All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. They help us know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources, so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site may not work then. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. Some of these cookies are essential, while others help us to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. This site uses cookies to store information about your computer. He said to me that the purpose was to 'reduce the distance between the creator and the created', and even at the peak of a successful international career he continued to perform authentic qawwali for little or no money in the humblest of surroundings - qawwaliвЂ™s natural home. A great number of musicians from many cultures вЂ“ in what was then defined as вЂworld music,вЂ™ sought to collaborate with the great qawwali, resulting in many joint ventures featuring qawwali-style vocals in a myriad of music styles.Д«ut NusratвЂ™s success mainly rested on the fact that while he was open to any kind of fusion, including tracks for easily forgettable Indian film music and a highly controversial ad for Coke, he never lost sight of the true meaning and purpose of qawwali. He was also the first qawwal to sing his personal favourites from the Guru Granth Sahib (Sikh Holy Scriptures), albeit in qawwali format, raising a renewed awareness of the mystical verses of poets from within all religions. His home audiences included Indian and Pakistani Punjabis, and this was the area in which he was unsurpassable singing, as he was in his mother tongue. He had a vast repertoire including not only the Khusrau songs in Hindi and Farsi from the original classical qawwali repertoire but also the vastly rich body of work left by Punjabi mystic poets of the past.

Nusrat largely followed his family style, dating back to the beginnings of qawwali, but also added a large body of his own compositions and perfected certain musical techniques - notably his unique hallmark of reciting sargam (solfege) at break-neck speed over several simultaneous and fiendishly complex rhythms. However it could still appeal at a core level to those who did not speak any of these languages and were largely unfamiliar with Sufi practices. This made it unthinkable that where vocal music was concerned, a qawwal, rather than one of the many grand masters of khayal or Dhrupad would have such a meteoric rise internationally.ДЄdditionally, qawwali is entirely text-driven, relying on a deep understanding of multiple layers of meaning drawn from the mystic verses of Asian and Persian poets. In an ironic twist, many people first experience Indian classical raags (melodic structures) for the very first time solely via qawwali, whereas the classical music pecking order in India (as well as Pakistan) had traditionally given a low status to qawwali musicians. The music has largely remained the domain of a select few, although popular watered-down versions of the genre had featured in numerous Indian films. His fan base stretched from Trinidad to Korea and Norway to New Zealand - but many of his fans were also of Indian or Pakistani origin, and had not encountered authentic qawwali in the countries of their origin before. He toured extensively вЂ“ some have said as if he realised time was running out вЂ“ performing in more than 40 countries. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is widely acknowledged as the greatest qawwali singer ever to be recorded and probably the busiest musician of his time. The singer took what was essentially the mystic music of Sufi initiates вЂ“ performed in sacred enclaves in India and Pakistan вЂ“ and transported it to secular audiences around the world with astounding success. The last decade of the 20th century witnessed an amazing musical phenomenon in the art of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (1948-1997), a hereditary qawwal (performer of qawwali) from Pakistan.

Nusrat fateh ali khan qawali