Ustad Amir Jan Khushnawaz Olang Olang (“O Meadow”)

Olang Olang (“O Meadow”) Amir Jan Khushnawaz (vocal and harmonium), Muhammad Rahim Khushnawaz (rubab), Mahmud Khushnawaz (vocal), Muhammad Naim Khushnawaz (tabla). Recorded on 26 January 1974 at their house in Herat’s Old City. This important, historic Herati ritual wedding song was the initial item of John Baily’s first recording session with Amir Jan, Herat’s principal singer and master-musician of the time. Male and female professional musicians performed it at ritual moments during the bridal ceremony. “Olang” is an archaic Turkic word for a large piece of open ground suitable for gatherings such as weddings. This song probably derived from early Turkic ceremonial wedding traditions before acquiring Persian verses in the classical mathnawi metre, including some by the 13th-century poet Sa`adi. Its main verse prays for all difficulties to be resolved, while some others refer to the bride and acceptance of God’s will. This song is set in a distinctive Herati 12-beat rhythm. Its modal structure is complex and multi-layered, combining different variants of the maqam ʿUshshāq. The predominant variant in this piece is an old form of the mode that circulated across the Islamic world from the seventeenth century (at the latest), at times under the name of Nahāvand. This recording has been digitised by the British Library from an original tape recording held in the Baily-Doubleday Archive.