Various Artists - Sufi - Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen

Artist:

Various Artists

UPC:

743037181020

Description:

A collection of artists held together by their sect of Islam, with locations far flung from one another, this album deals with music of the Sufis as heard on a number of other ARC albums. As such, it acts a bit as a sampler, but is really more of a simple collection of varied Islamic music. The album opens with a bit of thumri from Abida Parveen out of southern Pakistan. After a relatively short work from Turkey, the usually overlooked Egyptian Sufist movement is given a voice by Sheikh Mohamed al Helbawy, sounding exceptionally like a basic adhan call throughout, but with a powerful voice nonetheless. Another offering from southern Pakistan comes from the Sindhi Music Ensemble, with a vocalist similar to Parveen, although with less force behind her. The master of Pakistani Sufist music follows, as the great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (with Sultan Khan on sarangi as an added treat) performs an old devotional work of Amir Khusrau. A more instrumentally heavy (and more busy, in general) version of qawwali is added in by the Sabri Brothers, finishing the run of Pakistani music for a time. The album`s attention then turns to the whirling dervishes of Syria in a traditional ecstatic flute and drum work accompanying the Mevlevi ceremonies. A poem by Mowlana Rumi, the founder of the Sufist orders, is performed in song by Zohreh Jooya, an Iranian vocalist trained in Western classical music and living in the countries of old Europe. Her voice is more operatic in nature than would normally be expected of a Middle Eastern vocalist, which detracts a bit of the authenticity factor, but adds to the intrigue of modernization. The album finishes out on another qawwali as Shafqat Ali Khan displays his new directions for the fusion of qawwali with more modern forms. It`s a nice album, with the coherence of music holding up surprisingly well given the variety of styles represented. The bulk of the forms could be found in a well-collected set of Turkish and Pakistani compilations, but, for the brevity, this release is recommended as a good starting point for deeper exploration of the forms. ~ Adam Greenberg

Track Listing:

DISC 1

1. Baaju Band Kuhl Kuhl Jaae - Abida Parveen
2. Ilahis in Makam Hicaz - T¿hir Aydogdu
3. Mayalaya - Sheikh Mohamed Al Helbawy
4. Way of Shah Abdul Latif/Rag Sindhi Behrwee - Sindhi Music Ensemble
5. Main to Piya Se Naina Lagaa Aayi Re - Ustad Nusrat Fateg Ali Kahn
6. Man Kunto Maula - The Sabri Brothers
7. Segah - Maulawi Dervishes
8. My Soul - Zohreh Jooya
9. Yaad (Memory) - Shafqat Ali Khan

Album Information

Release Date:

05/31/2006

Type:

Collection

Genre:

International

Subgenre:

Pakistani

Label:

Arc Music

Catalog Number:

1810

Original Release Year:

2003

# of Discs:

1

Studio/Live:

Studio

Mono/Stereo:

Stereo

Runtime:

63 : 40

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