After hearing Zakir Hussain, and listening to his first qawwali, Israeli composer Shye Ben-Tzur landed in Ajmer. To figure what he did between then and the release of a Hebrew qawwali album, read on

What does a Qawwali in Hebrew sound like?

After hearing Zakir Hussain, and listening to his first Qawwali, Israeli composer Shye Ben-Tzur landed in Ajmer. To figure what he did between then and the release of a Hebrew Qawwali album, read on

Being a Hebrew Qawwali singer can't be easy. Israeli Hebrew may borrow colloquial terms from Arabic but, for a singer, it is the difference in content that may be a hurdle: While Hebrew music places much importance on the piyyutim, or liturgical poems, the Qawwali form focuses primarily on the mystical aspect of Islam.

This is what makes Israeli composer Shye Ben-Tzur so interesting for lovers of world music. Former member of a rock band, his curiosity about Indian music was born after attending a concert featuring Indian maestros Hari Prasad Chaurasia and Zakir Hussain. An introduction to the Qawwali form made him a convert and, to cut a long story short, he arrived in Ajmer to study under the renowned qawwals practicing their art in that hallowed city.

To find out what he did after those years of study, we picked up his album, Shoshanu00a0-- a collaboration between Ben-Tzur, qawwali and folk musicians from Rajasthan. Apparently, parts of it debuted at Chennai's world music EarthSync Festival 2009, but there's nothing like a studio recording to help bring nuances to the fore, is there?

First off, the title track is infectious. The song Dil ke Bahar has a strong Sufi strain running through, and sounds like something Pakistan's Sabri Brothers could have come up with. The folk harmonies of Rajasthan also come through nicely on Daras Bin. And, vocalist Shubha Mudgal makes a surprise guest appearance, as does Spanish flamenco guitarist Fernando Perez and a host of respected qawwals.

There are some unimpressive pieces of music too, like Sovev, sung in Hebrew, but much of the album manages to engageu00a0-- a huge surprise considering this is a melting pot of Sufi poetry, Rajasthani rhythm and western sounds. Apparently, the album's title is Hebrew for "rose". It sounds as sweet.

Shoshan, Shye Ben-Tzur, EarthSync (earthsync.com). Available for Rs 395 at leading music stores.

Hear it online
EarthSync is offering a special online offer on Shoshan on its website till January 15 2010, where the full album can be downloaded for a very special discounted price. For more details, log on to www.earthsync.com

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