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Home , Arabic maqam, Hamd, Punjabi literature, Sabri Brothers, Sama (Sufism)

UMS PRESENTS ASIF ALI KHAN ENSEMBLE

Asif Ali Khan, Lead Vocals Raza Hussain, Harmonium and Solo Vocals Sarfraz Hussain, Harmonium and Solo Vocals Ali Khawar, Tabla and Chorus Imtiaz Hussain Shibli, Chorus Waheed Mumtaz Hussain, Chorus Shah Nawaz Hussain, Chorus Manzoor Hussain Shibli, Chorus Umar Draz Hussain, Chorus

Friday Evening, March 21, 2014 at 8:00 Rackham Auditorium • Ann Arbor

62nd Performance of the 135th Annual Season Global Music Series

Photo: Asif Ali Khan; photographer: Cynthia Sciberras. 39 40 ASIF ALI KHAN QAWWALI ENSEMBLE WINTER 2014 UMS PROGRAM be performed withoutintermission. This evening’s program willbeannounced by theartists from thestage andwill Robert Browning Associates. Asif AliKhan’s tour ismade possible by agrant from theAsianCultural Council to CityLore, afiscal sponsor for Asif AliKhanismanagedby Zaman Production, Paris, France. Asif AliKhan’s tour isorganized by Robert Browning Associates. Doris Duke Foundation for . Additional support provided by the University of Michigan Museum of Art, with lead funding provided by the This evening’s performance issupported by Penny and Ken Fischer and Mohamad Issa and the Issa Foundation. BE PRESENT WINTER 2014 41

, inner truth. inner , ma’rifat By the end of the 11th century, ’ century, By the end of the 11th of themost with as of qawwali, art The which, in turn,and the Persian tradition. Indian influenced the North has as a secular pursuit while music Thus, , orthodox by largely been condemned a been traditionally for most Sufis it has prerequisite.fundamental which included was a spiritual concert with or chorus a soloist by sung took concert The interludes. instrumental place under the direction of a or participated leader). The faithful (religious contemplation,inner of state a in listening by The of trance. lead to a state which might amongst Sufis has centeredmain argument of state a achieve to music of use the on as a means tomusic ecstasy; while some see see musical closer to the Divine, others get the that implying itself, in end an as trance of . of ecstasy is a manifestation state traditions, and literary Asian musical great verse The mystical orally. is transmitted is best appreciated with qawwali associated used is music of vehicle The listening. by of to bring one closer to the experience will dwell The qawwal the inner truth. them, repeating often words, certain on of the discovery into taking the audience mundane Thus meanings. obscure hitherto meaning with deeper are imbued objects — a spinning wheel becomes the wheel of until or phrase a sentence life. Repeating and it becomes all meaning is exhausted the bring to a means is meaningless, to closer audience the great traditions of the traditions music classical the great — the Turko- Muslim world of a Buddhist repetition as with the Thus, and reality is negated semantic mantra, Qawwali means literally “utterance” means literally Qawwali

also be seen as instrumental in advancingalso be seen as instrumental with the divine. Both sama’ and zikr maywith the divine. Both essential vehicle for revelation and union for revelation vehicle essential names of God are repetitively invoked, is an invoked, names of God are repetitively ceremony of remembrance, in which the in which of remembrance, ceremony , like zikr, the Sama, like — listening, audition). Medieval mystical practice of sama’ (Arabic practice mystical Medieval Sufi , it has its origins in theSufi Chishti deed. Associated in particular with the in particular deed. Associated of which helps to purify both thought and thought both to purify helps which of relating to religious subjects, the recitation subjects, to religious relating meaning an axiom or dictum qua’ol meaning an axiom or dictum in . The word stems from the Arabic in Urdu. The word

interest in qawwali. interest in the US and helped to build a far wider a far and helped to build in the US Institute, cemented Nusrat’s reputation reputation Nusrat’s cemented Institute, America, organized by the World Music the World America, organized by community. In 1993, a 13-city tour of North In 1993, a 13-city tour community. again in the US outside the South Asian the South outside again in the US in 1992 that qawwali began to be heard began qawwali that in 1992 residency at the University of Washington of University the at residency Music (BAM) in 1989 and his subsequent his and 1989 in (BAM) Music invited to perform at Brooklyn Academy of Academy Brooklyn at to perform invited it was not until was Khan Ali Fateh Nusrat until not was it ensembles visited the US from time to time,to time from the US visited ensembles While the and other qawwali qawwali and other Brothers While the Sabri recording of the time at 52.24 minutes. recording of the time at exceeded the limit of a long-playing vinyl the limit of a long-playing exceeded Nonesuch Explorer series that almost that series Explorer Nonesuch commemorated by a recording on the a recording by commemorated devotees and initiates alike. The tour is The tour alike. and initiates devotees was greeted with wild enthusiasm by by with wild enthusiasm was greeted in a sold-out concert at at concert in a sold-out subsequent tour in 1978 culminating in 1978 culminating tour subsequent the famed Sabri Brothers of . A Brothers Sabri the famed organized the first tour of the US by by of the US tour organized the first qawwali in 1975 when The Society Society Asia The when 1975 in qawwali ecstatic singing of known as Asia known singing of South ecstatic Americans were first introduced to theto introduced first were Americans PROGRAM NOTES PROGRAM Century 13th — , garden, some go beyond the stars." go beyond garden, some "It is the courage of each, it is the power of flight, Some fly and remain in the remain in fly and Some of flight, power it is the of each, the courage "It is 42 ASIF ALI KHAN QAWWALI ENSEMBLE WINTER 2014 UMS are able to move entire audiences to a “normalcy.” Thegreat mastersofqawwal harm until heiseasedbackinto astate of Holy Spirit,”friendswillshieldhimfrom gospel revival meeting is“possessedby the as whenamember of acongregation at a body toviolent convulsions. At suchtimes range from a simple swaying of the head or manifestation ofthisecstatic state can music and chant is known as hal of flight brought about through rhythmic involving trance-like states. This sensation and practitioners ofreligious ceremonies is aphenomenonwell known toshamans travel to describe their experience. This sessions often usetheconcept offlight or linguistic barriers. a new truth emerges that transcends preceded by tow introductory parts; an poem, often aghazal.Thepoemisusually Qawwali songhas, at itscore, a principle another text toemphasize apoint. Each from different poemsoraddlinesfrom the singer will join segments or verses Rarely isacomplete poemrecited—rather and regionalSouth Asianlanguages. Urdu or Punjabi, there are others in Persian (18th century). Whilemostqawwals arein popular Punjabi suchasBulleh Shah as (14thcentury) and and Hafez,aswell asIndiansaints such such asAmirKhusrau, Jalal’uddinRumi, the great Medieval Persianmystical poets of thelanguage. even ifthey donot understandasingleword Regular participants inqawwali Qawwali texts are taken mostly from visit www.umslobby.org to findthese stories. your camera atthecode, andscan to seemultimedia content; or Download afree QRcode reader apponyour smartphone,point Fateh AliKhanchangedherlife. South AsianStudies) onhow attending aperformance by Nusrat Scan for aninterview withFarina Mir(Director of theU-MCenter for . The . The hal

Program note by Robert H.Browning. background music fortelevision shows. heard inBollywood movies, as“disco”or music, albeitwithdifferent lyrics,canbe church, inrecent years qawwali style out ofthemusic oftheAfrican-American form hasevolved. Justassoul music grew than one,for,out ofboth idioms,asecular American gospel is valid in more ways God’s love. or Sheikh,whoseheart istherepository of the tavern refers to the spiritual master of Godwhichintoxicates theinitiate and “wine” and “tavern” where wine is the love well-being. Muchuseismadeoftheterms a “house” signifiesthepursuit ofmaterial spiritual qualitiesofthemaster;building such as“face” and“tresses”signify the (for GodorhisProphet, Mohammed).Terms used term“Beloved” referstodivinelove and what isDivinehuman, Thefrequently never denied—forwhat ishuman isDivine to betaken literally. Yet theprofane world is erotic orromantic nature but isnot intended with symbolism. Muchofithasaseemingly The poetry isoften allegoricalandcharged another verse introducing adifferent poem. the samemode;ifnot, thenhewillchant qawwal continues withthemainpoemin audience’s response.Ifitisfavorable, the the topic ofthemainpoemandtotest ). Thisintroduction serves toindicate sung soloinarecitative style(ruba’I or the harmoniumandanintroductory verse instrumental prelude()played on The analogyofqawwali toAfrican- BE PRESENT WINTER 2014 43 , 6

, Sayed 5 falls across himfalls 4 rings out here rings out 3 2 For an example of a song text, Asif of a song text, an example For the Guardian of religion dhamal (in praise of (in praise a na’t-i-sharif with continue to various dedicated Verses Mohammed). the that, After follow. will saints Sufi by is governed verses choice of artist’s taking of the audience, his assessment of any of the preferences note particular in person important or leader spiritual attendance. must dama “Dam perform will Khan Ali below: noted ,” with lyrics By the grace of the sacrifice of Karbala By the grace gaze of the Prophet’s By the grace demands of Asif Listen to the humble of Hassan and Hussain By the grace of my the raft make Ruby, My precious safe and sound! arrive expectations The naubat He occupies a remarkable rank in this world. rank He occupies a remarkable his abode at A beggar who arrives hands with empty go away Will not of Hassan and Husseun A descendant Men, heady, and intoxicated with joy dance the with joy Men, heady, and intoxicated Adding a rich note to the landscape Adding a rich note in the bazaars ring forth of joy Hymns to Ali full Ghaus The shade of Saint ! 1

the Prophet. on Qalandar! Descendant of the Prophet Descendant The highest level of holiness a person can achieve – here in reference to Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani – here in reference to Shaykh of holiness a person can achieve The highest level of the Prophet Grandsons Mystical dance shrines at Percussion solo played Friends of God Friends The moon and the stars hide here Where Shabaaz lives ‘tis a strange country ‘tis a strange lives Where Shabaaz Finer than Paradise, that’s the bazaars of Sewan! the bazaars that’s Finer than Paradise, He who visits your Sewan. He who visits your The great pilgrimage is made for him, The great The Beautiful One! The one housing the line of One! The one housing The Beautiful Your Sewan is the city of the blissful, is the city of the Sewan Your 4 5 6 2 3 1 Shabaaz Qalandar! Lord of the Qalandar! Lord Shabaaz Say it with Heart! The Ruby, the generous one, the generous The Ruby, it with Heart! Say My heart, my heart, my heart is drunk heart my heart, my My heart, (in praise of God) and and of God) with a (in praise Traditionally a performance will begin performance a Traditionally the audience, there is no set program. program. there is no set the audience, the artists and their assessment of of and their assessment the artists are chosen according to the mood of to the mood of are chosen according Since songs for a qawwali performance for a qawwali Since songs They are sung in Urdu, Punjabi, and Farsi. and Punjabi, are sung in Urdu, They as well as more recent . literature. Punjabi recent as more as well drawn from ancient Persian Persian Sufi poetry from ancient drawn orally. The texts of tonight’s songs are of tonight’s The texts orally. Qawwali is an art that is transmitted transmitted is that is an art Qawwali THE POETRY THE Dhamal (mystical song or dance) in homage to the Sufi saint Lal Shabaaz Qalandar, Lal Shabaaz saint homage to the Sufi song or dance) in Dhamal (mystical Text by Hazrat Sabri Hazrat by Text Dam dama must Qalandar Dam dama must Sharif, Sindh — Punjabi from Sewan 44 ASIF ALI KHAN QAWWALI ENSEMBLE WINTER 2014 UMS in western France. In2004,he returned Festival les Orientales inSt. Florent le Viell, when he performed at theprestigious over thepast10years. , Asia,, andtheMiddleEast has embarked onnumerous concert tours in religious shrines throughout Pakistan, he While continuing toofferhissingingat Institute ofFolk HeritageofIslamabad). Pakistani Qawwali” by LokVersa (National father. In1999,hewaselected“BestYoung the vocal leadership for the group from his 1995, and,withinashort while,tookover He became Nusrat’s premier student in and sincerityinured himtothemaster. impeccable diction,brilliant inventiveness, qawwali singerofthe20th century. AsifAli’s was acknowledged asPakistan’sgreatest the legendary Nusrat Fateh AliKhanwho early 1990s,hisfather introduced himto for hisoutstanding vocal qualities.Inthe days asateenager,Mr.Khanwaspraised performing withthegroup. From hisearly seven ofhissons,includingAsifAli,were took over theleadership.Bythistime,all whereupon his son Manzoor Hussain regularly heardonAllPakistanRadio. of thefirsttorecordqawwali music, andwas and Punjabi languages.Thegroup wasone their superb command oftheUrdu,Persian, spiritual (Sufi),andpopular songsaswell as both foritswiderepertoire ofclassical, Khan Qawwal, becameextremely popular the group, known at thistimeasSantoo to Pakistan in 1947 settling in . Here grandfather, Santoo Khan,moved thefamily more than80years ago.After partition, his and founded hisqawwali (Sufimusic) group classical singersoftheIndiansubcontinent Maula Baksh,wasoneofthemostfamous 350 years. His great-grandfather, Mian traces hismusical ancestry backmorethan a famous Pakistani musical family. He A ARTISTS He was first invited to Europe in 2002 He was first invited to Europe in 2002 Santoo Khan died in the late 1980s Hussain, a well-known singer from Hussain, awell-known singerfrom 1973, the youngest son of Manzoor SIF ALI KHAN was born in their UMS debuts this evening. Ali KhanQawwali Ensemble asthey make UMS welcomes AsifAliKhanandthe www.robertbrowningassociates.com. Caravan. For moreinformation, please visit Masters ofPersianMusic,and TheGypsy Europe, includingNusrat Fateh AliKhan, artists fromAsia,the MiddleEast,and tours by someofthemostinfluential than 1,800concerts andUS-organized these two organizations presented more Institute inNew York. Underhisdirection Alternative Museum andtheWorld Music Robert Browning wastheco-founder ofthe by Asif AliKhan’stour isorganized style andpresenceallofhisown. was Nusrat’s hallmark,hehasdeveloped a remaining true tothePunjabi tradition that one ofthegenre’sreiningprinces.While now that AsifAliKhanhasemergedasthe as “Emperor of Qawwali.” There is no doubt been many contenders to inherit his place Nusrat Fateh AliKhanin1997,there have Belgium, France, andGermany. and andmajor festivalsinPortugal, perform at theWOMAD festivalsinLondon Europe in2013whenhewasinvited to His huge popularity brought himbackto and at theOlympic GamesinLondon. performed in , Shanghai, Australia, WOMEX in Copenhagen and, in 2012, he Slovenia, andItaly.In2011,heappeared at Luxembourg, Belgium, Holland, Austria, brought himtomajor festivalsinFrance, Arabe. Another European tour in2008 capacity audience at theInstitutduMonde including Pariswhereheperformedtoa Switzerland, Spain,andsixcitiesinFrance, tour performinginHolland,Portugal, he embarked onamajor European the CitédelaMusique,Paris.In2005, Museum inDusseldorf, and to Europe toperformat theKunst Palast ROBERT BROWNING ASSOCIATES. Since thedeath oftheworld famous