Songs for The Beloved: Qawwali Music

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Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Sufi Qawwalis
Arc Music

(Review from Cranky Crow Whole Music)

 I doubt Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan needs an introduction to anyone viewing this site since this late Sufi master vocalist garnered acclaim in South Asia as well as, other corners of the world. His transcendental vocals have appeared on the soundtracks of Bollywood and Hollywood features and he performed his Sufi traditional concerts to spellbound audiences worldwide. Just listening to the four tracks on Sufi Qawwalis, Love Song, Naat-e-Sharif, Song of Praise and Traditional Qawwali will send your spirit soaring to great heights. You don't need to meditate or do anything beyond slipping this disc into your stereo.

 Hailing from a long lineage of practitioners of qawwali (the Indo-Pakistan version of Sufi music which traveled to the subcontinent in the 13th Century and was transformed by the Sufi poet and composer, Hazrat Amir Khusrau), Nusrat was poised for success. And yet, similar to Hindustani sitarist, Ravi Shankar, Nusrat strayed from classical music concert halls and sacred venues to loan his vocal talents to mainstream projects. I did raise an eyebrow when I saw that Nusrat donated his talents to the soundtrack for Natural Born Killers, (it's hardly a spiritual film).. I guess what matters in the end is that Nusrat was able to bring Sufi consciousness to the world at large.

 This recording offers its listeners ecstacy as they too connect to The Beloved, The Divine, God, Goddess... May Nusfrat Fateh Ali Khan's spirit live on.

 Arc Music
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