World Music Institute & Virsa Pakistan present

 

return performance of acclaimed qawwali group

 

QAWWALI MUSIC OF PAKISTAN

 

FARID AYAZ QAWWAL & BROTHERS

 

 

 

SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 2004     8:00 PM

 

Symphony Space, Broadway at 95th Street, New York City

 

$35, $25; students $15              Special golden circle tickets: $75  

Box Office (212) 864-5400  

Information/charges (212) 545-7536       worldmusicinstitute.org

 

“…vocal fireworks…”                                                                       THE NEW YORK TIMES

 

Not since the days of the great Nusrat Fateh Ali has a Sufi qawwali group generated such interest and excitement internationally as Farid Ayaz Qawwal and Brothers. Performing the ecstatic devotional music of Sufi Muslims, the ensemble has gained recognition for both the popular traditional form of qawwali and the more introspective ancient classical qawwali that is seldom heard today. In qawwali, which is similar to gospel in its use of call-and-response and spiritual fervor, the lead singers are accompanied by percussive hand clapping, harmonium, tabla (drums) and a chorus.  The concert will be dedicated to the group’s late leader, the 93-year-old master Munshi Raziuddin, who died last July.

 

Sufism, a mystical form of Islam that numbers millions of adherents throughout the world, embraces music and dance as a means to achieve unity with the divine.  Qawwali (Urdu for “utterance”) songs include 13th century Persian poems and more recent Punjabi poems that speak of divine love.  Qawwali, like gospel music, has the power of transporting its listeners into a trance-like state.  The songs build to a frenzied climax that has audiences dancing in the aisle and showering the stage with money.  While American audiences may not understand the words the music - which is highly ornamental - transcends all linguistic, social and cultural barriers.  This is the music of ecstasy and one does not need to know the words to be moved.

 

Farid Ayaz Qawwal & Brothers, one of Pakistan’s best known ensembles, has promoted the art of qawwali throughout Pakistan, India, Europe, Iran, the Middle East, and the U.S. The group members specialize in classical qawwali, which they learned from their forefathers. They belong to the Delhi gharana  (school) of Ustad Tan Ras Khan Sahib, who was the teacher of the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar. The group sings in many languages including Urdu, Seraiki, Punjabi, Sindhi, Hindi, Persian, Arabic, Bengali and Purbi. Recently the ensemble toured Greece under the auspices of WMI as part of the Cultural Olympiad, appearing at the renowned Herodeon (at the Acropolis), Thessalonika, Olympia, and Mt. Olympos.

 

This program is made possible in part with public support from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State agency.  Additional support is provided by the Howard Bayne Fund and PIA (Pakistan International Airlines).