For my annual tribute show for the great Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, I am looking at two main things: the role the build up and release of tension plays in Sufi music, particularly Morrocan sufi music and Nusrat's Qawwali; and, since I'm celebrating the bicentennial of the birth of Franz Liszt this year, a piano recital of his mystical religious music.
| Zikroulahi Cheikh Lo - Hommage a Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Network |
| Unknown Said Berrada - Unknown - Fesmatic |
| Khawaja Tum Hi Ho Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Party - Dust to Gold - Realworld |
| Mangte Hain Karam Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Party - Greatest Hits - Shanachie |
| Liszt was named after St. Francis of Assisi and St. Francis of Paola, they both proved very influential in Liszt's life, not least the extreme financial and artistic generosity of Liszt. He wrote several wonderful piano pieces inspired mostly by St. Francis of Assisi. His Cantico del Sol was originally a choral piece with text from famous book of St. Francis of Assisi, he also composed a piano solo version. We also hear his two Legends, with some of his most beautiful impressionist piano writing. Interspersed between these three works is three versions of his Alleluia (the Magnificat is the earliest, unpublished version), a very short, yet incredibly powerful and ecstatic piano piece, it is based on themes found in the Cantico del Sol. Each subsequent version increases the buildup of emotional tension which is finally released in Philip Thomson's recording. |
| San Francesco - Preludio per il Cantico del Sol Franz Liszt/Leslie Howard - The Complete Music for Piano Solo vol. 25 - Hyperion |
| Cantico del Sol di San Francesco d'Assisi Franz Liszt/Leslie Howard - The Complete Music for Piano Solo vol. 25 - Hyperion |
| Magnificat Franz Liszt/Leslie Howard - New Discoveries Vol. 3 - Hyperion 
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| Legend: St. Francis of Assisi preaching to the birds Franz Liszt/Wilhelm Kempff - Great Pianists of the 20th Century vol. 56 - Philips |
| Alleluia Franz Liszt/Leslie Howard - The Complete Music for Piano Solo vol. 7 - Hyperion |
| Legend: St. Francis of Paola walking on the waves Franz Liszt/Wilhelm Kempff - Great Pianists of the 20th Century vol. 56 - Philips |
| Alleluia Franz Liszt/Philip Thomson - Complete Piano Music vol. 4 - Naxos |
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