Symphony No. 3. "Thirty-Seven Years." Musical manuscript full score in a copyist's hand with extensive annotations, corrections, etc. in the hand of the composer. Signed in pencil at conclusion de EL-DABH, Halim 1921-2017

Full score:
133, [i] (blank) pp. Large folio. Notated in ink. With title ("Symphonie No 3 of 37 years") to head, composer's name and "Cairo 1953" to upper outer corner, and copyright notes to foot of first page. Copyright date of 2008 to right margin whited-out. With autograph annotations, additions, alterations, corrections, and deletions in both pencil and ink throughout. Slightly worn and browned.

Together with:
- Dye-line copy of the full score. 31, [i] pp. Large folio. With numerous autograph annotations in pencil. Signed and dated 1954 in ink at conclusion. Spiral-bound black wrappers.

- Autograph manuscript sketches for the [?]2nd, 3rd, and 4th movements of the work. Large folio. 10; 10; 12 pp.

- Set of 20 manuscript parts, all in stiff light orange wrappers with dark red tape to spine, titled in black ink within decorative border in red pencil: Violon I (I); Violon I (III); 1o Violon (IV); Violon I (V); Violon I (VI); 2nd Violon A (I); 2o Violon B (III); 2nd Violon B (IV); 2nd Violon B (V); Alto (II); Alto (III); Cello (I); Cello (II); Cello I (IV); Cello (V); C. Bass (I); C. Bass (II); C. Bass (IV); 3 Tom-Tom. Tambour; Cassa di lengo. Piatti; and G. Cassa. Timpani. An Egyptian-born American composer, performer, ethnomusicologist, and educator, El-Dabh came to the United States in 1950, becoming a part of the New York music scene that included Cage, Varèse, and Hovhaness. He went on to study composition with Krenek, Copland, Dallapiccola, and others.

"El-Dabh's compositional style is influenced by Egyptian folk and traditional music. Frequently monodic, his works feature complex rhythms and much use of percussion. His career was launched in 1949 with a highly acclaimed performance of It is Dark and Damp on the Front (1948) at All Saints Cathedral, Cairo. In 1950 he made his début as a solo drummer, under the direction of Stokowski, in the first performance of Tahmeela. Other works include Clytemnestra (1958), One More Gaudy Night (1961), A Look at Lightning (1962) and Lucifer (1975), commissioned by Martha Graham; Sound and Light of the Pyramids of Giza (1960), written for the Cultural Ministry of the Egyptian Government and performed daily at the pyramids; and New Pharaoh's Suite, written for the Cleveland Museum of Art to accompany a visiting Ethiopian exhibit from the Louvre (1996). Spectrum no.1 'Symphonies in Sonic Vibration' (1955) and Leiyla and the Poet (1959) have been recorded." Denise A. Seachrist in Grove Music Online.

An early pioneer of electronic music, El-Dabh composed one of the earliest known works of tape music, or "musique concrète," in 1944, The Expression of Zaar.

"El-Dabh is probably the best known composer of Arabic descent and his works are highly regarded in Egypt, where he is considered the foremost living composer among that nation's 'second generation' of contemporary composers." Wikipedia.