Performance Case Study: Professional and amateur musicians in northern Afghanistan

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• Dr Razia Sultanova (University of Cambridge)
• Wednesday 20 February 2013, 17:00-18:00
• Recital Room, Faculty of Music, West Road.

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Afghanistan is a war-torn country connecting the Middle East with Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Since the 1970s the country has lived through a number of invasions and conflicts with different opponents: the Soviets, Mujahedin, Taliban and the Western Alliance, producing chaos and turmoil in the daily life of its people. Those wars and conflicts are reflected in Afghanistan’s rich popular culture. Numerous music genres are performed on a daily basis in different environments, ranging from aggressive militant anthems sung in guerrilla camps, to Sufi chants resonating in local mosques. At the same time domestic music making is still based on classical tunes, folk songs of religious origin or teasing limericks performed in female gatherings. Based on data recorded during my fieldwork in Afghanistan (supported by a grant from the Cambridge Committee for Central and Inner Asia), my paper will explore the various ways in which these different musical genres are implicated in the country’s past and present state of conflict.

This talk is part of the Faculty of Music Colloquia series.

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