Song Of The Dervish


Book Description

Thirteenth century Hindustan: Sultans ruled Delhi. Seduced by gold, they eyed rich neighbouring kingdoms. They marched from one land to another, plundering and preying on the women of the vanquished. The sultan's court was a cauldron of intrigue, where brother killed brother for the throne. Amidst this orgy of violence, greed and lust, there emerged a Sufi dervish called Nizamuddin Auliya. He offered calm to a people ravaged by fear; he offered hope where there was none. The dervish spoke of tolerance and peace among religions. There are as many paths to The One as there are grains of sand. Nizamuddin realised his Maker by feeding the hungry. He knew what hunger was like. He had gone hungry too. The dervish, like all Chishti Sufis, would have nothing to do with sultans, who were wary of him. One wanted Nizamuddin's severed head brought to his court. Nizamuddin's closest disciple was Amir Khusro, the court poet of sultans, the dervish's soul. Music was prayer for Nizamuddin. Amir Khusro created qawwali, Sufi devotional music, for his master. Song of The Dervish tells the stories of people who feel Nizamuddin's presence today, 700 years later. He offers hope and heals. No one goes hungry, no soul leaves troubled from the dervish's doorstep




American Dervish


Book Description

From the author of Homeland Elegies and Pulitzer Prize winner Disgraced, a stirring and explosive novel about an American Muslim family in Wisconsin struggling with faith and belonging in the pre-9/11 world. Hayat Shah is a young American in love for the first time. His normal life of school, baseball, and video games had previously been distinguished only by his Pakistani heritage and by the frequent chill between his parents, who fight over things he is too young to understand. Then Mina arrives, and everything changes. American Dervish is a brilliantly written, nuanced, and emotionally forceful look inside the interplay of religion and modern life.




The Song of the Bird


Book Description

"Every one of these stories is about YOU." --Anthony de Mello Everyone loves stories; and in this book the bestselling author of Sadhana: A Way to God shares 124 stories and parables from a variety of traditions both ancient and modern. Each story resonates with life lessons that can teach us inescapable truths about ourselves and our world. De Mello's international acclaim rests on his unique approach to contemplation and ability to heighten self-awareness and self-discovery. His is a holistic approach, and in the words of one reviewer: "his mysticism cuts across all times and peoples and is truly a universal invitation." The Song of the Bird uses the familiar yet enduring medium of the story to illustrate profound realities that bring us in touch with the problems and concerns of daily life, as well as with our common spiritual quest. The aim is to develop the art of tasting and feeling the message of each story to the point that we are transformed. "Let the story speak to your heart, not to your brain," the author directs. "This may make something of a mystic out of you." Enhanced by lovely ink drawings, this is indeed a volume to treasure, to share, and to read many times over, for it is everyone's best companion on the road to spiritual growth.




Song from the Land of Fire


Book Description

"Song from the Land of Fire" explores Azerbaijanian musical culture, a subject previously unexamined by American and European scholars. This book contains notations of "mugham" performance-a fusion of traditional poetry and musical improvisation-and analysis of hybrid genres, such as "mugham"-operas and symphonic "mugham" by native composers. Intimately connected to the awakening of Azerbaijanian national consciousness while ruled by the Russian Empire and the USSR, "mugham" is inseparable from the contexts in which it is produced and heard. Inna Naroditskaya provides the historical and political contexts for "mugham" and profiles the musicians, musical genealogies, and musical institutions of Azerbaijan. INCLUDES AUDIO CD.




The Music of Life


Book Description

Teachings on sound presenting a vision of the harmony which underlies and infuses every aspect of life. Science of breath, law of rhythm, the creative process, healing power and psychological influence of music.




Thus Spake the Dervish


Book Description

Thus Spake the Dervish explores the unfamiliar history of marginal Sufis, known as dervishes, in early modern and modern Central Asia over a period of 500 years. It draws on various sources (Persian chronicles and treatises, Turkic literature, Russian and French ethnography, the author’s fieldwork) to examine five successive cases, each of which corresponds to a time period, a specific socially marginal space, and a particular use of mystical language. Including an extensive selection of writings by dervishes, this book demonstrates the diversity and tenacity of Central Asian Sufism over a long period. Here translated into a Western language for the first time, the extracts from primary texts by marginal Sufis allow a rare insight into their world. The original French edition of this book, Ainsi parlait le dervice, was published by Editions du Cerf (Paris, France). Translated by Caroline Kraabel.




The Musical Element in the Viennese Volksstueck and in the Dramas of Grillparzer ...


Book Description

"Music and Song form an essential part in the daily life of the Viennese. Italian music, which was introduced in Vienna as early as the sixteenth century by the Austrian Court, by wandering minstrels, or by theatrical troupes, was welcomed everywhere and by everyone for its strong emotional force and beauty of melody. While at the Vienna Hofoper Italian operatic music prevailed by preference, the Italian songs of the commedia dell'arte were received enthusiastically by the populace of the gay capital. Such was the popularity of the songs of the commedia dell'arte that they became an important factor in the development of the Viennese Volksstück. At first one finds the musical element used sparingly in the course of this development, but, internal evidence in the texts of later plays shows a rapid increase in the use of music in the Volksstück. The present study necessarily involves a discussion of the questions, what are the functions of the musical element in the dramatic works of Viennese playwrights, and wherein lies the artistic worth of music to the play? ... The present abridged translation of the author's fuller study endeavors, therefore, to give, in a brief introductory form, the underlying factors which in a certain measure account for the particularly favorable conditions, which existed in Vienna, to encourage musical tradition, and, at the same time, to cause its application to the drama. Further, it endeavors to show that the musical element was not regarded by the playwrights of the Viennese Volksstück after Stranitzky) as an occasional and altogether unmotivated filler of their plays, but as an element with a specific dramatic purpose, e. g. to characterize, to interpret a certain action, to take the place of "asides," and the like. It concludes by attempting to estimate in what respect Grillparzer follows the general custom of his contemporary Viennese playrights in his use of the musical element, and wherein consists his contribution to artistic progress in the technique of the drama"--Introduction




Action Theater


Book Description

Each chapter of this book presents a single day of the twenty-day training which Ruth Zaporah developed into Action Theater, her investigation into the life-reflecting process of improvisation. This book shows through exercises, stories, anecdotes, and metaphors how to focus attention on the body's awareness of the present moment, moving away from preconceived ideas. Improvisations move through fear, boredom, laziness, and distraction to a sustained awareness of creative options.




Mixing Musics


Book Description

This book traces the mixing of musical forms and practices in Istanbul to illuminate multiethnic music-making and its transformations across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It focuses on the Jewish religious repertoire known as the Maftirim, which developed in parallel with "secular" Ottoman court music. Through memoirs, personal interviews, and new archival sources, the book explores areas often left out of those histories of the region that focus primarily on Jewish communities in isolation, political events and actors, or nationalizing narratives. Maureen Jackson foregrounds artistic interactivity, detailing the life-stories of musicians and their musical activities. Her book amply demonstrates the integration of Jewish musicians into a larger art world and traces continuities and ruptures in a nation-building era. Among its richly researched themes, the book explores the synagogue as a multifunctional venue within broader urban space; girls, women, and gender issues in an all-male performance practice; new technologies and oral transmission; and Ottoman musical reconstructions within Jewish life and cultural politics in Turkey today.




Dervish Dust


Book Description

Dervish Dust is the authorized biography of "cool cat" actor James Coburn, covering his career, romances, friendships, and spirituality. Thoroughly researched with unparalleled access to Coburn's friends and family, the book's foundation is his own words in the form of letters, poetry, journals, interviews, and his previously unpublished memoirs, recorded in the months before his passing. Dervish Dust details the life of a Hollywood legend that spanned huge changes in the entertainment and filmmaking industry. Coburn grew up in Compton after his family moved from Nebraska to California during the Great Depression. His acting career began with guest character roles in popular TV series such as The Twilight Zone, Bonanza, and Rawhide. In the 1960s Coburn was cast in supporting roles in such great pictures as The Magnificent Seven, Charade, and The Great Escape, and he became a leading man with the hit Our Man Flint. In 1999 Coburn won an Academy Award for his performance in Affliction. Younger viewers will recognize him as the voice of Henry Waternoose, the cranky boss in Monsters, Inc., and as Thunder Jack in Snow Dogs. An individualist and deeply thoughtful actor, Coburn speaks candidly about acting, show business, people he liked, and people he didn't, with many behind-the-scenes stories from his work, including beloved classics, intellectually challenging pieces, and less well-known projects. His films helped dismantle the notorious Production Code and usher in today's ratings system. Known for drum circles, playing the gong, and participating in LSD research, Coburn was New Age before it had a name. He brought his motto, Go Bravely On, with him each time he arrived on the set in the final years of his life, when he did some of his best work, garnering the admiration of a whole new generation of fans.