Iraqi artists lead efforts to preserve musical past damaged by war

(The Christian Science Monitor) In an antique stall near al-Mutanabbi Street, the shop owner wipes the dust off a brittle black disc, winds up a gramophone, and plays the multilayered melodies and melancholy lyrics that are part of Iraq’s vanishing musical history.

The coffeehouses ringing the street of booksellers are still full of Iraqis, but the tradition that brought diverse communities together to listen to music in them is long gone. So, too, is the national archive of music and sound that was destroyed in 2003.

In the region where the world’s first musical instruments are believed to have appeared, musical heritage is under siege from war, upheaval, and religious fundamentalism.