. It is thus in the service of a truncated ethnic inclusiveness that he included an "Arabian Song"—or, more likely, the one-and-only "Arabian Song" he knew... Beyond this, the opening five notes of this song are identical to the first five notes of Colin Prend Sa Hotte, published in Paris in 1719. Writing in 1857, J. B. Wekerlin noted that the first phrase of that song is almost identical to Kradoutja, a now-forgotten Arabic or Algerian melody that had been popular in France since 1600. This song may thus have been in the European meme pool 250 years before Arban found it. It may even be a Middle Eastern song, or a mutation of one, that came to Europe via North Africa through Moorish Spain or was brought back from one of the Crusades.
^ Cite error: The named reference shira was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Desultor was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Benzon2002-1] Benzon, William (2002). Beethoven's Anvil: Music in Mind and Culture. Oxford University Press. pp. 253–254. ISBN 978-0-19-860557-7. Archived from the original on 2024-03-22. Retrieved 2019-11-17. In compiling his collection of melodies Arban clearly wanted to present music from all the civilized nations he could think of. It is thus in the service of a truncated ethnic inclusiveness that he included an "Arabian Song"—or, more likely, the one-and-only "Arabian Song" he knew... Beyond this, the opening five notes of this song are identical to the first five notes of Colin Prend Sa Hotte, published in Paris in 1719. Writing in 1857, J. B. Wekerlin noted that the first phrase of that song is almost identical to Kradoutja, a now-forgotten Arabic or Algerian melody that had been popular in France since 1600. This song may thus have been in the European meme pool 250 years before Arban found it. It may even be a Middle Eastern song, or a mutation of one, that came to Europe via North Africa through Moorish Spain or was brought back from one of the Crusades.

[shira-2] Cite error: The named reference shira was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Desultor-3] Cite error: The named reference Desultor was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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