Listen to an hour of Sufi devotional music of Pakistan, which has its origins in the 12th Century, “when the great Sufi saint Hazratja Khawaja Moin-Ud-Din Chishtie travelled to India to bring the message of Islam to the Hindu nation” (Real World Records.) Listen to this ecstatic prayer music performed live by the late great Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan in the WNYC studio, from a November 1993 appearance.
Hear Zanzibari taarab music by Siti Muharam, who is the great-granddaughter of taraab legend Siti Binti Saad, a pioneering woman in music, and the first East African to make commercial recordings in the 1930’s. Hear a song called “Pakistan” from Siti Muharam and her recent record, Siti of Unguja: Romance Revolution On Zanzibar. (More about women in taraab music here.) Also listen to “Sufi Stomp,” a piece by clarinetist Arun Ghosh from a his work, A South Asian Suite, inspired by Qawwali music, and the landscapes of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Listen to new music by Falsa, a New York-based 14th century Sufi chamber fusion ensemble. Their combination of vocals, harmonium, electric bass VI, Spanish guitar, drum set, tabla, Carnatic violin, and trumpet aims to make traditional melodies into modern meditations. Then there’s an arrangement of Nusrat’s “Allah Hoo” by the Brooklyn Qawwali Party, recorded live from the 2009 Globalfest. The BQP is sort of a Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan tribute band, in that they have taken his songs and arranged them for maximum party feel - incorporating elements of jazz, a little funk, and some soul into the devotional singing. Plus, hear music by the female “Queen of Qawwali,” Abida Parveen. And more. - Caryn Havlik
Program #4355, The Qawwali Influence (First aired 4/17/2020)
ARTIST: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Party
WORK: Allah Hoo [2:54]
RECORDING: Live on New Sounds, November 12, 1993
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.
INFO: There is a recent reissue of a Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan 1985 WOMAD concert on Real World Records, which is definitely worth a listen
ARTIST: Falsa
WORK: Man Kunto Maula (To Whom I Am) [10:32]
RECORDING: American Sufi
SOURCE: falsamusic.bandcamp.com
INFO: falsamusic.com
ARTIST: Arun Ghosh
WORK: Sufi Stomp (Soul of Sindh) [4:53]
RECORDING: A South Asian Suite
SOURCE: Camoci Records
INFO: arunghosh.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Siti Muharam
WORK: Pakistan [6:36]
RECORDING: Siti of Unguja (Romance Revolution On Zanzibar)
SOURCE/INFO: sitimuharam.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Various Artists: Abida Parveen
WORK: Yun Saja Chand [8:20]
RECORDING: Love & Devotion: The Kings And Queen Of Qawwali
SOURCE: Shanachie
INFO: Available at Amazon.com, Spotify, Apple Music
ARTIST: Brooklyn Qawwali Party
WORK: Allah Hoo [12:00]
RECORDING: Live, Globalfest 1/11/2009 Webster Hall, New York City
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available.
INFO: BQP record is available at Amazon.com | facebook.com/BrooklynQawwaliParty