The Faculty of Music and Musicology (FMM) at Antonine University (UA) hosted a conference on Thursday, February 16, 2023, entitled “The Current Perception of Art music in Lebanon: The Perspective of a Music Critic,” during which Alain E. Andrea, (doctor of pharmacy, researcher in molecular genetics, pianist, and) musical critic in the Francophone press, discussed the issue of the musical degeneration that art music in Lebanon is experiencing. The speaker began with a review of various categorical and typological definitions of musical practices in Lebanon, addressing the notions of musical language (universal competence), musical languages (three systems: modal monodic language, pentatonic monodic language, and tonal polyphonic language), musical dialects (musical traditions and historical schools), and musical creolization, as well as the concepts of repetitive musical tradition or artisanal popular musical tradition versus creative or artistic musical tradition, referring to the works of Professor Nidaa Abou Mrad.

Thus, it is the emergence of the modernist paradigm of exogenous growth, in the face of the traditional paradigm of endogenous growth, that shifted this conference towards a diachronic approach, starting from the question of musical identity of Greater Lebanon, with a traditional Levantine modal monodic art music, gradually marginalized by the French mandate in favor of European tonal harmonic music associated with the notion of progress, this being reflected in Wadih Sabra and his associates through a forced application of harmonic musical norms to the autochthonous monodies (from which the scales at three-quarters of tone are erased and traditional improvisatory creativity is expelled), in the name of this exogenous modernism, which ultimately results in the supremacy of consumer-oriented creole music, straddling two incompatible systems similar in their triviality to the famous Lebanese greeting “Hi! Kifak? Ça va?”

Alain E. Andrea then focused his historical approach on the Beirut Conservatory, deploring that since its foundation by Wadih Sabra and its revival after the war by Walid Gholmié, the institution aimed to make “European tonal harmonic art music the only music worthy of the name in Lebanon.” According to him, this approach resulted in the “deprivation of the Lebanese youth trained in this institution of any connection with their original musical heritage,” whereas such an institution could have worked towards parallel, diversified, and inclusive development of both Levantine monodic modal art music (respecting its grammatical and aesthetic creative standards) and European tonal harmonic music within the Lebanese society.

In addition to this identity issue, the speaker also criticized the prevalence of quantitative criteria over qualitative criteria in the governance of this institution since 1990 (except for the period under Bassam Saba, who attempted to restructure the institution based on respect for autochthonous traditions and qualitative criteria, and the project led by Walid Moussallem to build a musical complex dedicated to higher musical education in Dbayé, funded by a Chinese donation). Dr. Andrea emphasized that it was precisely the qualitative deficit that led to the complete deterioration of the conservatory, mirroring the state of Lebanon, especially during the economic crisis and the departure of European musicians.

Finally, the speaker highlighted the beneficial role of private institutions (the three Maronite universities, UA, USEK, and NDU, with musicology faculties and music schools, as well as the AMAR and CPML archival centers and festivals) in the development of art music in Lebanese society.

The subsequent discussion (in person and online), moderated by Ms. Nathalie Abou Jaoude, Chairperson of the Department of Music Therapy at the FMM, outlined some therapeutic pathways aimed at strengthening the quality of music education and practices and ensuring the diversity and inclusion of these two important musical expressions in Lebanon which are modal monodic art music and tonal polyphonic art music.