| THE AWESOME POWER OF PAKISTANI QAWWALI
AT THE RAINFOREST WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL
The Rainforest World Music Festival, organized by the Sarawak Tourism
Board, enters its 8th year in 2005.
It is also supported by the Sarawak Cultural Village, the official
carrier being Malaysia Airlines MAS, and sponsored by Unilever,
Heineken Music and fRoots.
The festival tries to bring in as many different kinds of bands
and music each year. The criteria for the selection of the bands
range from the genre, the origins, the ethnic instruments involved,
the historic, social and sometimes political backgrounds, geographical
locations, and more.
But perhaps, highest on the list for the organizers, is that each
band - whether it is the pure roots type of world music, or fusion
world beat – must be able to reach out and produce an intense
as possible emotional response with their performances.
RWMF 2005 will not be any different.
From Pakistan comes a powerfully gripping personality.
FAIZ ALI FAIZ is descended from seven generations of qawwali musicians.
Qawwali, the musical dialect of religion in Northern India and Pakistan,
is characterized by strong insistent voices backed by a small chorus,
clapping of hands and propulsive percussions.
The late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was a legend in and out of Pakistan.
Since his death in 1997, there has been a hushed speculation about
who could be the next one to step into such large shoes.
FAIZ ALI FAIZ has been said to be the one.
His uncle, Rehmat Ali Khan, who now performs with him on harmonium,
also used to play with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
Faiz Ali was born in 1962 in Sharaqpur, between Lahore and Faisalabad
and started his professional career as a singer in 1978. Though
from the west, he more commonly practises the doaba style that is
characteristic of East Pakistan.
He was an ardent admirer of Nusrat Ali and frequently uses the
master’s compositions. He has also added his own brand of
style and his voice encompasses a wide range and has a richness
of tone and penetrating intensity. And his virtuosity with his voice
is unparalleled.
This is why there has been rave reviews calling Faiz Ali the new
voice of Qawwali.
The word qawwali is derived from the Arabic word Qaol which means
"axiom" or "dictum". A Qawwal is one who sings
qawwali, or the dictums of the prophets and praises of God.
The Koran teaches man to remember God. This remembrance, known
as dhikr, may be either silent or vocal. The qawwali may be viewed
as an extension of the vocal form of this remembrance.
The qawwali has also moved into the secular world in the 20th century.
The rising appeal of the film industry also served as a rise in
popularity of the qawwali. There was a season when a qawwali was
a mandatory part of the formula Hindi films.
The performance of a qawwali is involves a group. This is different
from a classical performance which revolves around one person. Within
the group, there is one main vocalist or qawwal, and a group of
supporting vocalist. The audience too is considered a participant
in this event
The musical accompaniment is varied – harmonium, tabla, dholak,
sarangi, saringda, and rabab, are common instruments. Furthermore,
a simple clapping of the hands serves as rhythmic support.
Like classical music, tals or musical patterns are used, but in
such a way as to produce a fast paced hypnotic beat.
The framework of the qawwali is also similar to traditional classical
forms – it starts with the alap in a lower register to set
the atmosphere, moves into a medium speed middle section before
climaxing with the increasing acceleration of speed, excitement
and power.
The festival will be held at the Sarawak Cultural Village from the
8th – 10th of July this year.
As always, the structure of the festival will centre around the
main stage evening shows as well as workshops over the 3 afternoons.
There will also be food stalls, handicraft outlets in the village
which is about 45 minutes drive out of Kuching.
Tickets are already out on sale priced at RM60.00 per day and will
be valid for both workshops as well as the evening show. Children
aged 3 – 12 years old can obtain tickets at RM30.00 per day.
Free admittance would be extended to children aged 2 and below.
Tickets can be obtained from the Visitors' Information Centres
in Kuching, Miri and Sibu, the Sarawak Cultural Village, and Sarawak
Tourism Board or call Rudy at 082-423600 or e-mail: rudy@sarawaktourism.com
Packages are also available from several tour agencies and hotels.
Check out the website at www.rainforestmusic-borneo.com for more
information and contact numbers.
There will be a controlled number of tickets sold for each night.
It would be advisable to try and get the tickets early. One could
also buy tickets at the gate provided it hasn’t been sold
out for the night. Do ring the Sarawak Tourism Board to check for
availability of tickets if you are planning to get them last minute.
At the WOMEX music trade fair last year in Germany where a lot of
hard-nosed professionals in the music industry were present, FAIZ
ALI FAIZ earned a standing ovation from these people who have usually
“been-there, seen-that” attitudes.
FAIZ ALI FAIZ’s star is predicted to rise even higher. Here
at the Rainforest World Music Festival, we hope to be remembered
as the first stage to have hosted him in South East Asia.
Yeoh Jun Lin
Artistic Director
Rainforest World Music Festival
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