Hear music from Afghanistan: rubâb music from Homayun Sakhi and Quraishi, folk poems of Afghani women, from the Hazara tradition by Hamid Sakhizada, and adapted music from the Khorasan region by the duo Badieh. Much of the music comes from musicians who have fled the country to Europe or North America.
From the duo Badieh, comprised of Michel Gasco on Afghan rubâb (also, rhubâb, a double-chambered lute, and the national instrument of Afghanistan whose origins date to the 7th C.) and Mohammad Miraghazadeh on tar (Iranian long-necked, waisted lute), listen to traditional music from the Khorasan region on both sides of the Iranian/Afghan border. Listen to “Assadolla Jan” a song from Herat, made famous by rubâb master Ustad Rahim Khushnawaz. Then, hear Hazara folk music by Hamid Sakhizada, a musician from Afghanistan who plays the the two-stringed, long-necked lute known as dambura. Sakhizada has had to relocate to Norway because of the persecution involved in keeping the Hazara culture alive.
Then, listen to a setting of a Norwegian church song translated into Pashto by German-Afghan vocalist Simin Tander, and Norwegian pianist Tord Gustavsen, Also, hear the work of Homayun Sakhi, a classical Afghan rubâb virtuoso, (now California-based, as of 2001) and his work "Rainbow," featuring Kronos Quartet, tabla, and Central Asian percussion.
There’s also music by New Zealand-born composer Gemma Peacocke inspired by and using Afghan women’s folk poems called landays from the collection translated by Eliza Griswold, I Am the Beggar of the World. Hear Peacocke’s setting of these texts scored for voice and piano, percussion, bass, and electronics, featuring the voice of Eliza Bagg.
Plus, hear music from the Afghan-American rubâb master Quraishi, whose music is "a rare link between the rich tradition of classical Afghan court music, the golden years of Afghan radio, NYC's diverse immigrant culture, and the future of Afghanistan's musical identity" (Soundcloud.) And more. -Caryn Havlik
Program #4527, Music from Afghanistan (First Aired 8/23/2021)
ARTIST: Tord Gustavsen - Simin Tander - Jarle Vespestad
WORK: I See You [:30]
RECORDING: What Was Said
SOURCE: ECM 2465
INFO: ecmrecords.com
ARTIST: Eliza Bagg
WORK: Gemma Peacocke: Love [:30]
RECORDING: Waves & Lines
SOURCE: New Amsterdam Records
INFO: gemmapeacocke.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Hamid Sakhizada
WORK: Hafiz Divination (From Siya Sang) [4:37]
RECORDING: Dai Raft
SOURCE: Grappa Musikkforlag/Lidio
INFO: grappa.no
ARTIST: Badieh
WORK: Assadolla Jan [4:46]
RECORDING: Badieh
SOURCE: Worlds Within Worlds
INFO: https://badieh.bandcamp.com/album/badieh?mc_cid=ae3b468733&mc_eid=9a9165b7ef
ARTIST: Jordi Savall & Hesperion XXI
WORK: Laïla Djân (Afghanistan) [4:08]
RECORDING: Ibn Battuta, The Traveller of Islam, Part 1. From Morocco to Afghanistan
SOURCE: Alia Vox 9930
INFO: Try Amazon.com, AppleMusic and Spotify
ARTIST: Homayun Sakhi & Kronos Quartet
WORK: Rangin Kaman [4:52]
RECORDING: Music of Central Asia, Vol. 8: Rainbow
SOURCE: Smithsonian Folkways SFW40527
INFO: folkways.si.edu
ARTIST: Tord Gustavsen - Simin Tander - Jarle Vespestad
WORK: I See You [5:10]
RECORDING: What Was Said
SOURCE: ECM 2465
INFO: ecmrecords.com
ARTIST: Eliza Bagg
WORK: Gemma Peacocke: Love [5:31]
RECORDING: Waves & Lines
SOURCE: New Amsterdam Records
INFO: gemmapeacocke.bandcamp.com
ARTIST: Quraishi
WORK: Wardagi [4:16]
RECORDING: Mountain Melodies: Rubab music of Afghanistan
SOURCE: Evergreen 8024
INFO: Available at Amazon.com, Youtube Music, or Spotify