The Michigan Daily-Thursday, March 30, 1978-Page.5
ARTS ARCADE
... a weekly
roundup
f
e
Brother, can you spare
a balalaika?
MOSCOW - The parents of aspiring
folk musicians in the Soviet Union are
worried about the latest shortage - no
instruments.
The newspaper Soviet Culture, which
earlier complained about a severe shor-
tage of the national instrument, the
balalaika, now says the shortage has hit
a wide variety of other instruments.
It printed letters from worried paren-
ts who complained that their children
cannot continue their studies because
they cannot find violins, flutes and a
number of other instruments.
Boston pops no more
BOSTON - "Fireworks are
beautiful," says conductorArthur
Fiedler. "Having them after the con-
cert is just like an after-desert to a din-
ner."
But at this year's Fourth of July
celebration in Boston, fireworks have
been banned so folks can hear the
music of the 83-year-old maestro and
the Boston Pops.
The commission which runs the park
on the banks of the Charles River,
where the annual July 4th concerts are
held, said it banned the boomers
because of last year's unruly crowd
which drowned out the Pops' music
with firecrackers.
Down home
therapy
COUNTRY SINGER Roy Orbison sent
a specially recorded message by plane
to a 15-year-old fan in a London
hospital. Doctors believe the voice of
her idol might bring Michelle Booth out
of the coma she has been in for 10 days.
with the vast bulk slated for 25-year
loan to Philadelphia's Academy of
Natural Sciences.
Recent deaths 4
* Bill Kenny - the last surviving
member of the Inkspots singing group,
Kenny died a week ago in British
Columbia, where he had lived for the
last 25 years. He was 63.
* Sydney Wragge - Wragge was
founder and first president of the Coun-
cil. of Fashion Designers of America
and president of B.H. Wragge Ca.lHe
died last Thursday at the age of 70, a
two-time recipient of the Coty Award -
the most sought after prize in the
fashion world.
The Arts Arcade was compiled by
A rts staffers Owen Gleiberman,
Mark Johansson, Christopher Pot-
ter, and Alan Rubenfeld, from the-
AP and UPI wires.
A bird in hand is worth
two in the safe
WASHINGTON - The Fish and
Wildlife Service has founda fortune in
bird and animal portraits by famous ar-
tists stored in a vault and hanging
ignored in its offices, officials said
Saturday.
They said the 487 works by such
renowned nature artists as Louis
Agassiz Fuertesband John James
Audubon have been appraised at
$416,000 in total value.
The paintings and sketches - many
described as in "superb condition" -
will soon be distributed to museums,
Salvage job?
THAT'S RIGHT, FOLKS, Paramount announced Tuesday that William Shatner
and Leonard Nimoy will once again command the star ship U.S.S. Enterprise,
this time in a 15-million-dollar major motion picture. Most of the original crew
will be ressurected to appearin the movie version of "Star Trek," and the ship
NOON LUNCHEON
Soup & Sandwiches 0C.
Friday, March 31
Professor Tom Weisskopf
Department of Economics
Socialism Democracy
at GUILD HOUSE
802 MONORE (corner of Ooklond)
will be fitted with the most sophisticated
technology.
instruments known to 23rd century
Musical mystic
from Pakistan
By MATTHEW KLETTER
D URING THE middle of the week
came one of the most emotionally
inspiring and spiritually captivating
concerts of the year. Wednesday night
at Rackham Theatre brought the Sabri
Brothers, singers of the inspiring
devotional, a group of Qawwali
musicians from Pakistan.
The Sabri Brothers are a musical ex-
pression of the Sufis, a mystical branch
of Islam. They present vocal music by
soloist and ensemble singers, accom-
panied by drum, harmonium and han-
delapping. Their songs praise Allah, the
Prophet Muhammad and the saints,
and tel of, imstical love creating an ec-
static devotional ambiance.
The Sabri Brothers presented
mystical poetry in Persian, Hindi, and
Urdu using a fluid style of alternating
solos and group passages characterized
by repetition and improvisation. The
music has the instruments echo the solo
phrases while the chorus sings the
original theme. The objective of all of
this is to induce in the audience a state
of intense devotion, culminating in
divine ecstasy.
IN TERMS of the components which
make up this music, the Sabri Brothers
opened their tunes with a basic melodic
frame based on a seven-degree octave,
using a variety of scale types. The
music works on a two line verse struc-
ture, consisting- of a lower part, the
principal portion, and the higher part
which reaches the upper portion of the
octave.
This diverse structure enabled the
two brothers (Ghulam Farid Sabri and
Maqbool Ahmed Sabri) to trade off
reciting statements and answers affir-
ming the greatness of Allah. The
statement' and answer segments of
most of their material lent themselves
to improvisation, which was
strengthened by the strong rhythm of
the six other men who wer
singing and playing various instrumen-
ts (the Nal, Tabla and Dholak). These
rhythms provided an ample structure
for the metered poetry to be integrated.
The poetry the brothers sing is in-
spired by the classic love poetry of an-
cient Persia, and the combination of
music and poetry is a popular means of
intensifying the love of God and in-
ducing spiritual visions. The poetry and
improvisational lyrics affirm the unity
of God and absolute distinction between
creator and created. Mystical love is
the central concept and the core of
Sufism.
AT THE CONCERT a program along
with translated poems was handed out.
From this excerpt, you should be able
to understand the concepts expressed in
Qawwali music:
It was a beautiful night,
In a peaceful world of
gentleness and love,
City of Oak Park, MI'
ThiSstate of bliss inspired Allah
to call his beloved to him,
Thus at the invitation
from the omnipresence,
The prophet started on his ascent
to the highest,
The beauty of the prophet
was such that even
Allah could not bear the separation.
Audience response is very influential
in Quawwali music and was seen in one
of its forms at the concert as various
Pakistanis responded with offerings of
money. These offerings symbolize the
Sufi's link with the Hierarchial chain
leading to God. In Pakistan the
Qawwali music is so hypnotic that
several devotees will rise and move
freely within the central space, turning,
gesticulating or shouting if they feel so
moved. Inside Rackham the crowd was
not moved this much, but they did seem
to enjoy the performance very much.
It seemed that the Pakistani crowd
which formed the majority of the
audience tends to be more inhibited in-
side the U.S.A than that which might be
found in Pakistan. Apparently the per-
formance this last weekend in Detroit
(which cost three times as much to see)
received a response of a tremendous
amount of money being thrown at the
musicians and more participation on
the part of the audience, which was
evident by the dancing in the aisles that
took place at Wayne State.
Nonetheless, Wednesday night's per-
formance lasted for two -and a half
hours. The. amount of time is worth
noting, for if the ceremonial need or the
mood of the assembly were lending it-
self, the Sabri Brothers might have
played the entire evening. This non-
westernized form of music was very en-
joyable to watch and listen to, and oc-
casionally it seemed as though the
large distance from here to Pakistan
was greatly reduced.
At Sarah Lawrence College,
Professor A. Sandler describes the
Qawwali music this way: ". . . that
mood, which simultaneously exudes
devotion and submission, is the very
essence of this music, this poetry, this
song, and the mystical way that is its
source and kin. The musiciin is not
rushed for time. He is not working
within the bounds of time. The limits of
his song are set, not by time, but by the
lofty theme he exposits . . . and this is
the very essence of mysticism: to tran-
sport oneself from the realm of time to
that other realm of timelessness, the
realm of the eternal." This quote pretty
much sums up the performance of the
Sabri Brothers last Wednesday night.
. Budget Fares
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