Musical journey in Andalusia

It is around the theme "Fès the Andalusian" that the 19th edition of the Fès Festival of World Sacred Music will take place. This major artistic and cultural event will thus be an opportunity to pay tribute to Andalusian culture, which has managed to bring together the cultures of the East and the West in the same search for meaning and wisdom. "It happens that certain places and periods of history remain in the memory of men as privileged sequences during which the human seems to escape its usual pettiness and mark its passage with imprints that become a source of inspiration for generations and centuries to come. Thus, we speak of the Greek miracle or, often still, of this period made of an ingenious and subtle harmony between spirit and matter, faith and reason, the art of convivencia or simply that of a richer and more accomplished individual and collective life: El Andalous, which covered a large part of Spain, from the eighth to the fifteenth century.", explains Faouzi Skali, director of the Festival.

Regarding programming, Mr. Skali specifies that all those in search of beautiful music, spiritual melodies, and enriching debates will be served. Thus, the Fès Festival will once again plunge this year into magical artistic universes where spirituality rhymes with creativity. From Spain to India, from Egypt to Mongolia, from South Africa to Bhutan, it is a world tour in 9 days that the organisers offer to the public. The kick-off of the festivities will be given in beauty on 7 June at the Bab Makina square, with a poetic, choreographic, and musical show, entitled "Love is my religion". Directed by Andrès Marin, one of the most significant flamenco artists, this original artistic creation of the Festival will pay tribute to the great artists of the Arab-Andalusian world, and the flamenco world. Another highlight of the festival, the presence of the American singer Patti Smith, who, under the influence of beat, rock, folk, or punk cultures, has forged her personality as a complete artist (singer, musician, poet, painter, and photographer). The Fassi public will also have an appointment with the concerts that will be given by Ladysmith Chicago Gospel Experience (United States, South Africa), the Byzantine Orthodox choir Saint-Jean de Damas, Coumbane Mint Ely Warakane (Mauritania), or Paco de Lucia (Spain), considered one of the greatest living legends of flamenco and one of the greatest guitarists in the world. Lovers of Arabic song will be served with the concert that will be given on 13 June by the Syrian Diva Asala Nasri. Regarding the Nights of the Medina, a musical and initiatory journey that offers the public the opportunity to discover the majestic Riads of the Medina of Fès, the organisers have concocted a programme that spans 3 days (from 10 to 12 June), which includes musical performances by artists from the 4 corners of the world. These include Aïcha Redouane (Morocco), Pandit Shyam Sundar Goswami (North India), Abir Nehme (Lebanon), Jigme Drukpa, Pema Samdrup, and Namkha Lhamou (Bhutan), and Ana Moura (Portugal).

As for the forum "A soul for globalisation", organised on the sidelines of the Fès Festival of World Sacred Music, it will take place this year from 8 to 11 June, around the theme "New Andalusias: local solutions for a global disorder", with personalities such as Bariza Khiarri, Jacques Attali, Michael Barry, Katherine Marshall, or Edgar Morin.

Provider / Source : Afaf Razouki, Le Matin