HOURS of intricate craftsmanship, a detailed understanding of the laws of physics and a love for music pour into the creation of oud – a stringed instrument dating back generations in the region.
Crafted by hand from materials gathered from across the globe, the Bahraini Oud has become a symbol of quality and beauty, both regionally and internationally.
The GDN visited a local factory in Manama where a 55-year-old Bahraini professional oud maker, who inherited the artistic craft from his forefathers, continues it with the same passion, dedication and love.
Adnan Abdulrahman Al Sadah, originally from Muharraq, began his musical journey at the age of five, at the family-owned factory in Old Manama Suq, which he helped build by hand.
He now owns a store, Music Spot, selling instruments on Exhibition Road.
“My grandfather started our journey in the music world by launching a company that produced records. Through the years, we moved onto cassettes and then CDs and ventured into creating stringed instruments in 1980,” he said.
“The products we saw in the region were commercial and of low quality. We wanted to produce works of art in Bahrain with the highest quality and expert craftsmanship.”
The family thus ventured into official production of oud in 1982 and started importing to other countries.
“Our work was recognised quickly; we started engraving the name ‘Bahraini’ on our oud because we are proud to be Bahrainis, raising our nation’s flag regionally and internationally.”
Thanks to Mr Al Sadah’s dedication, attention to detail and authentic craftsmanship, the Bahraini Oud he crafts has achieved global recognition with musicians from the Gulf, Arab region and even Europe placing orders for the stringed instrument.
“Each oud is a unique work of art,” he said.
“One needs to put in hours of hard work while also adhering to the intricate process of ageing, drying and bending the wood to create the masterpiece.”
Mr Al Sadah imports wood from India, Canada, Australia, Romania, Africa and Germany with each type used to create a specific part in the instrument.
“The multi-step process of making a single oud is intricate and artistic. Attention to detail is critical for its success and a single minuscule mistake at any step can ruin an entire piece rendering it useless as an instrument.”
The prices of Mr Al Sadah’s oud range from BD60 to BD600 with more expensive custom pieces created for musicians.
He revealed that the variety in prices was due to the different materials used as well as the process involved in ageing the different kinds of wood.
Some pieces take a week to 10 days. Others with more detailed engraving may take up to 20 days to reach the finishing phase.
“Each step is critical.
“We use specialised material, tools and instruments to create each piece because the wood needs special treatment in order for it to properly breathe, to be properly bent to shape without breaking and set together without a gap to create the desired musical sound.”
Mr Al Sadah has five children and his eldest son Mohammed is now helping him with the business.
“Any instrument that you hug to play is close to the heart,” Mr Al Sadah said.
“The pieces come alive as we use special wood that generates different sounds that change with time and is based on artists’ talent.”
The master craftsman can pick out a distortion in any instrumental piece as well as determine the balance of the chords as he himself has created thousands of oud by hand.
“An expert mechanic isn’t necessarily a good driver, but he knows the insides of the car better than anyone and it’s the same with instruments,” he explained.
High humidity and defects in the wood can damage an entire instrument.
“When a musical instrument breaks or is damaged the artist doesn’t repair it himself. He takes it to the creator who understands the tiny details that went into creating the unique piece.
“The oud depends on specific measurements and laws of physics and if measurements go wrong even by a tiny fraction, the music produced is altered.”
reem@gdn.com.bh
&uuid=(email))