PAKISTAN Sabri Brothers – Vol. 43 - T Series 1224 SCI

PAKISTAN
Sabri Brothers – Vol. 43 - T Series 1224 SCI (Cassette)

We now present Qawwali music by the Sabri Brothers, founded by Ghulam Farid Sabri (1930-1994) from Kalyana, East Punjab, and his younger brother Maqbool Ahmed Sabri (1945-2011) in the late 1950s. The two lead singers—who also play harmonium, accompanied by a chorus of male singers, tanpuras, tabla, dholak drums, and hand-clapping—created a highly popular hypnotic and soulful Sufi devotional music based on mystical poetry and the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad.

This superb cassette conveys the live Qawwali experience via an extended free-flowing lyrical performance of reflective recitations, with the full band gradually increasing the tempo behind the Sabri Brothers’ soaring rapturous voices, and sung variations on the repetition of key verses that move the musicians and audience into a common state of enchanted ecstasy in the remembrance of God (Dhikr).

Nous présentons maintenant la musique Qawwali des Sabri Brothers, fondé à la fin des années 1950 par Ghulam Farid Sabri (1930-1994) de Kalyana, Punjab oriental, et son jeune frère Maqbool Ahmed Sabri (1945-2011). Les deux chanteurs – qui jouent également de l'harmonium, accompagnés d'un chœur d’hommes, de tanpuras, de tablas, de tambours dholak et de claquements de mains – ont créé une musique dévotionnelle soufie hypnotique et sensuelle très populaire au Pakistan fondée sur la poésie mystique et les paroles du Prophète Mohammed.

Cette superbe cassette nous fait vivre la véritable expérience du Qawwali avec une performance fluide et lyrique faîte de récitations contemplatives, avec les musiciens accélérant progressivement le tempo derrière les voix extatiques des frères Sabri, avec des variations sur la répétition de phrases sacrées qui mettent les musiciens et le public dans un état de transe collective à travers le souvenir de Dieu (dhikr).

Side A (and the beginning of Side B) – Man bole man shah-e-zaman, kaali kaali kamli hai, noor sa badan

(My heart says, Emperor of the earth (world), black is his blanket and glowing is his body (like light))

Side B1 – Mohammed ki taqdeer ne bhi kya taqdeer payi hai

(How fortunate is even the mat of Mohammed)

Side B2 – Hazrat Abu Bakr ne sadaqat sameit li

(Abu Bakr took upon truthfulness)

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Many thanks to João for sharing his collection of Qawwali cassettes.

And to our friend Eden from India for the translations of the Hindi on the cassette cover (the singing is in Urdu). Eden also hosts an excellent Qawwali website, which includes music from many hard-to-find vintage Sabri Brothers albums (click on the record covers):

https://maqboolsabri.com/

Our other Pakistani music shares:

Instrumental Music of Pakistan – HMV LKDE 20018, 1975, here

Mohammad Sharif Khan Poonch Wala – BM 30 L 2029 here

Photographs below are from Pakistan - The Music of the Qawal EMI 3C 064 - 18226 (LP) and Pakistan/Insight Guides, edited by Tony Halliday, photography by Heinz Grosse, Ara Guler, 1998:

The Tomb of Bibi Jaiwindi, Sufi shrine, Uch Sharif:

 
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