4. The Role of Stress in the Scansion of Zajal Genres

The fourth chapter begins with a note on stress in fuṣḥā Arabic verse and zajal. The discussion and analysis exposes the weaknesses in previous criticism concerning the role of stress and leads to an important identification of two musical styles in scanning zajal lines: nathr al-naghamāt and naẓm al-naghamāt (musical prose and ordering of tones). An original methodology to be used in scanning macannā and qarrādī pieces to illustrate the workings of the two aforementioned systems is laid out. Most importantly, a framework for identifying stress in the rendition of macannā and qarrādī is constructed and explained, which superimposes musical stress on poetic stress.