The Qawwals of Pakistan, Sufi devotional musicians Mehr and Sher Ali, will perform on April 17, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. in Murch Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
Qawwali is is the devotional music of the Sufis to attain trance and mystical experience -- originating in the 10th century and blossoming into its present form from the 13th century onwards.
An ensemble of usually twelve male performers convey a religious message through music and song based on mystic poetry by Sufi masters. The texts usually deal with divine love ('ishq), the sorrow of separation (hijr, firaq) and the union (visal), these concepts being symbolically reinforced and illustrated by the music. Qawwali blends Iranian and Central Asian poetic, philosophical and musical elements into a North Indian base, combining popular music with classical traditions.
Mehr and Sher Ali were born in the Pakistani border-town of Kasur in the early 1950s and received their earlier training in classical music from their father who was a court classical singer at the small Sikh principality of Patiala (now in India).
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