Classical music night enthralls audiences

Punjab Arts Council organised a classical music night at Bagh-e-Jinnah in Lahore on Thursday.


Ali Usman June 25, 2010

Classical singers enthralled the audiences with their surs and singing at a classical music night organised by the Punjab Arts Council at Bagh-e-Jinnah in Lahore on Thursday.

The event had a full house and people could even be seen standing in the back rows to listen to the classical singers, rejecting the notion that classical singing is no longer popular in the country. Afzal Matchiswala, Shabnam, Asa-d, Ustad Akther Ali Khan, Nadeem Riaz, Ustad Badruza-man and Ustad Qamaruzaman performed at the event.

Afzal Matchiswala, who si-ngs while holding a matchbox in his hand, entertained the audience. However, he was criticised for not maintaining the sur and going off-key. His songs were neoclassical but he could not do them justice. Singer Shabnam sung ghazals of Madam Noor Jehan but she also failed to impress the audience. All to often she lost control and her voice shook because of the strain.

Nadeem Riaz, is a first gold medallist from the Punjab University Music Department, and was the highlight of the evening. Riaz not only impressed the audience but was also awarded with a round of applause from his teachers Ustad Badruzaman and Ustad Qamaruzman. Riaz sung “Rag Rageshri” which describes the difficult search for something which is vitally important, but it cannot be found. The slow beat verse (Bilumpat) of the rag was ‘Sub Gun Tero Pag Parwardigar’ (All qualities belong to God Almighty) and the fast beat verse (Dhurat) of the rag was ‘Durs Dikhao Preetum Piarey’ (Show yourself, dear beloved).

Riaz entertained the audiences with the tight control he held on notes and the good  quality of his voice. Time and again, the audience awarded him with a thundering round of applause.

Ustad Akhter Ali Khan sung “Rag Jog”. He captivated the audiences with his voice quality and excellent control on breath.

The Pride-of-performance-winning brothers Ustad Badruzaman and Ustad Qamaruzman sang “Rag Suriya Kaunce”. The rag, comprising of five surs, has never been sung by anyone before. But the brothers brought the audience to their feet with their mesmerising performance. “Suryia Kaunce” is a rag of extreme joy and spontaneity and true to its meaning, it delighted the audience.

A member of the audience, Muhammad Rizwan, said that the art councils should organise such classical evenings regularly to promote classical music.

Singers told The Express Tribune that the art councils has been promoting classical singing but the media has ignored it. They said that the government should acknowledge classical singers and should take concrete steps for the promotion of classical singing.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 26th, 2010.

COMMENTS (1)

imran | 13 years ago | Reply It is heartening to learn that our newspapers have started covering our cultural activities so seriously. It is very necessary for us to promote our cultural heritage life classical music. The news item reported by Mr. Ali Usman is an excellent one as he has reported it in detail with sufficient explanation of the difficult classical music.
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