The Encaoua are renowned for their contribution to the liturgical music of the Jewish communities of the Maghreb.
The music of the synagogues of Oran and Tlemcen, strongly influenced by the Andalusian musical tradition (the malouf and the chaabi), constitutes a heritage of extraordinary richness. Several piyutim composed by members of the family are still sung today in communities established in France, Israel, Canada, and the United States.
The most celebrated piyut attributed to Rab Éphraïm Al-Naqua is a liturgical poem for Rosh Hashanah, built upon an alphabetical acrostic. Its melody, of Arab-Andalusian inspiration, is considered one of the most beautiful in the North African liturgical repertoire. This piyut is still sung in certain synagogues of the Oranais and Tlemcenian tradition, thus perpetuating the voice of the founder of the lineage across the centuries.
The Jewish communities of Oran and Tlemcen developed a distinctive liturgical musical style, blending the medieval Hebrew traditions with the modes (maqam) of Arab-Andalusian music. The malouf (classical Arab-Andalusian music) and the chaabi (popular music) profoundly influenced synagogue cantillation. Cantors (hazzanim) of the Encaoua family were renowned for their mastery of this complex repertoire. This intangible heritage, threatened by the dispersal of the communities after 1962, is today the focus of conservation efforts by cultural associations in France and Israel.
MMJMM documents two major liturgical corpora: the Maḥzor of Oran in five volumes (following the community's exodus to Livorno in 1669) and that of Tetouan, comprising 231 piyutim of the Megorashim.