Qawwali

Originally performed at Sufi shrines or dargahs throughout The Indian subcontinent,[1] it is famous throughout Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and has also gained mainstream popularity and an international audience as of the late 20th century.

While hereditary performers continue to perform Qawwali music in traditional and devotional contexts,[2] Qawwali has received international exposure through the work of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Aziz Mian and Sabri Brothers largely due to several releases on the Real World label, followed by live appearances at WOMAD festivals.

Other famous Qawwali singers include Abida Parveen, Fareed Ayyaz & Abu Muhammad, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Badar Miandad, Rizwan & Moazzam Duo, Qutbi Brothers, the late Amjad Sabri, Wadali Brothers, Nizami Bandhu, Bahauddin Qutbuddin, Aziz Naza, among others.

Traditional qawwali practice is built upon a system of hereditary training, in which qawwals are part of the service community connected to a particular shrine.

Their primary function to the shrine is to service formal activities, primarily the death anniversaries of Sufi saints (Urs).

[12]The songs which constitute the qawwali repertoire are primarily in Persian, Urdu, and Hindi,[13][14] although Sufi poetry appears in local languages as well (including Punjabi, Saraiki, and dialects of northern India like Braj Bhasha and Awadhi.

The Sufi poets whose texts have made up the qawwali repertory often used worldly images to convey mystic spiritual love.

[17] Qawwals bear the responsibility of maintaining a spiritually appropriate context for such songs, so as not to distract from the religious focus of the Qawwali occasion.

The longest recorded commercially released qawwali runs slightly over 115 minutes (Hashr Ke Roz Yeh Poochhunga by Aziz Mian Qawwal).

Qawwalis tend to begin gently and build steadily to a very high energy level in order to induce hypnotic states both among the musicians and within the audience.