T In the Park, the Tonnonts lee Festival
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presented in association with the Mela. the annual Glasgow celebration of arts from the Indian subcontinent. and also features an opening performance by part of the huge Moroccan troupe currently visiting Britain under the Hafla! banner.
Féted internationally. ‘Pakistan's Pavarotti' has brought Qawwali music to the world‘s attention and is now a regular performer at major alternative and world music festivals such as Womad and Glastonbury.
A long collaboration with world music fusion trailblazer Peter Gabriel has seen the centuries-old Islamic traditional music take a sudden evolutionary lurch into contemporary idioms. Nusrat's group recording with fervent admirers in the music industry. from Sinead O'Connor to The Gypsy Kings.
The traditional Qawwali performance is part improvisatory. part intuitive
interaction and highly passionate. with a relationship to the audience that is central to the music. The whole Party — and for cultural reasons there are no women Qawwals — sit cross-legged around their leader. who conducts proceedings with chanted scales. rhythmic emphases and a large degree of arm-waving signals. The tabla (tuned hand drums) player is counterpointed by two members on the Indian harmonium, the little hand-worked bellows-reed organ and a hand- clapping and vocal chorus pushing the music along.
Qawwali music is the continuously evolving music of the Sufis. one of the mystical sects of Islam. The Qawwal is the devotional singer who gives utterance to the ancient and contemporary poetry praising the Prophet and the saints or celebrates union with the divine in a form which has absorbed features of Indian.
Turkish and Persian music over the centuries. The group mixes songs in either Urdu. Persian or Punjabi.
The sense of involvement and absorption in the creation of the song is communicated to audiences worldwide who never fail to be deeply moved by what is suddenly not felt to be an alien musical culture but ajoyfully accessible one.
As Nusrat explains. ‘lfan artist isn't enjoying it. then the audience won't enjoy it either. It’s great that even people who don‘t understand the language appreciate the music. It doesn‘t need words. I convey the message of the Sufis, the saints. but my music is not just for Muslims. but for anyone who believes in God. lt‘s open to anyone. Music is an international language}
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Party play City Halls. Candleriggs. Glasgow on Fri 24.
PREVIEW MUSIC
l DIE- ? monoccAu , ROLL
We don‘t often get Moroccan musicians in Scotland. but this June they're bursting out all over. The Music Village. which in previous years has brought Papua. Ethiopia. West Africa and the Caribbean to Glasgow. this year features the music. dance. percussion. " crafts and food of the North African country. with around 50 performers from city. Sahara desert. lush coastal south and the high Atlas mountains. A group of acrobats and demonstrations of textile « work. carpet-making and tiling are also promised. Titled Hafla.’. the Arabic word for celebration. the roving festival visits all parts of Glasgow dun'ng its five-day stay. The various groups are among the best-known Moroccan traditional musicians on the , distinctive shawm. flutes. f one-string fiddles. hand drums and tambourines and the oud. the Arab lute. _' Performances are I promised by Malhun musicians from the favourite 60s destination of Marrakech. the . extraordinary silver- encrusted Saharan women dancers from Tissint. an intense barrage of percussion from the Blue Men of the desert. a five- piece group playing Jajouka music from the Rif mountains. ancient slave trance music from Gnaoua and Berber dances from the middle Atlas.
In contrast and complement. multi- instrumentalist Hassan Erraji. an exponent of the darbuka. nay. qanoon. genbri and the oud. visits the Glasgow Folk Festival with his Trio Arabesque. His fusion of the traditional idioms and instruments with sophisticated and modern rhythmic and harmonic approaches has opened up Moroccan music to Western ears. (Norman Chalmers)
Hajla.’ takes place from Wed 22-Sun 26 at various Glasgow venues. See
listings for details.
T in the Park, July 30th and 31 st at Strathclyde Park
The List l7—30 June I994 31