Peace Worshipers

PEACE WORSHIPERS represents the culmination of a collaboration between Amjad Ali Khan, the Titan of the sarod, straddling two centuries, universally venerated as one of the greatest living Indian musicians in any genre; his sons, disciples and widely acclaimed sarod virtuosi in their own right, Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash; and the distinguished American violinist Elmira Darvarova, herself a historical figure as the first woman concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in New York. This recording emerges from Amjad Ali Khan’s deep and long abiding commitment to peace and tolerance both in the larger world as well as in the smaller communities of city, neighborhood, and the circles of family and friends – a commitment which has taken him to the United Nations and the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony in Oslo as well as the greatest concert halls and performing venues around the world.

This album is the fruit of an approach that these artists have championed in their trilogy of collaborative recordings, SOUL STRINGS, then AMALGAM and now PEACE WORSHIPERS – boldly sharing their respective traditions and genres with each other while keeping the integrity and character of those traditions intact and exploring the idiom and styles of the other with fearless, ferocious energy and generous enthusiasm. In this final volume, alongside the compositions of Amjad Ali Khan, are works from regional folk traditions in India and Europe.