Soul music

There's been a good range of cultural stuff to do in Amman recently - I remember feeling a bit bereft when I first got here after having London and Brighton's cultural offerings to choose from, but a combination of Amman getting a new cultural listings magazine and the usual summer festivals has almost left me spoilt for choice on some days.

As well as various art gallery openings and the almost weekly themed free cinema festivals from the Royal Film Commission, we had a great 5 day Sufi festival last week, with performances from a different Sufi music group every evening. Sufism describes the more mystical, sometimes almost shamanic side of Islam, and Sufis around the world are well-known for having a variety of musical and dance forms that help them to come closer to God through entering a state of religious rapture or trance - the whirling dervishes are the most famous, but there are others like the Qawali music of Pakistan.

We went to a fantastic concert of Qawali music on the Sunday, a group of very happy-looking musicians starting slower - just a guy and a little accordian - and then getting faster and faster with more and more drums until they reached a stomping crescendo. Lots of fun!



I found the Syrian musicians and whirling dervishes even more mind-blowing ... starting with a very powerful singer on his own, which reminded me of a particularly beautiful call to prayer ...



Then the dervishes themselves started with a slow rhythm and a very stately walking in circles ...



then they get a bit faster ...



and faster and faster, until after about 5 minutes they just stop! Without falling over!



And inbetween the dancing there was some fantastic music using a whole range of instruments (check out this link to find out more about the instruments in traditional Arabic ensemble). Each of the instruments got their own solo section as well as all playing together, and I discovered both new instruments as well as new ways to play familiar instruments. The first video below has a percussion interval - and who knew there was so much you could do with a tambourine - while the second is a solo by the fabulously intricate plucked instrument called a Qanun ...