Customer Reviews

Master of Afghani Lutes

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This is a great CD for all kinds of people, it is one of the best works of Aziz Herawi. It takes you deep into a relaxation state, where you are free of stress and worry. It represents Afghanistans tredational sounds, and culture.

I love afghani music. All kinds. I highly recommend this cd.

That Afghani classical music comes from the Hindustani tradition is obvious from numbers such as ragas Beiru (Bhairav), Pari and Pilu in Jhaptal, Dadra and Kaharwa talas. Some numbers feature a dutar - a kind of simpler sitar - and the drums are the well-known tabla.

However, the music itself is not up to par. The string instruments (dutar and rabab) have very short sustain, much like the Arabian oud and other simpler lutes, and so do not facilitate much bending of the notes (meend), a crucial ingredient in Indian classical music. Instead, the music is similar to the (in my opinion unbearable) diri-dari sarod traditions (Buddadev Das Gupta, Amjad Ali Khan etc) that trace their ancestry to Afghan rababiyas but Aziz Herawi's playing seems less melodicaly and rhythmically imaginative, presumably because his style is less cross-pollinated with other Hindustani gharanas. The disc also features folk music.

The album is not totally worthless; if you're curious about Afghani classical music, it showcases both rabab and dutar and may well be a better buy than a rabab-only CD. Nevertheless I am not as a Hindustani listener enthusiastic about the musical content at all.