CONCERT
Zarsanga |
Written 30 January |
Saturday 07 February, 17:00Théâtre de la Ville, 75004 [map]
Daughter of nomadic shepherds in north Pakistan,
Zarsanga (literally “gold branch”) lives in a clay house in the suburbs of
Peshawar. Surrounded by traditional Pashto singing as a child, she was overheard singing at a wedding and subsequently introduced to a Radio Pakistan Peshawar producer. Her first radio appearance "won the hearts and appreciation of producers and public", and she has gone on to win awards, acclaim and public adoration ever since. I won't, however, say she never looked back - Zarsanga lives in a clay house in the suburbs of Peshawar and has never ceased to champion the folk music and poetry of her home. Here illiteracy has always prevented her from singing the ancient
Ghazal forms, but she is a lexicon of Gharhi, folk song and desert arias. Accompanied by her son (she has six sons and four daughters) on tabla and by two other virtuoso players, this is a welcome return to Paris by the "Desert Queen".
