"Raaz-e-Ulfat" (The Secret of
Love) – Ghazals and Nazms of Faiz
by Dr. Pooja Goswami Pavan & troupe
For Immediate Release
An ode to love and humanism in the Twin Cities on Sunday, March 15, 5:00 pm
A rare treat is in store for music-lovers. Hindustani (North Indian classical) vocalist and composer, Dr. Pooja Goswami Pavan, will perform Ghazals and Nazms (art songs of love) on Sunday, March 15 in Plymouth. Pooja's five-member ensemble will present both, traditional and new, musical interpretations of the poetry of the celebrated Urdu poet, Faiz Ahmed Faiz (1911-1984), drawing upon the tonal contours of Indian classical and semi-classical music. The ensemble includes highly accomplished artists from India and the USA, performing on the Sarangi, Harmonium and Tabla, alongside Pooja. Professor Bilal Hashmi (University of Toronto), noted scholar of Urdu literature, will provide live interpretation of Faiz's poetry in this concert.
Faiz's verses provide a verbally-delectable insight into, not only the myriad hues of love and beauty, but also, of humanism, freedom and resistance against oppression. The Ghazal's rhyme, rhythm and meter, when overlaid on the rich soundscapes of Indian classical music, make for a bewitching experience. In her brilliant Ghazal album "How Shall I Say", Pooja offered us a glimpse of this magic. More of the same can be expected at this live concert, following on the success of a similarly formatted concert celebrating the iconic poet Mirza Ghalib in July 2019.
She has a soaring voice that mingles our suffering with joy. Her phrasing is always exact as she rides the devotional river. Robert Bly, Minnesota's Poet Laureate
At Pooja's concert (to a packed and enthusiastically animated house), great sonic victories greeted the thankful ears of the open-hearted. Dean Magraw, Guitar Maestro
Encountering her voice for the first time is startling. It's a soaring sound, slipping between notes with ease, bending with exquisite control ... Euan Kerr, Arts Reporter for MPR News
"Raaz-e-Ulfat", by Dr. Pooja
Goswami Pavan and Co, on Sunday, March 15, 2020 at 5:00PM, at The Plymouth
Playhouse, Ramada Hotel and Conference Center, 2705 Annapolis Ln N, Plymouth,
MN 55441. Tickets: $20 (Advance) / $25 (Door). For advance tickets and more
information: http://www.poojagoswamipavan.com/events
or call 612-508-3716.