A good news story tonight from a place that
could use it.
Afghanistan
National Institute Of Music Hopes To Bring Comfort In Time Of War
A cacophony ranging from Asian
string instruments to the delicate cadences of classical piano pours out of a
two-storey building in central Kabul.
Here, at Afghanistan's sole
music academy, students are taught music with the hope it will bring comfort in
the face of war and poverty, bringing back cellos and violins to revive a rich
musical legacy disrupted by decades of violence and suppression.
"We are committed to build
ruined lives through music, given its healing power," Ahmad Sarmast, head
of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, told Reuters.
The trumpet player turned
musicologist set up the school two years ago on the site of the School of Fine
Arts' music department, which was forced to shut in the early 1990s as civil
war engulfed the country following a decade-long Soviet occupation.
The austere Taliban, who took
over in 1996, then banned music outright, something unthinkable in today's
Afghanistan, where cafes and cars blast Indian love songs and the tunes of
1970s Afghan crooner Ahmad Zahir.
But while the institute's 140
full-time pupils have little recollection of that time, they still face
hardships in their musical pursuits.
Half the students are orphans
or street children, with the rest selected after a music exam.
All are passionate about music,
said voice and flute teacher Mashal Arman, daughter of famed Afghan musician
Hossein, whose black-and-white photographs grace the school's hall.
"They are so thirsty for
music and art, it is fabulous to see the country finally changing," said
Arman, whose accent hints at her connection to Switzerland, where she fled with
her family more than 20 years ago.
Sarmast said he had also set a
quota that a third of students must be girls -- a gesture towards the plight of
Afghan women, who still struggle for basic rights such as education after 30
years of war and harsh Taliban rule.
All students receive full
scholarships to attend the school, which operates under the Ministry of
Education with significant foreign funding, notably from Britain, Germany and
Denmark. They are awarded internationally recognised music diplomas.
"The return of music is
one of the most positive changes in post-Taliban Afghanistan," said
Sarmast, who studied in Moscow and Australia before returning to Afghanistan in
2008 with a mission to establish the academy.
NO INSTRUMENTS
In one of the school's carpeted
rehearsal rooms, recently soundproofed with Afghan timber, 14-year-old orphan
Fatima strums a sitar, conjuring up sounds familiar to Afghan children, who
adore Bollywood films and their music.
"I was encouraged to come
here and I am happy for it. I love playing," Fatima said, adjusting the
pink cap covering her hair that she uses instead of a headscarf.
Her Indian teacher, Irfan Khan,
one of 16 foreign instructors at the school, watches approvingly but laments
the poverty that prevents students from owning instruments, hindering their
progress.
"We are reviving music for
those who have been deprived," he said. "However, many of the
students do not come from affluent families and are only able to practise
here".
At $600, a new saxophone is
more than $100 higher than an average worker's annual salary, according to
Finance Ministry estimates.
For star classical piano pupil
Sayed Elham, a jovial 13-year-old with a passion for Chopin, the $3,000 needed
to trade his family's Casio keyboard for a full-size piano is nothing but a
dream.
"I want our government to
improve the state of Afghan music," he said after performing Chopin's
Nocturne for some fellow students, who gathered to hear him rehearse.
Despite the school's success --
it takes on an extra 80 or so students for its two-month winter academy and is
building a 300-seat auditorium and separate building for rehearsing -- the
future for musicians in Afghanistan is bleak.
Rights taken for granted by
musicians in the West, such as copyright and royalties, do not exist, and most
recording and broadcasting fees must be paid out of the musician's pocket.
In addition, there are scant
prospects of jobs.
"We have a long way to go
to make sure that our graduates are getting just remuneration and their rights
protected," Sarmast said.
But he now hopes his graduates
will form Afghanistan's first national symphony orchestra, a vision already in
the works. (Reuters)
To celebrate we include a live concert of the greatest living Afghan
singer, Nashenas. Recorded on
cassette live in Paris and Hamburg in the 1990s. His warm voice is always
welcome.
No track listing as I’m no expert in Farsi or Pashto but if anyone wants
to provide one, I’m happy!
3 comments:
01 qurbanat shwam az ma na ranjeed (farsi)
02 dokhtare deewan (farsi)
03 lalaye zama (pushto)
04 biayam ba sare tu (farsi)
05 bara hawaye paghmaan (farsi)
06 ta da masto pa sarlee (pushto)
08 pas karavaane raft ghubaare paridayem (farsi)
09 naghma milli-watan ma de (pushto)
10 ya rab aahu e mushkin ba khotan baaze rasaan (farsi)
11 madar ye kaukabe rakhshinda ye ma (farsi)
12 same as t11
13 saaqi nande pa piyaala ke johar nashta (pushto)-fantastic.alas incomplete
i thought it would be a pitty to let these tracks nameless.why isn't track 13 not complete?
Holistic khan sahib,
track 13 is incomplete because it is a home made cassette I picked up from a friend many years ago. I guess the tape ran out!
Thanks for the translations of the songs!
hope you are well.
sorry i missed the track 7.it's a farsi ghazal by raghib isfahani.
Post a Comment