Why Pakistan Music is Vedic based

[Guest guest]

The classical music of Pakistan has its roots in pre–Islamic times.

Hence the names of the majority of ragas have Hindu connections and

are from the Sanskirt language. Muslim musicians from Pakistan will

generally sing in the Urdu language and the lyrics, if religious,

will be in praise of Allah.

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Ten years in the making, The Music of Islam series recorded in

Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Yemen, Pakistan, Indonesia, Iran

and Qatar represents the most comprehensive sound documentation

available to Westerners today, of a world religion dating back to

622. Although governed by strict rules for fourteen centuries,

contact with other cultures has radically affected Islamic music

throughout history. As the world enters the 21st century the timing

of this collection serves an even larger purpose, documenting the

traditions that have survived and will continue to survive for

centuries to come. Today, one fifth of the world's population, one

billion people, are Muslims, occupying a large territory stretching

from the Atlantic shore of north and west Africa, through west,

central, and south Asia to island southeast Asia, and attracting an

increasing following in India, western Europe, north America, east

Asia, and southern Africa. This is a global presence which cannot be

ignored.

 

The classical music of Pakistan has its roots in pre–Islamic times.

Hence the names of the majority of ragas have Hindu connections and

are from the Sanskirt language. Muslim musicians from Pakistan will

generally sing in the Urdu language and the lyrics, if religious,

will be in praise of Allah.

 

Islamic culture, and in particular Persia, has had a profound

influence on the evolution of music. Today, Muslim musicians play a

major role in the music world. Whether they are from Pakistan or

India, names like Ustad Bary Fateh Ali Khan, Vilayat Khan, Amjad Ali

Khan, or the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan are among the great

musicians of the 20th century.

 

In this recording, Ustad Bary Fateh Ali Khan presents three ragas

for three different periods of the day: early morning, early evening

and evening. The concept of set periods of the day to which ragas

are attached is based upon how one generally feels at different

times. This is further defined by scale and the ascending or

descending structure of the raga. Each raga is in the tin-tal

rhythmic cycle, the closest to the Western concept of 4/4 time.

 

the artists

With the exquisite articulation of living legend Ustad Bary Fateh

Ali Khan, this volume in The Music of Islam series features the

traditional instruments and ragas of the classical music of Pakistan

which thrive as a living testament to the wide spectrum of cultures

and practices across the World of Islam.

One of the few great masters alive today, Indian born Ustad Bary

Fateh Ali Khan began singing at the age of eight. After partition,

his family migrated to Lahore in the new state of Pakistan. He is

accompanied by sarangi, tabla, tanpuras and svarmandal, and

accompanies himself on harmonium (an adapted version of the Western

reed organ).

 

The sarangi (a violin in the shape of a rectangular box) is played

by one of the subcontinent's great masters, Ustad Nazim Ali Khan.

The tabla (a set of two drums) is played by Ershad Hussain. Today it

is the most important percussion instrument in the northern half of

the subcontinent. The tanpura (a drone similar in construction to

the sitar but without frets and commonly with only four strings) is

played by Mustaq Ali and Ghulam Sabir. The svarmandal (a small harp

similar to the autoharp but without chord bars) is played by Sultan

Fateh Ali.

 

tracklist

1 RAGA BAIRAGI BHAIRAVI (Early Morning) 21'16"

2 RAGA PURIYA DHANASHRI (Early Evening) 24'55"

3 RAGA YAMAN (Evening) 26'02"

Total Time: 75'23"