A Secret Turning in Us Makes the Universe Turn

Five days! Yes, friends, we'll be singing qawwalis for five days next June, in the dunes round Schoorl, one of the most beautiful spots on our coast. On top of that, there's a two-day workshop in the weekend. We'll hopefully go a bit 'deeper' this time, not just in singing, but also in the text we are singing.  THE PROGRAM The program will be in two distinct parts. The first three days, from Wednesday through Friday evening, a (probably smaller) 'advanced' group will go more intensively into the art of singing qawwalis. The weekend, when we expect more people to take part, will take a broader perspective and the style will be somewhat more free. And the idea is for those who have been at it for three days already to help carry the others along. During the weekend, in addition to qawwalis, there may be dancing and drumming and other improvised activities, impossible to foresee now. The details of the program will depend on the people who turn up as well as on the mood. WHO IS THIS WORKSHOP FOR? The advanced part is primarily meant for those who have done qawwali before, or have some knowledge of qawwalis and Indian music. The weekend is for everybody who's ready to have a go at it. Doesn't matter if you're an old hand or if it's the first time you sing qawwalis; doesn't even matter if it's the first time you sing. Beginners just sing happily along, if Kiran is in the mood he'll explain a lot, and if not you'll find your way anyhow. Even if you don't want to sing, but just listen, you're very welcome..	In the middle of the Dunes near Schoorl lies the centre 'Heel en Al', semi-hidden in a small valley. It's a small centre - we'll have it all to ourselves.
Prices and other information Arrival on Wednesday, June 5th, from 9:30; start of the workshop at 10. End of the workshop Sunday June 9th, 5:00 p.m. If you come for just the weekend: workshop starts Saturday at 10:00 a.m., though you are welcome to join us Friday night for a "poetry evening." Those who cannot make it for 5 days or the weekend are welcome for any length of time, especially on Saturday night, the traditional 'open night'. Be sure to let us know - as far in advance as is practical - if you want to have dinner with us. The price for five days is € 250, just the weekend is € 100. For paying members of the Sufi Way these prices are: € 210 and € 90 respectively. Prices include lodging, food (vegetarian.) and drinks. Attending an evening is € 15, an evening with dinner is € 25. If you come from abroad, the most practical (and cheapest) way of payment is just cash. (If the cost is an impediment, contact Ied Wiener; there is a small fund for just this purpose. If you want to attend please contact Hans Mabelis, preferably by email (hans@hansmabelis.nl) or else call or write to Ied Wiener, tel. +31-71-407-2813, Schoolstraat 32, 2225 KT Katwijk aan Zee. After you register we'll send a detailed description of how to get there and some additional practical tips. For further information contact: hans@hansmabelis.nl or 020 6267225	What is a qawwali? "Qawwali, the ecstatic music of the Indo-Pakistani Sufi tradition, is mystical and devotional poetry set to music and sung by a group with one or two lead singers, generally following a call-and-response format. Some qawwalis speak praise of the Prophet, saints and teachers; others sing of deep longing, mystical experience, or existential bemusedness. Styles of qawwali range from fiery improvisation to a quiet melodic and rhythmic surging. Accompaniment may come from harmoniums, drums, zithers, flutes and the hand clapping of the chorus. In our programmes we learn and practice traditional qawwalis, as they may have been sung for centuries; we also explore the form in a creative and primary way, from simple raga scales and rhythms to lyrics and improvisation to song. To make qawwali more accessible we may sing compositions in English." Kiran Rana
HERE WE COME TURNING A secret turning in us makes the universe turn We don't know if we're on our feet or head We don't care - we keep turning I turn - and this one of me turns into a hundred me's They say I circle around you - but I'm turning around me Jelaladdin Rumi There are quite a lot (many, in fact) qawwali groups in The Netherlands. Quite a lot of concerts are given. Most of these groups present qawwali as an 'exotic' form, the devotional songs of mysterious and faraway Sufis. Our qawwali teacher, Kiran Rana, is in his own words, an 'amateur'. Yet he is an amateur with a mission: to bring qawwalis to the West - but not as an exotic article to be awed by but as a living experience, one that has as much relevance to our daily lives as it has for 'them over there'. Knowing what you are singing, being able to enter into the flow and fusion of music and message and even improvise in both, are an important part of the meaning and the joy of a qawwali. That is why, at some point, we must sing in a language we know well enough to be able to understand and improvise. In the last couple of years we have done an English qawwali 'adapted' from the song 'Thy music causeth my soul to dance' written by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan. Kiran has also written a new qawwali, in English called Here We Come Turning. The gist of the meaning is beautifully conveyed by the lines from Maulana Rumi, quoted above, and these couplets from Rumi are incorporated into the qawwali.