Spirit of Sufi Vocals Fill Sabris

Before Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s burst of international popularity in the ‘90s, the Sabri Brothers were the most famous practitioners of the Sufi spiritual music called qawwali, and Pakistan radio’s most popular group of the ‘70s.

On Wednesday at the Veterans Wadsworth Theater, the Sabris offered an illuminating display of the elements behind their appeal. Although qawwali is essentially a thousand-year-old religious expression, generally based on inspirational texts from ancient poetry, it also is music filled with powerful rhythmic momentum and ecstatic vocalizing. And there was no absence of either in the Sabri Brothers’ performance.

The eldest brother, Haji Ghulam Farid, died in 1994, and the lead singer now is Haji Maqbool Ahmed Sabri. He was backed by a “party,” or ensemble, of 10 singers and instrumentalists.

Their presentation was simple enough. A set of small harmoniums, constantly pumped by hand, laid down a drone, percussion (tabla and dholak) joined in, and Maqbool Sabri’s voice began a soaring vocal. As with most music from the area of the Indian subcontinent--from classical to popular--the singing was filled with complex melismas, intricate movement of the voice through individual syllables, and brisk, percussive rhythms. Unique to qawwali, the vocals overlapped, with first one voice, then another, carrying the melody line forward, with the full chorus occasionally joining in.

Typically, the program began somewhat slowly, building continuously from song to song, reaching high points of passionate expression as the music’s emotional content escalated.

The experience, for the capacity audience, was intense--there was no denying the ability of the Sabri Brothers’ qawwali to generate an emotional receptivity that transcended barriers of language and culture.