Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was a renowned Pakistani musician known for his powerful contributions to the genre of qawwālī, a form of Sufi devotional music. Born into a family with a long history of qawwālī performance, Khan initially faced opposition to pursuing music, as his family hoped he would become a doctor. However, after his father’s passing, he embraced the family tradition and quickly gained recognition performing at festivals in Pakistan. His international breakthrough came in the mid-1980s when he participated in the WOMAD festivals, leading to collaborations with notable Western artists and the release of albums on Peter Gabriel's Real World label.
Khan's music blended traditional qawwālī with innovative elements, employing techniques from North Indian classical music and incorporating electronic instruments alongside traditional qawwālī instruments like the harmonium and tabla. His performances uniquely emphasized the text of Sufi poetry, often exploring themes of divine love and ecstasy, as seen in his notable songs like "Ni Main Jogi De Naal" and "Mustt Mustt." Through his artistry, Khan not only popularized qawwālī on a global scale but also became a cultural ambassador for Pakistani identity, leaving a lasting legacy that continues through his nephew, Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. His music aimed to convey messages of truth, humanity, love, and peace, reflecting the spiritual essence of Sufism.
Subject Terms
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Pakistani world music vocalist and songwriter
- Born: October 13, 1948
- Birthplace: Lyallpur, Pakistan
- Died: August 16, 1997
- Place of death: London, England
Khan, a performer of qawwālī, introduced this genre of Sufi devotional music to new audiences throughout the world.
The Life
Born into a family of qawwālī performers that stretched back six centuries, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (NEWS-raht FAT-eh ah-LEE kahn) was not encouraged to become a qawwāl (a performer of qawwālī). His family wanted him to become a doctor. After the death of his father in 1964, Khan dreamed that his father encouraged him to become a qawwāl. He followed his family’s musical legacy, performing at festivals in Pakistan and rising quickly in popularity among qawwālī audiences. Khan’s career shifted to international audiences in the mid-1980’s, when he was included in Peter Gabriel’s World of Music, Arts, and Dance (WOMAD) festivals. Consequently, he began to collaborate with Western artists, and his albums were released on Gabriel’s Real World record label. Khan died suddenly in London in 1997, at the age of forty-eight, from cardiac arrest.
The Music
Khan’s approach to the qawwālī genre focused on aspects of tradition as well as innovation. Stemming from the Chishtī sect of Sufi mysticism, qawwālī is a form of nonliturgical Islamic expression, which uses music as a medium to achieve union with God. Khan was true to tradition in that he stressed the primary importance of the text: His adaptation of Sufi poems to musical accompaniment was the exclusive focus of his performances. Nevertheless, he is also remembered for the important innovations he introduced in performance. Specifically, his use of sargam, syllabic techniques of North Indian classical music, traced a connection between his performances and other musical genres of the North Indian region. Moreover, his collaborations with rock musicians such as Gabriel, Eddie Vedder, and Michael Brook represented intercultural encounters, where electronic instruments were combined with the traditional instruments of the qawwālī ensemble: lead singer or singers, chorus, harmonium (hand-pumped organ), tabla, and dholak (drums).
“Ni Main Jogi De Naal.” First released on Khan’s 1991 album The Day, the Night, the Dawn, the Dusk, “Ni Main Jogi De Naal” is based on a Punjabi poem by the eighteenth century Sufi poet Bulleh Shah. Like many qawwālī texts, it uses the metaphor of worldly love to celebrate the relationship between the devotee and God. In this poem, a village girl reveals her love for a jogi (mendicant), who, in the last stanza, is finally revealed to be the prophet Muhammad. This final revelation gives a heightened significance to the throbbing refrain sung by Khan and the chorus throughout this performance.
The presence of Hindu imagery (for example, jogi from the Sanskrit yogi) in a Sufi text highlights the syncretic nature of the qawwālī genre. Indeed, this is reinforced by Khan’s own performance: the melismatic passages of Khan’s voice trace a connection with the North Indian musical genre of khayāl, a genre putatively linked to the origins of qawwālī.
“Haq Ali Ali.” This song is included on many of Khan’s albums, and the version recorded on Greatest Hits of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (1997) lasts nearly twenty-five minutes, considerably longer than renditions found on other releases. The most significant aspect of Khan’s performance here is the way he embellishes the text with a series of rhythmic improvisations. He repeats one phrase, “ali maula,” in varying rhythmic figures while descending and ascending through the raga (melodic mode used in qawwālī). Indeed, Khan’s tendency to repeat one phrase for long periods of time became one of his stylistic signatures, which when performed in concert led to ecstatic responses from faithful fans.
“Mustt Mustt.” If the performance of traditional qawwālī is considered the core of Khan’s musical contribution, it was his collaboration with Western rock artists that first afforded him wide popularity. Based on a Punjabi poem written by Bari Nizami, “Mustt Musst,” released on Mustt Mustt, uses the metaphor of intoxication (mustt) to represent the blissful experience of the Sufi devotee. The text of “Mustt Mustt” further explains that chanting the name of Ali, a prominent Sufi saint, produces this divine intoxication.
The musical setting for the poem mixes elements of traditional qawwālī performance with the compositional techniques of Brook. Brook’s sparse, funk-derived guitar phrases together with slap-style electric bass and traditional tabla create an eclectic foundation for the vocals of Khan and his group. After progressing through the call-and-response stanzas, Khan uses traditional North Indian sargam while performing rapid vocal improvisations, thus creating a thick mix of traditional qawwālī and Western rock styles. Furthermore, the unique sound created by Khan and Brook reached an even greater audience when it was remixed by the band Massive Attack, becoming a surprise dance hit.
Musical Legacy
Embracing both tradition and innovation, Khan introduced the music of qawwālī to millions of people worldwide. Furthermore, because of his musical achievements and popularity, qawwālī has become a symbol of Pakistani identity. While collaborating with several Western musicians to create new varieties of fusion, Khan adhered to his main purpose: to spread the musical message of Sufism, seeking, as he said, “to portray a message of truth, humanity, love, and peace, to bridge the gap between Allah, the Almighty, and the human being.” This task has now been passed on to Khan’s nephew, Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, who has become Khan’s successor in their family’s tradition of qawwālī.
Principal Recordings
albums:Shahen-Shah, 1988; Mustt Mustt, 1990; The Day, the Night, the Dawn, the Dusk, 1991; Magic Touch, 1991; Shahbaaz, 1991; Devotional Songs, 1992; Love Songs, 1992; Devotional and Love Songs, 1993; Ilham, 1993; The Last Prophet, 1994; Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Party, 1994; Pakistan: Vocal Art of Sufis, Vol. 1, 1994; Pakistan: Vocal Art of Sufis, Vol. 2, 1994; Back to Qawwālī, 1995; Revelation, 1995; Intoxicated Spirit, 1996; Mega Star, 1996; Night Song, 1996; Prophet Speaks, 1996; Akhian, 1997.
Bibliography
Ehrlich, Dimitri. “Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: A Tradition of Ecstasy.” In Inside the Music. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1997. Ehrlich, a music journalist, interviews Khan on the role of spirituality in his performance of qawwālī.
Qureshi, Regula Burckhardt. “Music, the State, and Islam.” In The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: South Asia, the Indian Subcontinent. New York: Garland Publishing, 2000. Qureshi examines crucial issues of music making in Pakistan, including musical internationalization, with special mention of the music of Khan.
Sakata, Hiromi Lorraine. “Devotional Music, Pakistan.” The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: South Asia, the Indian Subcontinent. New York: Garland Publishing, 2000. Sakata gives an overview of devotional music in Pakistan, paying special attention to the role of Sufi religious expression, particularly within the music of Khan.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. “The Sacred and the Profane: Qawwālī Represented in the Performances of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.” The World of Music 36 (1994): 86-99. Sakata examines how Khan’s performance of qawwālī negotiates between spiritual and secular issues.