Qawwali Concert
Farid Ayaz and Brothers
Date: Saturday April 12, 2008
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Auditorium, Noor Cultural Centre
Admission: $30 in advance; $35 at the door
For tickets: Email tickets@noorculturalcentre.ca or phone 416.444.7148 ext.222
Hailing from Pakistan, Farid Ayaz and Brothers are distinguished torchbearers of Qawwali, the extraordinary devotional music first brought to the hearts and minds of Western audiences by their countryman, the late great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Qawwali is the devotional music of Sufism, meaning Way of the Heart, and draws on many centuries of Islamic poetry in a journey into the passionate, ecstatic world of the Sufi mystics.
Aided by their chorus of singers and accompaniments from tabla, dholak and harmonium, the qawwali’s principal singers Farid Ayaz and Abu Mohammed draw their audience into a transcendental world of passionate love songs. From the tranquil, meditative opening statements, the music slowly takes on a brilliant rhythmic intensity. Arms outstretched, each vocalist calls out spiraling improvisations as he soars above the hypnotic chant and driving pulse of the chorus, until finally the song reaches its ecstatic heights.