Private/Clearspot distr. Simorg Sufi Ensemble : Fly,Fly (NL,2006)*°
A few years ago, I was lucky to have experienced a Belgian Sufi music group who held rather modestly and with small audiences, meetings of musical improvisation, spreading the word by random invitations. The leading member once was struck by lightning (really : he still had a kind of tattoo in his neck of a golden necklace which evaporated during the flash). After the strike he changed his life, organised socializing meetings with music, and in a short time played didgeridoo very well, even when he didn’t learn it from anywhere, while his young daughter improvised on harp, and at that time there was some sitar and vocals. The group was accepted by some Sufi societies and were invited by some high nobles in Morocco. Although some members didn’t learn music anywhere they had the ability to invent and uplift a certain focused atmosphere and let it flow, and do something very special with the created energy.
Now, The Simorg Sufi Ensemble is a completely different story. It is a group of seven Dutch woman who are students with Dr.Azmayesh, from Iran. This teacher studied the science of comparative religions in Paris with specialisation in Gnosis and Sufism. Besides he became an important promoter of the Nematollahi order in Iran. Shah Nematollah Vali is an important Syrian born Sufi master from the 14th century (or 8th century according to the Islamic counting). This master in his turn learned from the 8th century born Abdol-Ghader “Hafez” Maragie. Dr.Azmayesh established this music ensemble in 2004. He taught them Persian language, daf-playing and mystic poetry. This is the group’s first, private release. It is led by composer, flutist Anne-Marie van den Bercken. Although it has been said the fundament of the music are mystic Sufi rhythms which affect directly, the rhythm section is rather simplistic and amateurish, also because they follow too strictly the melody lines (perhaps the melodies evolved out of the rhythms). At its most effective they work like the earth beat powwow from the native Indians, or on “Improvisation Hu Madady Haq Madady” which has a convincing flute improvisation, and where the vocal repetition and increasing rhythm give a kind of succesful hypnotism. Compared with classical concerts of Persian music I have experienced before, the taught skills are still rather poor and amateurish which in a more theoretical interpretation could have been more developed with patience, discipline and insight. Most melody lines are attractive and seems to have some roots in our Medieval troubadour heritage, which is a very nice aspect. The, -sometimes melancholic-, piano accompanies in a very simple way as well, like the rhythms, and are mostly repeating the basic lines, which in combination give a result of a kind of naive-basic version of Persian music with a wishful element of positivism, but combined with the medieval flavour create an honest innocence in them too, which on its own level can surely colour the mood a bit as a first experienced idea. The free flute passages I think open things up well.
The album has a leaning towards the New Age movement because of the out-balance of wishing good for the world. It also is a simplified fusion between Persian music teachings and their own roots and remembrance in medieval-like inspiration and roots. With a rather simple instrumentation the wishfulness adds some sparkles of sunshine, opening up curiosity to an interesting area.
PS. Even when Sufism predated and launched ideas partly rooted in Gnosis that in its turn must have inspired the prophet Mohammed, for some close ideas Sufism was always accepted next to Islam and almost as an alternative variation with some essence in being, in Iran just recently the government started to forbid some forms of Sufi, for not being equal to their always limiting further visions. In that way I heard that there must be two very different Sufi orders, something like a government approved exoteric movement (i.e.purely ritualistic) ready to show to tourists, and the mystic and philosophical foundations. I don’t know if most people can notice these differences easily.
Some translated poems here
