Wednesday, May 21, 2008

1969 Mehfil - Qawwals Raziuddin, Manzoor, Bahauddin.

"The recording was made in Karachi, a rare and outstanding performance by the entire original troupe Manzoor Ahmed Niazi aur Hamnava. The troupe consisted of four major Qawwals: Manzoor, Bahauddin, Munshi Raziuddin and Iftikhar. In deference to the host of the mehfil, who was a great patron of the Qawwals, Bahauddin accompanied the troupe, despite having established himself independently, a few years earlier.

"The sheer range of voices and presence of four masters allowed for great Qawwali, as close to the traditional thing as you will hear. Notice the deliberate drawn out expression, the ranges of the taans and the variety of poetry in the couplets. Here there is rhythmically tight, yet languid, repetition of couplets appreciated by the audience. This music has the power to transport the listener to the ecstatic mystical state of the haal.

"Among the accompanists was a young singer—a couple of years younger than I—who sang with great gusto. His name was Fareed Ayyaz, Munshi Raziuddin's son, who was being inducted into the ranks of the Qawwals.

"This group of Qawwals were all related and were descendants of the Qawwal Bachche, young men trained by Hazrat Ameer Khusro, seven centuries ago, in the incipient art of devotional music that he had evolved.

"The troupe broke up in the mid sixties, with Bahauddin, Raziuddin, and Manzoor branching out on their own. Iftikhar died a premature death. Pakistani Qawwali became infinitely poorer for this disintegration." [1]

The Qawwalis sung were:

1. Composition by Ameer Khusro in Raaga Tilak Kamod
2. Iqbal's "Shikwa" and "Jawab-I-Shikwa"
3. Qaul — "Man Kunto Maula" and Salaam - "Aal-e-Nabi wa Salwatullah"
4. Qaul — "Ali Imam i Manasto Manam Ghulam i Ali"
5. Ghazal by Ameer Khusro "Ashq-i-Chashme" (اشک چشم مان برآمد)
6. Composition by Ameer Khusro "Bakhubi Ham Cho Meh" (به خوبی همچو مه) in Raaga Shahana
7. Composition by Ameer Khusro "Ay Sarv-e Nazneen-e-Mun" (اے سرو نازنین من) in Raaga Anandi





References:
[1] "Notes on the Music" by Asif Mamu.

19 comments:

Tasawwuf said...

What a wonderful treasure. Thank you so much for sharing it with me and qawwali lovers at large.

These were four powerful singers who were amongst the best. They were all mature and at their peak at the time of this recital.

Wah wah wah, Subhanallah. In ka jawab nahin.

Mujhey yaqeen hai keh Farid Ayaz bhi sun key aansoowon sey rooein gey baba ko yaad kar keh. I hope you can send him a copy.

Recently his younger brother, Ali made a copy of a similar 40 year old recording for me, which Farid heard for the first time in decades.

Qawwalli_Lover said...

Dear AK,
would you be willing to share that recording with us? Please contact me directly on my email at zain_mujtaba@yahoo.com.
I have many other recordings of Razi's, Ayyaz, and Abu Mohd, that I would be happy to share with you in return.
Thanks

bohotkhoob said...

AK, thanks for stopping by. The '69 session is incredible -- knew you'd enjoy it. I am in heaven whenever I listen to it. Can't thank Asif Mamu enough for preserving it for so many years and for encouraging us to share it.

meer said...

thats only Munshi Razi uddin with his Sons not Manzoor Bahauddin & Iftikhar.

bohotkhoob said...

Meer, my mamu (uncle) and my nana (grandfather) were there.

Unknown said...

Dear.......

you have pearls in this recording shape..........

Munshi raziuddin,Qawwal Bahaudin & manzoor Niazi is the true legend in the history of music.....

Thank you
HAMZA AKRAM(grand son of Munshi raziuddin)

pgferrari said...

Thanks bohotkhoob and Asif Mamu for this opportunity you are giving us to listen to so great legends.
Please, it would be great to listen, if possible, to the track 5 that is missing. : )

bohotkhoob said...

Hi Pedro,
I have uploaded track 5 "Ashq-e-Chasme". Thanks for pointing it out. Hope you enjoy it!

Regards.

Gulzar said...

Great Job !!!

محمد وارث said...

محترم مصنفینِ اظہاریۂ (بلاگ)ھذا۔

مجھے آپ کا بلاگ دل و جان سے پسند آیا ہے اور کچھ قوالیاں سن کر تو روح سرشار ہو گئی، واللہ۔ جزاک اللہ۔

اللہ تعالیٰ آپ سب کی توفیقات میں اضافہ فرمائے، کہتے ہیں سلامِ مردِ دہقانی خالی از مطلب نیست، مجھے بھی اپنے مطلب کی ایک بات کشاں کشاں یہ سطور لکھوا رہی ہے۔

منشی رضی الدین مرحوم کی کافی قوالیاں مجھے یہاں ملی ہیں، دراصل میں ان کی ایک فارسی قوالی کو شد و مد سے تلاش کر رہا ہوں لیکن نہیں ملتی۔ یہ قوالی یو ٹیوب پر کسی دوست نے شیئر کی ہے لیکن افسوس صد افسوس ادھوری، شاید آپ کے پاس مکمل ہو۔ یو ٹیوب کا ربط یہ ہے

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqF_xpRE1Zc

شاعر کوئی سوداگر ہیں، مطلع ہے

عاشق نہ شُدی جلوۂ جاناں کہ شناسی؟
تا سر نہ دہی ہمّتِ مرداں کہ شناسی

تو عاشق ہی نہیں ہوا، جاناں کا جلوہ کیا پہچانے گا۔ جب تک سر نہ دے گا تو کیا جانے گا کہ ہمتِ مرداں کیا ہوتی ہے۔

ایک ایک شعر آبِ زر سے لکھنے کے قابل ہے

خود را نہ پرستیدہ ای، عرفاں کہ شناسی؟
کافر نہ شدی، لذتِ ایماں کہ شناسی؟

تو نے اپنی پرستش تو کی ہی نہیں، کیسے جانے گا کہ عرفان کیا ہے۔ تو کافر تو ہوا ہی نہیں، کیسے جانے گا کہ ایمان کی لذت کیا ہوتی ہے؟

امروز نہ دیدی تو اگر روئے صنم را
فردا بہ قیامت رخِ جاناں کہ شناسی؟

آج (اس دنیا) میں تو نے اگر اپنے صنم کا چہرہ نہیں دیکھا تو کل قیامت کے دن جاناں کے چہرے کو کیسے پہچانے گا۔

اسکے باقی اشعار بھی یقیناً لاجواب ہونگے اگر کہیں سے مکمل قوالی مل جائے تو بقولِ غالب

ع- حج کا ثواب نذر کروں گا حضور کی

والسلام مع الاکرام

bohotkhoob said...

Jinaab Muhammad Waris sahib,

Asalam-o-alikum. Thank you for stopping by at our blog. Your kind comments are greatly appreciated.

I have to apologize that I have not found the Saudagar kalam in any of our recordings. It seems that Munshi Razi used it rarely. We can only hope that it turns up online someday.

In any case, thank you for providing the translation of those verses. You made my day! I had been looking for the translation for some time.

I hope you will continue to enjoy our blog and will share your impressions with us. All the best.

Regards

محمد وارث said...

اور منشی رضی الدین صاحب کی گائی ہوئی علامہ اقبال کی ایک فارسی غزل، شاید ترجمہ پہلے ہی آپ کے علم میں ہو اس صورت میں قندِ مکرر ہی سہی۔
http://muhammad-waris.blogspot.com/2010/11/blog-post.html

Musab said...

Lo and behold, I managed to get hold of a recording of the original Manzoor Niazi group.

http://lalioutloud.blogspot.com/2011/01/of-unexpected-and-unbelievable-find.html

Unknown said...

Brilliant . May Allah reward u for ur effort. Amir khusro had divine knowledge of music which he used to spread the message of Tauheed. Great work by great people

Unknown said...

Superb. Words cannot describe the beauty of this music . Amid khusro divine knowledge of music speaks louder than words. Great job . May Allah reward u

Unknown said...

Superb . Words cannot describe the beauty of qawali . It can only b felt

bohotkhoob said...

Thank you for the comments!

cupidabbas said...

Great treasure indeed,congrats for preserving and sharing such passionate melodies. Can you please tell us how to download these files?
Once again thanks
Abbas

فقیر شبیر احمد چشتی said...

عاشق نہ شُدی جلوۂ جاناں چہ شناسی؟
تا سر نہ دہی ہمّتِ مرداں چہ شناسی؟

خود را نہ پرستیدہ ای عرفاں چہ شناسی؟
کافر نہ شُدی لذّتِ ایماں چہ شناسی؟

امروز نہ دیدی تو اگر روئے صنم را
فردا بہ قیامت رخِ جاناں چہ شناسی؟

زاہد شدی عابد شدی واعظ شدی لیکن
صوفی نہ شدی مشرب رنداں چہ شناسی؟

سوداگرِؔ عاصی کہ نیں بندۂ خواجہ
اے مدعی تو عظمت پیراں چہ شناسی