The Sabri Brothers, Aziz Warsi and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan are associated with which form of music?

Explanation

The Sabri Brothers, Aziz Warsi and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan are all famous singers of qawwali, the devotional music of the Sufis.

Qawwali is a form of Sufi devotional music that developed in the Indian subcontinent. It is traditionally performed at the dargahs (shrines) of Sufi saints, such as the dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi and the dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer. The poet and musician Amir Khusrau (1253-1325), a disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya, is regarded as the father of qawwali. A qawwali is performed by a group of singers, called a party, led by a main singer (qawwal). The singers are accompanied by the harmonium, the tabla or dholak, and rhythmic hand-clapping. The songs, often in Urdu, Persian, Punjabi or Braj Bhasha, express love for God, praise of the Prophet and the Sufi saints, and the longing of the soul for union with the divine. A qawwali usually starts slowly and builds up to an intense, ecstatic climax, which is meant to lead listeners to a state of spiritual ecstasy (wajd).

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (1948-1997), from Pakistan, is regarded as the greatest qawwali singer of modern times. He was known for his extraordinary voice and his ability to sing for hours, and he made qawwali famous around the world through his collaborations with Western musicians. The Sabri Brothers (Ghulam Farid Sabri and Maqbool Ahmed Sabri), also from Pakistan, were famous for songs such as "Bhar Do Jholi Meri". Aziz Warsi was a well-known Indian qawwal. Other famous qawwali singers include the Wadali Brothers, Aziz Naza and Abida Parveen (who sings Sufi music).

Why not the other options?

• ✗Dhrupad is the oldest form of Hindustani vocal music.
• ✗Thumri is a light classical form of Hindustani music.
• ✗Carnatic music is the classical music of South India.