MYSTIC MUSIC FROM PAKISTAN

Festival Accès Asie, in collaboration with Kabir Centre for Arts & Culture, presents an evening of Sufi Music in the form of Qawwali performed by the Abdullah Niazi Qawwals ensemble from Pakistan.

Qawwali is a form of devotional singing, originating from the Indian subcontinent. A group of Qawwals is made up of a lead singer, one or two secondary singers, musicians, and wildly clapping junior members. By repeatedly and hypnotically chanting salient phrases, they transport audiences to a spiritual nirvana, a trance-like state that some describe as akin to flying. Qawwali evokes the name of Allah in many languages, from its original Persian to Punjabi, Urdu, Arabic, and other languages of India and Pakistan. The medium’s passion and intensity has the ability to move even Western ears. Traditional Qawwali performances, or mahfils, are intimate gatherings in which listeners sit on the ground rather than on seats. This setting, traditionalists believe, would bring them closer to God.