Alliance Française de Dhaka recently arranged an event to launch the album ‘Chants de Lalon Shah I Songs of Lalon Shah’ by Farida Parveen. After presentation of the album, Farida Parveen performed songs of Lalon.

The event was held on 31 October at 5:00pm.

Asaduzzaman Noor, Minister of Cultural Affairs was the Chief Guest, Jean-Pierre Poncet, Chargé d’Affaires a.i., Embassy of France was the Guest of Honour while Prof. Anisuzzaman was also present as the special guest.

In the hearts and minds of countless Bangladeshis, the name of Farida Parveen is intimately linked to that of Lalon Shah. She has come to be known as the Queen of Lalon Song for her immense contribution to the contemporary diffusion of the poetry and thought of Lalon who is an embodiment of the Bangladeshi soul.

Farida Parveen (voice and harmonium) and her musicians, Gazi Abdbul Hakim (flute), ASM Reza (dhol and percussion), Debendra Nath Chatterjee (tablas), Sheik Jalala Uddin (ektara and dotara) will perform some of Lalon’s best pieces.

Farida Parveen is just back from Morocco where she participated in the opening concert of the 10th Fès Festival of Sufi Culture in Fez. She is also going to perform in France, at three different venues next February, during the Sacrées Journées Festival in Strasbourg, at the Lyon’s Opera and in Paris.

To honour her signifiant contribution to World music, Radio France has launched the album under the ‘Ocora’ label. ‘Ocora Radio France’ is a French label dedicated to the traditional forms of music with a worldwide coverage. The performance was recorded in Paris at Théâtre de la Ville. In Europe, the launching of the album was highly welcomed, receiving high appreciation and reviews from critics and connoisseurs alike such as the widely-distributed French cultural magazine ‘Telerama’, Spanish radio Mundofonias, British magazine Songlines or Italo-Swiss Radio TV.

The release of the CD is a great contribution to the recognition of Lalon Shah’s song and of Bengali’s culture worldwide.

The album comes with a comprehensive presentation booklet by French musicologist Dr. Pierre-Alain Baud, in French and in English, on Lalon Shah and Farida Parveen.