This week we will hear one of my favourite recordings, an absolutely glorious live recording of an Aissaoua Sufi ceremony recorded deep in the Medina of Marrakesh, Morocco. This is music intended to provoke and sustain an extreme emotional reaction in the listener, or participant rather, with the goal being spiritual catharsis and temporary oneness with the divine. In a sense, the music is fairly straightforward, all the music progresses--in Aissaoua terms as "rising towards the hot". This means the music usually starts slower, quieter, with sparser percussion, lower voices with wider ambitus. As the music progresses it slowly grows in intensity, the percussion will become more dense, the voices will be higher, the volume will rise and at some point, there will be a sudden shift which could be into a slower, more insistent rhythm or a faster rhythm, the women will cry and ululate. At one point in the ceremony, this crossing into the "hot" will be accompanied by the doublereeded ghaitas which will eclipse the voices.
For me, this is living music at its very best, communal music which moves the participants to extremes and strives for transcendence.
| Dikr part I Aissaoua Sufis - The Music of Islam vol. 5 - Aissaoua Sufi Ceremony - Celestial Harmonies |
| Dikr part II Aissaoua Sufis - The Music of Islam vol. 5 - Aissaoua Sufi Ceremony - Celestial Harmonies |
| Fatha Aissaoua Sufis - The Music of Islam vol. 5 - Aissaoua Sufi Ceremony - Celestial Harmonies |
| Dikra part III Aissaoua Sufis - The Music of Islam vol. 5 - Aissaoua Sufi Ceremony - Celestial Harmonies |
| Invocation Aissaoua Sufis - The Music of Islam vol. 5 - Aissaoua Sufi Ceremony - Celestial Harmonies |
| About half way through the next piece, when the music is getting close to the "hot", the singing intensifies, the women ululate and cry out, the large tbel drums appear with a new rhythm and we finally hear the ghaitas, just a few notes at first, the players wetting the reeds, and then they are unleashed! Eclipsing the voices they elevate the music to an even higher level, and all restraint is gone now with the drums, they are just pounding now, you can hear some participants overwhelmed and sobbing, breathtaking! |
| Ada part II Aissaoua Sufis - The Music of Islam vol. 5 - Aissaoua Sufi Ceremony - Celestial Harmonies |
| There is some singing but mostly the music is given over to the ghaitas. They play almost continuously. The musicians use a circular breathing technique so they never have to stop, their screaming sustains the emotion at a fever pitch. |
| Scene Inauguration Aissaoua Sufis - The Music of Islam vol. 5 - Aissaoua Sufi Ceremony - Celestial Harmonies |
| Dikra Rebbania Aissaoua Sufis - The Music of Islam vol. 5 - Aissaoua Sufi Ceremony - Celestial Harmonies |
| Closing Music Aissaoua Sufis - The Music of Islam vol. 5 - Aissaoua Sufi Ceremony - Celestial Harmonies |
| The ghaitas and percussion we have just heard belong to a very old human history: wind instruments--pipes, brass--and drums have been the traditional public, outdoor music throughout the world since they'll usually be the loudest acoustic instruments. They are used for public declaration, a call to attention like fanfares, festive and joyful music, and religious ceremony like we just heard. My show theme by Arvo Part is very much in this old old tradition. The rest of the show will feature some examples from far flung parts of the world, Madegascar, Macedonia in southern Europe, and a really great fusion of Scottish pipes and Brazilian percussion. |
| Io Ranomasina Rakoto Frah - Flute Master of Madagascar - Globestyle |
| Maxutu Kocani Orkestar - l'orient est rouge - Cramworld |
| 6/8 Itapuan MacUmba - Don't hold your breath - Green Trax |
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