Abstract

Music is a way of expression given only to the human being; animals may react to music but cannot produce it to enjoy it. This special expression may be a vehicle of ideas, ideologies, and words as elements of a designated language carried by songs. We often consider songs and appreciate them for how they make us feel, thus we may have a favourite music, favourite singer, favourite song, favourite style. All these elements and others make the whole experience of music very subjective. What I like and admire can be disliked by someone else and vice-versa. One can like the song but dislike the artist or like the music but dislike the lyrics. All possibilities are acceptable when talking about musical taste.
In Lebanon, the popular musical taste is influenced by the media, the politics and the marketing. Strangely, some songs are perceived as religious or “liturgical” more than others but are people really listening? On the example of widespread songs from renown Lebanese singers, I will show the influence of politics, times and media on the perception of the public; hence a normal song by a good singer can become a hymn motivating the fight against the occupying enemy while another familiar song from a musical play can become a symbol of survival after the explosion of the 4th of August 2020.

Bio

Rosy Beyhom (PhD 2021, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster) is a musicologist whose research is focused on Arabian music and the written heritage around it. She is an active member of the CERMAA research center (http://foredofico.org/CERMAA/cermaa‐membres), an international musicology hub based in Lebanon that promotes awareness via non-biased approaches to the analysis of music. She is a permanent co-editor of the NEMO-Online (http://nemo‐online.org/academic‐board) peer-reviewed journal. Her PhD dissertation is currently in preparation for publishing and dealt with the musical practices before the decline of the Fatimid reign in Cairo with a parallel comparison with the musical practices in Bagdad. 

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