Past Programs
Islam - 2008
The Sufi Blues
07/11/2008
This week, the poetry and stories of three Sufi mystics - Rumi, Hafiz and Nasruddin Hodja - are set to blues, folk and country music improvisations. The speaker is Ashley Ramsden, founder of the School of Storytelling in England, who travels the world with his spoken-word performances. The musician is David Bates.
Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi, the founder of the Mawlawi Sufi order in Turkey known as the Whirling Dervishes, was born in Wakhsh (Tajikistan) under the administration of Balkh in 1207 to a family of learned theologians. His shrine is in Konya, Turkey. Hafiz (Shams -ud-din Mohammed) was born in the city of Shiraz in Persia (now Iran ) around 1320. Nasruddin Hodja is a legendary Sufi holy man who lived during the Middle Ages (around 13th century), and who is renowned for his satirical stories.
The Sufi Master of the Reed Flute
01/08/2008
"Music is the language of God", says Omar Faruk Tekbilek. "It is language without tongue and lips. It speaks from heart to heart." Turkish musician Omar Faruk Tekbilek is a world music superstar, and yet he humbly calls himself a servant of God, and a faithful Sufi seeking divine union. Omar learned Sufism as a boy growing up in Turkey and for a number of years he undertook formal studies with a view to becoming a cleric. Music though was his first love and in time his religious schooling gave way to a life devoted to the study of Turkish classical music. Since then Omar has become a world-renowned musician mastering several instruments including the ney, the bamboo flute associated with Sufism. While in Istanbul, Omar met the Mevlevi order of Sufis, known in the West as the Whirling Dervishes. He didn't join the order, but studied with the head Neyzen (ney player), Aka Gunduz Kutbay, who became a major inspiration.
According to Omar, the sound of the ney is the cry of the human soul separated from God. His life-long quest has been to heal that division, and he tells me about his life in music this week.
Hymns Ancient and Electronic
04/04/2008
Celebrating one of the world's most influential hymnbooks, Hymns Ancient and Modern published in 1861, we hear Australian composer Nicole Skeltys explain why she's begun writing hymns for the electronic age, using samples from the Apollo moon landing of 1969. We also hear a traditional choral version of Alfred Lord Tennyson's favourite hymn, 'Holy Holy Holy', and a bluegrass rendition of 'How Great Thou Art'.
Nicole Skeltys is an Australian composer best known for being part of the successful dance group Biftek. But Nicole has had some life-changing events recently, including illness, and these have prompted her to re-evaluate her life and to take on a spiritual journey. Describing herself as a 'technological angel', she's now teamed up with Tanya Andrea Stadelmann in a group called The Jilted Brides and has been writing what she calls electronic hymns. In fact on their album Larceny of Love Nicole has written a suite of three hymns and we hear the final hymn called 'Joy', filled with treated voices for choir, synthesisers, bells and the sound of the Apollo astronauts.
Faith on Tour
28/03/2008
It's been a busy month for music lovers with world-class performers arriving in Australia every week it seems, and so tonight on The Rhythm Divine we're going to play catch up - with music from singers and musicians you might have missed. We're taking faith on tour and our line-up includes the Sufi-influenced Turkish musician Omar Faruk Tekbilek; the pure tones of Deva Premal, a follower of Osho whose Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh chants are mesmerising; and Irish singer Sinead O'Connor whose latest album is called Theology, with songs taking the Book of Psalms for inspiration.
