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Afghanistan: Music from Kabul

 

various artists compilation - Afghanistan: Music from Kabul

LP recorded in August 1972

Afghanistan, whose previous name was Ariyana, was so named about a century and a half ago by King Ahmad Shah. Afghanistan shares borders with China, India, Pakistan, Iran and Asiatic Russia. In ancient times these borders were crossed many times by the routes of commerce and conquest. Now Afghanistan is about to become the air route link between the western world and China. Thus Afghanistan is an important link in the chain of cultures binding Europe and Asia together.
Musically, the link can be heard by listening to pieces from various regions of Afghanistan. The western and northern music is dominated by Near Eastern or Central Asian styles, while Eastern Afghan music is heavily Hindu oriented. The musical instruments also show this interlocking of cultures.
Afghan instruments are basically simple, made up mainly of strings and drums. The string instruments most frequently used are the tanbur, a plucked, fretted lute with drone strings, the rebab, with three pairs of melody strings and ten sympathetic strings, the sarinda, a bowed, three stringed lute, and the delruba, similar in shape to the Indian sitar but smaller and bowed. The drums of Afghanistan can be divided into two groups: single membrane instruments of Persian origin with a goblet shaped body called zerbaghali, and double membrane instruments of Indian origin like the tabla, or the two-headed dhol which is an Afghan originated instrument. There is also a vertical flute with six fingerholes called the tula and the Afghan dotar, a three stringed lute which is plucked.
Afghanistan, with a total population of between 16 and 17 million, has two official languages: dari, from old Persian, and Pashtu which is an Afghan language. Around 8 to 9 million inhabitants speak Pashtu and all of the songs on this record are in the Pashtu language from the province of Nangahar which is approximately 75 miles southeast of Kabul. (from the liner notes)

Tracklisting:

SIDE 1

1. Gholam Nabi and Malang - Delruba and Zerbaghali {4:02}

2. Ustad Mohammad Omar and Ghulalahm - Rebab and Dhol {6:01}

3. Ghulam Haidar and Malang - Tula and Zerbaghali {2:11}

4. Abdul Majid and Malang - Tanbur and Zerbaghali {3:08}

5. Ustad Gholam Nabi and Mohammad Asef - Delruba and Tabla {3:26}

SIDE 2

1. Gholam Hassan and Faiyaz Mohammad - Sarinda and Dhol {3:14}

2. Kamar Gul Zakhail - Typical Love Song {5:07}

3. Kamar Gul Zakhail - Jalalabad Wedding Song {5:02}

4. Kadim and Malang - Dotar and Zerbaghali {2:03}

5. Mohammad Zakhail and Ghazi - Love Song from Nangahar part 1 {2:46}

6. Nahmattullah - Love Song from Nangahar part 2 {3:24}

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