The Roohani Sisters ,Ariana Vafadari and Rinku Bhattacharya Das/Sufi music from North India

Description

The Roohani Sisters

Jagriti Luthra Prasanna and Neeta Pandey Negi: soloist voices, accompanied by sixteen musicians

Guests:

Ariana Vafadari, mezzo-soprano

Rinku Bhattacharya Das, Kathak dance

Dr Jagriti Luthra Prasanna and Dr Neeta Pandey Negi are considered to be among the greatest voices of Sufi Jugalbandi. They sing Sufiyana Qalams, Qawwali, Kaafi and Ghazals in traditional style, mixing their own improvisations into the chosen variations. The two singers are equally inspired by the Indian classical music of Jugalbandi. Dr Jagriti and Dr Neeta, who believe passionately in the traditions of Sufi music, complement each other with their very different styles of singing that nevertheless fit together in great harmony. Their skill in creating a unique link with the public has always made them stand out. They are both Doctors of Sufi Music from Delhi University and compose their own Sufi Qalams. They give fascinating and moving performances in a specific atmosphere that has been transmitted to them by their masters who have always believed in their ability to transmit the message of the Sufi Saints. Considered by the press to be among the fifty most powerful women in India, they have invited for this concert another great voice redolent with spirituality, the mezzo-soprano of Iranian origin, Ariana Vafadari, and the virtuoso dancer Rinku Bhattacharya Das.

Ariana Vafadari, who graduated in singing from the Conservatoire National Supérieure de Musique et de Danse in Paris, is at home both with a baroque repertoire and contemporary song. She performs recitals with Claire Désert and Emmanuel Strosser (in France, Japan, Germany and Italy). Parallel with her career as a classical mezzo-soprano, Vafadari composes, records and performs on stage in a completely different register. Her albums Gathas, songs my father taught me and Anahité have led to her performing on the great stages of Europe, Africa and Asia.

Leading classical and contemporary Indian dancer, Rinku Bhattacharya Das is a soloist and renowned choreographer, as well as an artistic advisor to the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR). She has taken these forms of dance to the highest levels in India and the United States.