Worlds of Music; Vocal and Instrumental Music of Afghanistan
- Series
- Worlds of Music
- Producing Organization
- World Music Institute
- WNYC (Radio station : New York, N.Y.)
- Contributing Organization
- WNYC (New York, New York)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip/80-32r4xzm5
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- Description
- Program Description
- THE WORLD MUSIC INSTITUTE & COLDEN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS AT QUEENS COLLEGE present VOCAL & INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC OF AFGHANISTAN SHAH WALI ARANASAZ AZIZ HERAWI SIAR AHMED HAZEQ Saturday, January 9, 1993 8:00 P.M. Queens College Concert Hall at Colden Center in Flushing This concert is part of the World Music Institute's New Americans Series and is made possible in part by a grant from the Folk Arts Program of the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funding was made available by the New York State Council on the Arts. Music of Afghanistan The borough of Queens has recently become host to a new group of immigrants from a part of the world that is little known and even less understood in the United States. Over the past seven years more than 5 million Afghans have been forced to leave their rugged mountainous homeland in the wake of a brutal civil war and foreign intervention that has brought devastation hitherto unheard of in that part of the world. Afghanistan has had a long and turbulent history; positioned at the crossroads of Asia with the present day borders of Pakistan to the South, Turkmenistan, Tadjikistan and Uzbekistan (former republics of the U.S.S.R.),to the north, Iran to the west and China to the east, it has been variously invaded and occupied by Greeks, Persians, Arabs, Mongols, Turks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Tadjiks and Pashtuns. But if one were to add together the slaughter and destruction of all the wars and battles fought on Afghan territory from the time of Alexander to the British-Afghan wars of the last century, it would amount to little compared with the carnage of the past twelve years. The music of Afghanistan reflects the diverse ethnic mix of its people. While the boundaries are not nearly so clearly drawn, one can, as with Western music, define three basic categories - classical music (klasik), folk music and popular urban music; the emphasis on all being vocal. While Afghan classical music is today overwhelmingly governed by the Indian (Hindustani) model- raga, two other forms may be found in western and northern Afghanistan - those of ~ran and Uzbekistan; these are closer in nature to Persian music. Folk music, on the other hand, is highly regional, dependant on ethnic and tribal identity and varying from village to village. Whereas classical music employs mostly Indian instruments (tabla, tamboura, sitar, etc.) in addition to the rubab ( a short-necked lute - the Afghan national instrument) and the harmonium, folk music employs an extraordinary variety of plucked and bowed lute, drums, flutes and reed instruments depending on the ethnic identity of the performers. Of particular note are: the dholak, a double-headed drum found in various shapes and sizes throughout West and Central Asia; the sorna, a simple oboe commonly used throughout Asia and North Africa during wedding ceremonies; the dambura and dutar, long-necked fretted lutes; and the ghichak, a two string fiddle usually constructed from a kerosene can. In addition, the North Indian tabla, a pair of tuned drums, the zirbaghali (goblet shaped drum), daira (frame drum with jingles) and the harmonium, a small portable organ introduced by European missionaries, are common. The third category, that of urban popular music, is by far the most common and cuts across ethnic boundaries. As with the folk and classical genres, the emphasis is on singing and accompaniment is usually provided by the harmonium, tabla and rabab. The term "urban popular music" refers to a wide range of song types that vary from light classical ghazals sung in Dari (Afghan Persian) to kiliwali - popular songs sung in Dari or Pushto, the language spoken by three-fourths of the Afghan population. Ghazals, which are popular throughout Pakistan and North India, include both classical poems from ancient Persian literature often of mystical and/or erotic nature, as well as contemporary poems written in the same style. The kiliwali repertoire includes love songs and patriotic songs and has been largely nurtured in Kabul, the capital by Radio Afghanistan, a major patron of Afghan urban music. Two styles in particular played an important part in the development of the music of Kabul; Hindustani classical music, and the regional music of Logar. Hindustani music was adopted as the "official" music or preferred genre of the court and elite over a century ago, and still maintains a stronghold on the aesthetic sense of many Afghans. Logar, a region just south of Kabul, is an area inhabited by Pashtuns, an ethnic group that represents the power base of traditional rulers of Afghanistan. Musically speaking, the Hindustani style emphasized raga or melodic modal development associated with classical vocal music. The most famous vocalist known for this classical style was Ustad Mohammed Hussain Saraghang. He was one of the artists most favored by the royal and elite families of Kabul. Most noted for singing khyal, a vocal style involving improvisation and ornamentation dependent upon knowledge of the classical music system as well as the ability to display technical vocal virtuosity, he was also remembered for his Persian ghazals. The ghazals were appreciated more for the text than for their melodies. The renderings of these lyric poems were similar to the khyal in vocal style and ornamentation, but with much less attention paid to improvisation or musical development. The Logari style was characterized by a kind of instrumental rhythmic drive and energy associated with folk songs and dances of the region. Radio artist, Durai Logari was regarded as synonymous with Logari folk style. His "sound" was just as much the characteristic sound of his ensemble consisting of rabab (short-necked plucked lute), sarangi (bowed lute), armonia (harmonium, portable reed organ with keyboard) and dholak (double-headed barrel-shaped hand drum). The sarangi added characteristics portamento slides while the rabab and dholak provided the .stop and go. rhythmic element most identified with dances from this region. These two styles, known respectively as klasiki (classical) and Logari contributed to a popular urban style that characterized the music of Radio Afghanistan. Ustad Qasem is generally identified as one of the most influential figures in developing Afghan music. During the formative years of radio music programming in the late 1940s and 1950s, Ustad Qasem composed, arranged and performed in an urban style which drew from both the klasiki and Logari styles in terms of vocal style and orchestration. He also recruited radio singers from the amateur, non-hereditary ranks of musicians. His recruitment of amateur musicians contributed much to the bifurcation of radio performers. The vocal artists were mainly amateur singers who imitated the classical style, but who did not have formal training or knowledge of that style. Ustad Qasem also incorporated Western instruments such as clarinet and piano into the ensembles, thereby further emphasizing the amateur element of urban music. On the other hand, the traditional instrumentalists remained professional musicians who tended to retain their regional styles. The two instruments played by Aziz Herawi are the Afghan rubab and 14-stringed Herati dutar, both forms of plucked lute. The rubab is a short necked double-chambered lute with three main strings of gut (or nylon), and sets of metal drone and sympathetic strings. It is strongly associated with the Pashtun people and is regarded as the national instrument of Afghanistan. In the 1850s the Afghan rubab was developed into the Indian sarod, probably in Lucknow. In contrast, the 14-stringed dutar is a long-necked lute characteristic of the western province of Herat. Until the 1950s the Herati dutar had only two strings, made of gut, and an unusual system of fretting which gave some of the "neutral. intervals (between a semitone and whole tone) of Persian music. The 14-stringed version of the instrument was developed in about 1965, and shows how the dutar was adapted to incorporate features from the rubab, such as metal sympathetic strings and a system of fretting congruent with the division of the octave into 12 semitones. On both instruments the shortest sympathetic string is raised by a small protuberance on the bridge to allow it to be struck in isolation in a special right hand technique called simikari (metal-string work). The use of this technique is a special feature of Aziz Herawi's virtuoso style. Afghan musicians distinguish between vocal (khadan) and instrumental music (naghma). In the typical song the verses (khandan) alternate with instrumental sections (naghma). In this concert the two soloist perform in different styles, thus the songs by Shah Wali and the instrumental music of Aziz Herawi are played separately. Notes edited by Robert Browning from material provided by Lorraine Sakata, Mark Slobin and John Bailey. References Bailey, John. "Cross-Cultural Perspectives in Popular Music: the Case of Afghanistan" in Popular Music " edited by Middleton and Horn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981, pp. 105-121. Hoopen, Peter Ten. Afghanistan: Music from the Crossroads of Asia. Explorer Series, Nonesuch Records, H-72053, 1973. ' Sakata, Hiromi Lorraine. Music in the Mind: The Concepts of Music and Musician in Afghanistan. Kent: Kent State University Press, 1983. Slobin, Mark. Music in the Culture of Northern Afghanistan. University of Arizona Press. The Artists SHAH WALI TARANASAZ is a well known singer from Kabul with a wide repertoire that includes songs from various regions of Afghanistan, ghazals and classical ragas. Taranasaz was primarily known in Kabul for his radio programs. For more than twenty years he ran a program for Radio Afghanistan in which he presented a wide range of regional music. Since emigrating to the United States, however, he has become acknowledged as a singer in his own right and is much in demand at concerts and weddings. He is also a prolific composer and his songs have been performed and recorded by a number of prominent singers. He has recorded a number of cassettes in the United States for Nillab Music. AZIZ HERAWI comes from a wealthy religious family in Herat. His father was very much against music and Aziz learned to play the dutar as a boy in secret.. He embodies many of the characteristics of the shauqi, or amateur musician: he is self-taught, has a passionate interest in music and knows little of formal music theory. He was well known in Herat as an enthusiastic performer and as a generous patron of other musicians. His dutar playing is very typical of amateur musicians in Herat. He often builds up to very fast tempos, he uses the simikari technique a great deal, and he employs various idiosyncratic devices, such as playing very high notes and using extreme variations in dynamics. These are not the result of influence by Middle Eastern "night club" music, but part of the ~. modern Herati dutar style. His rubab playing is in a similar vein. Aziz Herawi became a refugee from the war in Afghanistan, moving first to Pakistan and later to the United States. He has made two recordings in the U.S., a cassette on the World Music Institute label and a CD on the Arhoolie label. SIAR AHMAD HAZEQ is also a refugee from Afghanistan. He was brought up in the city of Kabul. He is one of the leading tabla players amongst the Afghan population in New York and much in demand for parties and other celebrations.
- Genres
- Performance
- Media type
- Sound
- Duration
- 00:07:35
- Credits
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Co-Producer: Colden Center for the Performing Arts
Engineer: Haber, Edward
Engineer: de Mark, Michael
Performer: Taranasaz
Performer: Herawi, Aziz
Performer: Hazeq, Siar Ahmad
Producing Organization: World Music Institute
Producing Organization: WNYC (Radio station : New York, N.Y.)
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
WNYC-FM
Identifier: 68018.1A (WNYC Media Archive Label)
Format: DAT
Generation: Original
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WNYC-FM
Identifier: 68018.1B (WNYC Media Archive Label)
Format: DAT
Generation: Original
Duration: 00:07:35
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WNYC-FM
Identifier: 68018.2A (WNYC Media Archive Label)
Format: audio/vnd.wave
Generation: Dub
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WNYC-FM
Identifier: 68018.2B (DAVID 48k FOLDER)
Format: audio/vnd.wave
Generation: Original
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- Citations
- Chicago: “Worlds of Music; Vocal and Instrumental Music of Afghanistan,” WNYC, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed May 4, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-80-32r4xzm5.
- MLA: “Worlds of Music; Vocal and Instrumental Music of Afghanistan.” WNYC, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. May 4, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-80-32r4xzm5>.
- APA: Worlds of Music; Vocal and Instrumental Music of Afghanistan. Boston, MA: WNYC, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-80-32r4xzm5