Aziz Herawi, or Aghasab as he is reverentially addressed, carries the melodies of his native Herat to Afghani refugee communities around the world. Being born into a family of noted clerics was not an ideal circumstance for a budding creative musician; he was forced to practice clandestinely to avoid the wrath of his elders. Since Herawi's father did not approve of playing music, as a boy Herawi taught himself to play his main instrument, the dutar (a long-necked 14-stringed lute), in secret.
Perched like an eagle's nest amidst gigantic mountains, Afghanistan, known to be the heart of Asia, is one of the oldest countries of the ancient world, possessing a written history of five thousand years. Afghanistan's geographic position acted as a liaison between east and West, providing a commercial link as well as a channel of ideas, art, culture, and music. Herat, the birthplace of Aziz Herawi, in Khorasan the birthplace of Rumi, a prominent stop of the fabled "Silk Road" where traders from Mediterranean countries, Central Asia, China, Persia, and India came together. While it is difficult to trace a continuous line of development for Herati classical music from the fifteenth century to the present day, it is clear that the cross-fertilizing relationships between Persian, Afghani, Central Asian Turkic, and Indian musical cultures reflect a history of constantly changing political and economic affiliations.
Well known in Herat as an enthusiastic performer and a generous patron of other musicians, as well as for his broadcasts on Radio Afghanistan, Herawi finally left Afghanistan in 1983, whisking his family to safety across the border to Peshawar, Pakistan, and then on to California in 1985, home to some 10,000 plus Afghani refugee families.
Herat's music is a blend of Persian and Hindustani instruments and styles. His playing of the dutar and rabab (a short-necked, double-chambered plucked lute and Herawi's second instrument) is very typical of the Herat style although Herawi plays the folk melodies of several distinct cultures from many regions of Afghanistan. The pieces have the varied rhythms of the Hindustani raga forms, but are much shorter and more intense than most Hindustani music. Herawi often builds up to very fast tempos, and employs a wide range of dynamics, ometimes playing very quietly for dramatic effect.
As an international troubadour of Afghani music, Herawi has himself become part of an emerging class of xpatriate Afghani artists devoted to the survival and promotion of a new Afghani national musical culture in a world of changing social and economic values.
Cita:
Afghan musician Aziz Herawi was 7 the first time he heard the strings of the dutar being plucked. He talked one of the family servants, who hid it in a blanket, into buying the instrument for him from a shepherd. The boy would wait until his father was asleep, then sneak into the woods surrounding their home. Alone, in the dark, he practiced, teaching himself to play the long-necked 12-stringed dutar.
Herawi, is now 57 and a resident of Freemont, California. His music is a blend of Persian and Hindustani instruments and styles and considered to be typical of Herat, Herawi’s hometown, near the northeastern border with Iran.
The pieces have the varied rhythms of the Hindustani raga forms, but are short and more intense than most Hindustani music. They often build to very fast tempos, with a wide range of dynamics, sometimes becoming very quiet for dynamic effect. His lute playing also draws from Persian music, Hindustani talas, and the folk forms and rhythms of the Afghan mountains. In addition to the dutar, hel also plays the 24-stringed rubab. Herawi told the Los Angeles Times last year through an interpreter that his music comes from the “heart and soul”.
New York Times critic Peter Watrous wrote in the early 1990’s that Herawi’s music “was about abandon and ecstasy, with intense sections of improvising, always grounded in a galloping rhythm, giving way to delicate, airy moments.”
Born to a well-to-do family of mullahs, or religious clerics, the musician’s father was extremely conservative and allowed his children to listen to news on the radio but turned it off before music was broadcast. Like some conservative Christians, he believed that music caused “people to dance and loose control of themselves,” Herawi told the Los Angeles Times. The self-taught musician was still a young man when his father died, and he was able to pursue his passion openly.
“I invited well-known Ustads (master musicians) from India and other regions to learn from and to play with,” he said. “Because what drove me to music was my god-given love for it. When I am holding one of my instruments—especially the rubab— it is like I am holding on to the universe.”
While still in his 20’s, Herawi became a well-known performer in Afghanistan. He played before the king, Zaher Shah, with pop artist Ahmad Zahir, and went on the road to Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, and other Central Asian nations.
His career came to an abrupt halt in 1979 when the Soviets bombed Herat and troops arrived to round up local leaders. Herawi was away at the time, practicing with musician friends, but most of his family was killed. “I went to the mountains, sometimes on horseback, sometimes on foot,” he said. “Risk was everywhere, from the Soviets, as well as from the Soviet-sponsored local tribal forces. The risk was death and death was common.”
Traditionally, music accompanied nearly every private and public ceremony, with the exception of funerals. During those grim and desperate times of the late 1970s and early 1980s, Herawi lived in the mountains with the moujahadeen. He did not play or even hear much music for more than five years.
“I was not happy, and that is why I did not play,” he said, “it did not feel right, since the country was at war, and my family members were killed. I was given the opportunity to lead 1,500 men. And, as a commander, my mind was in the war, not music, at the time.”
As things worsened in his homeland, Herawi fled to Pakistan in 1983 and settled into the Afghani expatriate community in Northern California two years later. Despite his many years in the United States, Herawi still does not speak English well enough to be interviewed without a translator.
Herawi has released two CD’s and is working on a third. Herawi believes his primary mission is to help young Afghanis connect with a heritage they barely remember. Herawi’s music “represents the deep roots of Afghanistan, transcending ethnic, linguistic, and tribal boundaries.”
Aziz Herawi
Master of Afghani Lutes
Arhoolie CD 387, 1992
Naghmaha-Ye Klasik in Rag Beiru
01. Jhaptal/Dadra
02. Kaharwa
03. Kaharwa/Dadra
04. Charbeiti Kaharwa
05. Kaharwa/Dadra II
Instrumentals on Dutar
06. Aushari
07. Naghma I
08. Mahali I
09. Khandan-E Amaturi I
10. Khandan-E Amaturi II
11. Khandan -E Amaturi III
Instrumentals on Rebab
12. Naghmaha-Ye Klasik in Rag Pari
13. Naghmaha-Ye Klasik in Rag Pilu
14. Mahali II
15. Mahali III
16. Naghma II
17. Naghma III
Aziz Herawi - dutar (1-11), rebab (12-17)
Ghulam Abbas Khan - tabla
Omar Mojaddidi - zirbaghali (15)
Azim Mojaddidi - daira zangi (tambourine)
Anayat Habibi - daira zangi
Cita:
These splendid performances on the long-necked, 14-string duhar and short-necked rebab (both backed by tabla) reflect the increasing Indian influence on Afghan music. Though Herawi is from Herat, a musical center that once had strong Persian connections, his playing is based on Indian ragas rather than older Afghan maqam, and the tabla playing is also strongly Indian. ~ John Storm Roberts
Cita:
An expatriate Afghani currently living in California, Herawi calls himself an amateur musician but is actually a rare performer of the traditional music from the Herat valley in western Afghanistan. As its geography suggests, this area's music is a blend of Persian and Hindustani instruments and styles. The pieces have the varied rhythms of the Hindustani raga forms, but are fairly short (3 to 5 minutes each) and more intense than much Hindustani music. In addition, their melodies are based on the even-tempered 12-tone octave that in recent decades has overtaken the traditional Persian system of microtonal variations. He plays the 14-string dutar, a long-necked lute, and the rebab, a short-necked lute, accompanied by tabla, frame drum, and tambourine that provide a vigorous and dry rhythm for his robust strumming. Herawi's strength is the energy and spontaneity of these instrumental pieces. Rather than refinement or cerebral meditation, there is a healthy share of earthy melodies and passion. - Dan Maryon
Aziz Herawi - Lute Music from Afghanistan (2003) [FLAC]
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