The Brightest Star of Qawwali

Posted on 3 October, 2012 by proprietrix

“Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan died August 16th in London of complications from diabetes. While his popularity has risen of late in the west due to his collaborations with Michael Brook and Peter Gabriel, and the use of his music in popular films, his star never set in Pakistan and India, where his death was felt by hundreds of thousands of sad hearts. He was a singer of power and ecstasy. ”

Because of music’s undeniable power to move the human body as well as the spirit, religions that abhor the tendencies of the flesh have always treated music with suspicion. Many cultures that are dominated by such religions have developed dual musical modes, sacred versus secular, segregating each kind to its proper place and purpose, the church versus the dance hall, the temple versus the brothel, the “Ave Maria” versus Madonna. Continue reading →

A Short Introduction to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Posted on 2 October, 2012 by proprietrix

Heights Of Ecstasy

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was born in 1948 in Fajsalabad, in the Pakistani province of Punjab. He was a member of a family whose male descendants had specialized in the performance of religious music qawwali for over 600 years *. The music has developed on the basis of Sufism – the mystical trend of Islam. The essence of qawwali is prompting a religious trance enabling a direct contact with God.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s father, a great master of qawwali and respected musicologist, taught his son the basics of this music and passed on the knowledge of classical hindu ragas and the Indian art of vocal khyal based on improvisation. Talented, divinely gifted Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan has contributed to the popularization and development of qawwali by combining all these musical genres. In the literary layer, this was Sufi poetry, originated in Persia, India and Punjab province, which constituted the spiritual dimension of his creative activity. Continue reading →

Darwish, A film about Sufism featuring Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s Music, A must watch

Posted on 29 September, 2012 by proprietrix

Click Here to play/Download

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The Legend

Posted on 16 September, 2012 by proprietrix

Known as a “Singing Bouddha” in Japan, the “Quintessence of human singing” in Tunisia, the “Voice of Heaven” in the United States and the “Pavarotti of the Orient” in France… Pakistan’s most revered Qawwal singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, made the whole world resonate to the lyrical heights of Qawwali, a secular form of Sufi song that calls to divine ecstasy. His nearly superhuman vocal abilities, extraordinary improvisational skills, troubling intensity and softness of his voice, his kindled presence on stage, his many encounters and colorful musical cross-blendings and the enduring love that millions of fans lavished upon him worldwide all helped him bring the mystical music of Sufi’s to international stage becoming one the most celebrated superstars of World Music. Continue reading →