|
|
|
|
|
Qawaali - In order to preserve the edit history, this page should be moved to Qawwali as soon as that page may be deleted.
Qawwali, also spelt qawaali or quwalli, is a Sufi devotional musical genre. It is performed in Sufi shrines throughout India and Pakistan. Origins Qawwali originated in India in the 14th century and is said to have been founded by the classical poet and musician Amir Khusro. Song content The songs which constitute the qawwali repertoire are mostly in Urdu and Punjabi (almost equally divided between the two), though there are also songs in Persian, Brajbhasha, Siraiki and Sindhi. The poetry is implicitly understood to be spiritual in its meaning, even though the lyrics can sometimes sound wildly secular. The central themes of qawwali are love, devotion and longing (of man for God). Qawwalis are classified by their content into several categories: - A hamd is a song in praise of Allah. Traditionally, a qawwali performance starts with a hamd.
- A naat is a song in praise of the Prophet Muhammad. The opening hamd is traditionally followed by a naat.
- A manqabat is a song in praise of either Ali or one of the Sufi saints. Manqabats in praise of Ali are typically sung only at a Shi'a concert; if one is sung, it will follow right after the naat. There is usually at least one manqabat in a traditional programme.
- A marsiya is a lamentation over the death of Ali and much of his family at the Karbala. Once again, this would typically be sung only at a Shi'a concert.
- A ghazal is a song that sounds secular on the face of it. There are two extended metaphors that run through ghazals -- the joys of drinking and the agony of separation from the beloved. These songs feature exquisite poetry, and can certainly be taken at face value, and enjoyed at that level. In fact, in India and Pakistan, ghazal is also a separate, distinct musical genre in which many of the same songs are performed in a different musical style, and in a secular context. In the context of that genre, the songs are usually taken at face value, and no deeper meaning is necessarily implied. But in the context of qawwali, these songs of intoxication and yearning use secular metaphors to express, as poignantly as possible, the soul's longing for union with the Divine, and its joy in loving the Divine. In the songs of intoxication, "Wine" represents "knowledge of the Divine", the "Cupbearer" (saqi) is God or a spiritual guide, the "Tavern" is the metaphorical place where the soul may (or may not) be fortunate enough to attain spiritual enlightment. (The "Tavern" is emphatically not a conventional house of worship.) Intoxication is attaining spiritual knowledge, or being filled the joy of loving the Divine. In the songs of yearning, the soul, having been abandoned in this world by that cruel and cavalier lover, God, sings of the agony of separation, and the depth of its yearning for reunion.
Composition of a qawwali party A group of qawwali musicians, called a party, typically consists of eight or nine men including a lead singer, one or two side singers, one or two harmoniums (which may be played by lead singer, side singer or someone else), and percussion. If there is only one percussionist, he plays the tabla and dholak, usually the tabla with the left hand and the dholak with the right. Often there will be two percussionists, in which case one might play the tabla-dholak and the other the dhol. There is also a chorus of four or five men who repeat the main verses sung by the lead and side singers, and who aid and abet percussion by clapping their hands on the beat in time with the music. The performers sit in two rows. The front row consists of the lead singer, side singers and harmonium players. The back row consists of the chorus and percussionists. Musical structure Songs average 15 to 30 minutes in length. They are designed to begin gently and build steadily to a very high energy level in order to induce hypnotic states both among the musicians and within the audience. Songs are usually are arranged as follows: - A musical introduction where the main melody is played on the harmonium, and may include improvised variations of the melody.
- The alap, a long tonal improvised melody during which the singers intone different long notes, in the raag of the song to be played.
- The main singer begins to sing some preamble verses which are not part of the main song, although thematically related to it. These are sung unrhythmically, improvised following the raag, and accompanied only by the harmonium. After the lead singer sings a verse, another singer will repeat the verse, perhaps with his own improvisation. A few or many verses will be sung in this way, leading into the main song.
- As the main song begins, the tabla, dholak and clapping begin. All members join in the singing of the verses that constitute the refrain. Normally neither the lyrics of the main verses nor the melodies that go with them are improvised; in fact, these are often traditional songs sung by many groups, especially within the same lineage. As the song proceeds, the main and secondary singers may break out into an alap. The singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan also popularized the interjection of sargam singing at this point. The song usually builds in tempo and passion, with each singer trying to outdo each other in terms of vocal acrobatics. Some singers may do long periods of sargam improvisation, especially alternating improvisations with a student singer. The songs usually end suddenly.
The singing style of qawwali is different from Western singing styles in many ways. For example, in words beginning with an "m", Western singers are apt to stress the vowel following the "m" rather than the "m" itself, whereas in qawwali, the "m" will usually be held, producing a muted tone. Also in qawwali, there is no distinction between what is known as the chest voice and the neck voice, which is the different areas that sound will resonate in depending on the frequency sung. Rather, qawwals sing very loudly and forcefully, which allows them to extend their chest voice to much higher frequencies those those used in Western singing, even though this usually causes a more noisy or strained sound than would be acceptable in the West. Well-known qawwals Qawwali music gained international fame through the work of the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan of Pakistan, who was picked up by the Real World label and collaborated with many non-Sufi musicians in crossover efforts. Other well-known qawwals are Abida Parveen, Aziz Mian, Badar Ali Khan, Jafar Husain Khan Badauni, M. Saeed Chisti, Mehr Ali Sher Ali, Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Rizwan-Muazzam, Sabri Brothers. See also External link
|
 |
|
| Copyright 2005-2009 OnPedia.com. All Rights Reserved |
|
|