The 18th century witnessed an Arab scientific and cultural renaissance, one of the pillars of which was Sheikh Amin al-Jundi who was the first pioneer of art of Qudud Halabiya.
Sheikh Amin al-Jundi who lived between 1766- 1840, and was called “The Sun of Poets”. He is considered one of the most prominent figures of poetry and music in Syria.
His life was a continuous movement in Damascus, Aleppo, Tripoli, and Egypt where he drew from the knowledge of scholars and thinkers before setting in his hometown of Homs until his death.
Sheikh Muhammad al-Tibi and Sheikh Youssef al-Shamsi were among the scholars who studied him . In Damascus he took additional knowledge from scholars like Omar al-Yafi, Ahmad al-Attar and Abd al-Rahman al-Kuzbari.
Al-Jundi is considered one of the most famous composers in Syria and he composed many poems that later became known as Qudud which have been sung by famous singers.
The famous Qudud composed by Sheikh Al-Jundi (Heymatni Timtni), (Ya Sah al-Sabr).
There are many poets and singers who followed the path of the first pioneer of the Qudud art , including Abd al-Hadi al-Wafa’i (1843-1909) who composed around 100 muwashshah forms, and the singer Abu al-Khair al- Jundi (1876-1939).
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)