Showing posts with label Sufi singing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sufi singing. Show all posts

Wednesday, 23 May 2018

Darkawa - Zawiya Darqawiya fi Madh Khayr al-Baria - A Sufi ceremony - Cassette from Morocco


Here we present a cassette from Morocco with a Dhikr ceremony of the Darqawiyah, a well-known Tariqa in Morocco, a branch of the Shadhiliyah.
The title of the cassette means: "The Zawiya (convent, place in which Dhikr ceremonies take place) of the Darqawa in Praise of the Best of Creation." This hints at the singing of poems of praises of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS). But this cassette also contains Dhikr.
As our blogger friend Tim Abdellah who runs the wonderful blog moroccantapestash.blogspot.com/ wrote in response to our request for help with the title of this cassette:
"Sometimes poems bearing this phrase ("في مدح خير البرية" (fi madh khayr albaria)) in the title are short, and contain a series of verses beginning or ending successively with each letter of the alphabet, like this:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/390546598921590345/
and this
https://archive.org/download/sar.alhrof-1/sar.alhrof-1.jpg
Some of them, however are much, much longer. It turns out that the famous poem known as Qasidat al-Burda is actually called al-Kawākib ad-Durrīya fī Madḥ Khayr al-Barīya (الكواكب الدرية في مدح خير البرية) "The Celestial Lights in Praise of the Best of Creation". (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Burda)
I wonder whether your tape contains a poem that is specifically Darqawi in origin, or one that is in general circulation and performed here by some Darqawi brothers. In any case, I'm looking forward to hearing it!
The j-card does read juz' 4 (part 4) الجزء:4 (that means it is volume 4 of a series)
Also, the very fine print reads: تنسيق: عبد الرحيم العمراني which means something like "arranged by Abderrahim Amrani". Amrani is a moqaddem of the Fez Hamadcha, and the musical director of their group as well. So it appears that he has his hand in more than just Hamadcha music in Fez - the contact email listed on the j-card for this Darqawa tape looks like: amranifolklor@caramail.com."
Many many thanks for your very generous and very appreciated help, Tim.

We had posted in 2011 a Dhikr accompanied by Arabo-Andalusian music from a branch of the Darqawiyah. See here
Last year we posted a cassette of Sama' (Sufi singing) of the Alawiyah, a well-known Tariqa in Algeria, which branched off of the Darqawiyah at the beginning of last century. See here.
Over the years we also posted a good number of other cassettes of Sufi singing from Morocco. See under the label Morocco here on the right side.

For infos on the Darqawiyah see:

The letters (Rasail) of Shaikh ad-Darqawi exist in several English and especially French translations.

Our dear friend Danny brought this cassette from a trip to Morocco last year. Many thanks for sharing so generously.


Sidi Ali ibn Mawlay Tayyeb ibn Mawlay al-Arabi Darqawi, a grandson of Shaikh ad-Darqawi, who apparently was a follower of Shaikh al-Alawi.

Sunday, 18 June 2017

Hassan Haffar - Cassette from Syria


Hassan Haffar, who was part of the "Muezzins d'Alep" of our previous post, is one of the most famous Munshidin (singers of religious or Sufi songs) of recent decades in Aleppo, Syria. He toured a couple of times in the west, especially in France, where two CDs were released, and at the Fez Festival. See below one of the CDs.
Our dear friend Danny bought this cassette many years ago in Syria and was so kind to share it with us. Many thanks to him.



In France this fantastic set of 3 CDs was released in 2009. As always it can be obtained from: info@raga-maqam-dastgah.com


Hassan Haffar (Vocal) - Suites d'Alep - The Aleppo Suites, 3 CDs, CD 1: Suites dans les modes Yekah, Nahawand & Rast (47:27), CD 2: Suites dans les modes Hijaz, Zanjaran, 'Ajam & Sikah (47:14), CD 3: Suites dans les modes Kurd, Bayati, Bastanikar & Nakriz (48:09), INSTITUT DU MONDE ARABE, IMA 321.082-84
With an excellent booklet in French, English & Arabic including the sung poems.
„Hassan Haffar is the soloist in the eleven 'Aleppo Suites' presented here, performing with great freedom of expression. His musical and vocal skills blend introspection and sensuality and these three albums confirm him to be a master of the genre...Muezzin at the Great Mosque in Aleppo, Hassan Haffar was born in the city in 1943. A true craftsman, he was singled out for the quality, precision and strength of his voice. He was the pupil of the hymnodists Bakri Kurdi, Sabri Mudallal and 'Abd Al Ra'uf Hallaq...Accompanied by a chorus made up of his pupils he entrances the listener with the rich fullness of his lower register and the precision of his upper register. His brillant range and vocal power do not, however, exclude a rare subtlety and an exquisite refinement... “

Wednesday, 7 June 2017

Algeria - Shaykh Al 'Alawi's Diwan recorded in Annaba - Cassette published in UK in the 1980s


Very beautiful Sama' (singing of  Sufi poetry) from Annaba in eastern Algeria.

wave
mp3

Scheich Ahmad al-Alawi (1869-1934)

On Sheikh al-Alawi (qas) see:
and especially this site which contains a lot of material about the Sheikh:
His Diwan exists in English and French translations, as also many of his other works. 

Sunday, 4 June 2017

Mohammad al-Zahraoui - Sufi Songs (Sama') - Cassette published in Fes, Morocco


Since 27th of may it is Ramadan again. To celebrate it, especially the blessed nights, we post here some cassettes and LPs of Sufi ceremonies, Munshidin from Syria and Qur'an recitation.
First a cassette from Morocco, which I bought in an Islamic bookshop in Brussels in the late 1980s or early 1990s. It contains: Amdah (songs of praising Allah) & Dhikr (remembrance of Allah), Mouloud an-Nabi (celebration of the birthday of the Prophet (saws)) and Wafa ar-Rasoul (?) (I don't know what this means exactly). This is a typical repertoire as it is sung in the first part of a Majlis, a Sufi gathering.