Pure & True Rubab by Quraishi

THE MUSIC

Afghan music is unique in its richness, range, and variety. It evokes a sense of place. One senses the vastness of wild mountains in the rhythms, as well as the loneliness of the desert in the melodies. Strategically situated at the center of the ancient Silk Road the world can be heard in the intricate melodies and rhythms of Afghan music. Certainly one can hear the influence of the Indian subcontinent in the ragas and instrumentation, but the simple and haunting strains of China and the Far East are also evident in the pentatonic scales so often employed. The Central Asian shashmaquam from Samarakhan can also be made out in certain Uzbek and Tajik tunes or the ornamentation typical of the Persian Radif as found in the music from the west of the country especially from the city of Herat. But if one listens closely there is also the hint of something more, farther a field. The minor scales of the Middle East, and the intricate melodies that twist and turn and intertwine back on themselves like Greek rebetika. One is reminded of the playfulness and invention of Celtic music, or of the soulfulness of American Blues, or the improvisations of modern Jazz. In certain songs the back beat rocks. This is music that makes you want to dance. Ecstatic states are often the result of ever increasing tempos until the musicians decide to have a little fun by simultaneously stopping mid-song as in the style of music called Loggari. In other songs meditative contemplation is more the order. With a depth of feeling and the call and response of repeated phrases between musicians creating the hypnotic, mesmerizing trance-like quality of a Sufi Zikar. Of course this makes sense when one realizes that many of the origins of this music can be traced to the mystical Sufi poets and the ghazals that they wrote. Rumi, who is most often associated with the whirling dervishes of Turkey, was after all originally from Afghanistan.

THE ARTIST, QURAISHI

Quraishi's earliest influences and family lineage include musicians and instrument makers. His father made him his first rubab as a young man. Growing up in the Afghan capitol, Kabul, the self-taught artist absorbed and became well versed in the myriad folk styles found throughout Afghanistan including the regional genres of the Afghan's numerous ethnic groups including the Pashtu, Uzbek, Tajik, etc. Quraishi also steeped himself in the discipline and formalistic principals of classical Hindustani music theory that constitutes the foundation of Afghanistan's art music. Technically, Quraishi possesses a masterful sense of rhythm and an acute ear. But it is his poetic heart that moves his listeners with his sensitive interpretations of the classical repertoire infused with his fresh and youthful expressions on his original compositions.

THE DRUMMER, CHATRAM SAHNI

Chatram Sahni is a drummer par excellence, having served his apprenticeship playing on Afghan radio in the 70's. A favorite accompanist for all the famous Afghan singers, Chatram knows all the traditional Afghan rhythms.

THE INSTRUMENT, RUBAB

The rubab is the national instrument of Afghanistan. The rubab is an ancient instrument with a skin face belonging to the short neck lute family. The instrument is traditionally made with a single piece of mulberry wood, which is mystically associated with the silkworm. Typically there are three melody strings that are now most often made of gut or nylon. In addition to these strings there can also be as many as twenty sympathetic strings that are variably tuned to the modes or ragas and that impart a deep resonance that gives the rubab its unique timbre. Often the instruments are richly ornamented with inlay of bone and ivory and occasionally encrusted with lapis lazuli, mother of pearl or other modern materials that make them sparkle.

THE INSTRUMENT, DHOL

The dhol, the double-headed, typical Afghani drum, is usually made from mulberry wood with goat skin stretched over both ends and is tunable with a series of adjustable ropes. These days there are fewer and fewer examples of this ancient instrument to be found.

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