Performing Ghazals

In the cultures of its origin and development, the ghazal is a lyric for music. Just a little time with Google will take you to sites about ghazal music, as in this site. In English, the ghazal is considered a form of poetry and not a form of lyric for songs. Poetry in English is often performed but not often with music. (Some lyrics stand well as poetry, but that's coming at the topic from a different angle.)

People from cultures where the ghazal is a form of music are often surprised by the Western view of it as a form of (printed) poetry. Western poetry has been performed to music: the poetry and jazz movement that originated in San Francisco is one example. Yet music and poetry haven't become very popular. Perhaps the ghazal can be the form that brings poetry back into cooperation with music.

Raindust, whose ghazal "Clouds & Rain" appeared in the special issue featuring that radif, has released a CD of poetry and music, Grin and Gulp Ghazals. Raindust performs the poems with an accompaniment of various percussion instruments (including a lawn mower!) and an oud on a few tracks. Here is her performance of "Clouds & Rain" in MP3 format.Download Clouds & Rain

Raindust's NadaOm Web site contains information on her practice and teaching of Nada Yoga (the yoga of sound). I will post soon on her mentor, Francis Brabazon. In the meantime, if you know of other meldings of the English ghazal and music, please let me know about them.

Comments

[Niranjan Sarkar]

Hi,
Would like to clear some misconceptions which the people of the West may assume due to some ill-informed sites on the internet... 'Ghazal' has never been a component of the Hindustani classical music. Ghazal has always been a form of urdu poetry, right from its birth in the Indian subcontinent. 'Ghalib', 'Meer', 'Daagh', 'Momin' etc. during the mughal rule, were all poets, and not singers. Their works, along with the contemporary Urdu poets are still published in Urdu as well as Hindi, as poetic works.

It is the present younger generation (esp. Indians) that is unaware of the ghazal as a poetic form. Hence such ill-informed sites find their place on the internet.

Ghazal as a form of music was popularized in India and Pakistan around the 1930-1940s by the then Hindustani classical masters. These artists were masters in classical music and hence presented the ghazals too in that flavour.

In the late 40s, artists like K.L.Sehgal, Begum Akhtar and Master Madan were singers who started to present the ghazal as a form of semi-classical music. Notably, it was Begum Akhtar, who was the pioneer in bringing the ghazal out of the clutches of the classical 'Raaga' renditions to semi-classical 'Thumri' forms.

Later on Mehdi Hassan further simplified the renditions and was popular not only in Pakistan, but also hugely appreciated in India. In the mid-70s, a young couple released a ghazal album by the English title, "The Unforgettables", which had new sounds and the latest use of recording technology available at that time. It contained works of both traditional and contemporary urdu poets. The ghazals in this album were rendered in a fresh soothing voice and with minimal classical complications. It was this album of the now famous, Jagjit and Chitra Singh, that revolutionized the ghazal as a commercial music form in the late 20th century and the 21st century.

Ghazal as a commercial music form in India would not have survived the barrage of pop,rock,rap,jazz etc., had it not been for the music of this couple, till date. Chitra Singh gave up singing after the tragic death of their only son, while Jagjit Singh still goes on and mesmerizes the old and the new generations alike.