"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.
"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.
