
concert
SUFIANA KALAM FROM KASHMIR
First set
Ustad Ghulam Mohammed Saznawaz and his ensemble
Sufiana Kalam is the most exemplary form of Kashmir’s classical music. Initially linked to the spiritual tradition of Sufism, its repertoire is made up of vocal and instrumental compositions called maqam, which are centred on the interpretation of sung mystical poems in Kashmiri, Persian and Urdu. This music is traditionally played during long night sessions called mehfil, during which the spiritual master (pir, shaykh) and his disciples come together to meditate on the meaning of the verses, all the while letting themselves be penetrated by the beauty of voices and instrumental timbres.
Ustad Ghulam Mohammed Saznawaz is the last great master of the Sufiana Kalam tradition. In any case, his ensemble is the only to have preserved the tradition in its original form. Sombre, entrancing and beautifully simple, his interpretation renders justice to the contemplative dimension of Sufiana Kalam.