The Fes Festival of World Sacred Music will take place from May 6th – 14th this year in in the imperial city of Fes. The festival was founded in 1994 by the Moroccan scholar and philanthropist Faouzi Skali and was created to showcase major musical traditions of sacred, spiritual music and world music. The current Artistic Director is Alain Webber. Each year the Fes festival celebrates artists from Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Hindu and other faiths to perform together in a spirit of mutual respect and collaboration.
The Fes Festival is comprised of
A four-day Forum called Rencontres de Fes under the rubric “Giving Soul to Globalisation” where politicians, social activists, academics and religious leaders come together in dialogue to discuss the urgent issues of our times. These include conflict resolution, climate change, urban renewal, social justice and much more. Intimate afternoon concerts at the Dar Batha Museum and its surrounding Andalusian gardens. Art and film exhibitions, poetry readings at the Dar Bartha Museum and other locations within Fes.
Sufi nights: Sufi Music rituals concerts that begin at midnight performed by Moroccan Sufi brotherhoods in the Dar Tazi gardens, in the heart of the Fes medina.
In the morning, visitors can take part in seminars or round table discussions covering topics related to the theme of the festival. By attending the discussion, you can gain extra insight into the meaning of the festival. In the afternoon, evening, and late at night, there are concerts given by performers arriving from every angle of the globe.
These musicians help celebrate all the cultures and religions of the world through a multiplicity of their songs and rituals. The musical spectrum heard includes early European classical, Sufi ritual songs and trance music, Arab-Andalusian rhythms, a Bulgarian orthodox choir, Hindustani chants, Celtic sacred music, Christian Gospel, Swedish chamber choir, Pakistani Qawwali incantations, Egyptian madhi odes, flamenco-style Christian saeta, ancient Indian gwalior chants and Turkish whirling dervishes. Traditionally, the festival’s most impressive afternoon concerts take place by the Dar Batha Museum, which is set amidst a beautiful Andalusian garden and has a backdrop of the Atlas Mountains. During the evening concerts are held at the Bab Makina and Palace Boujeloud.
After the last concert of the night is over, the medina is the place to head for a continuation of a once in a life time experience. Every evening at midnight, there are free “Sufi Nights”. These highly popular Sufi ritual trance performances are held at the Dar Tazi Palace gardens where Sufi brotherhoods like the Hamadcha, the Aissaoua and The Master Musicians of Jajouka perform while you relax on Berber rugs and sip mint tea.
Fes Festival Program May 6th – 22nd, 2016
Friday, May 6th: Bab Al Makina – Opening Night Premier 21h00
A Sky full of Stars: International Premiere Women of myth and poetry from Sheherazade to the Queen of Sheba With women artists from Morocco, Mongolia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Ethiopia, India, Lebanon, Italy and Africa, with an oriental orchestra.
Saturday, May 7th: Jnan Sbil Garden 16:30
Sahar Mohammadi with Ingie Women’s Qanun Ensemble – Iran & Azerbaijan Sacred Persian song
Bab Al Makina: 21h00 Evening Concert
Durbar: Indian Night Premiere Glory of Pricnessa nd in praise of the Gods, a dazzling musical engagement between some of India’s greatest Musicians
Boujloud Square: 22.00 Regional Choir of Fes | H-Kayne
Sunday, May 8th: Jnan Sbil Garden 16:30
Christine Salem- Renunion Maloya revisited
Bab Al Makina: 21h00 Evening Concert
Divas of the World: Part I – Hindi Zahra, From France and Morocco & Part 2: Oumous Sangrari, from Mali
Boujloud Square: 22h00 Over Boys | Batoul Marouani
Monday, May 9th:
Jnan Sbil Garden 16:30
Officina Zoe- Italy Women’s songs of love, work and war with Maria Mazzotta (voice) and Maristella Martella (dance)
Night in the Medina Part 1: Homage to India, Evening Ragas Dary Adiyel 18:00 and 20h30 Rageshri Das and Ghazal Song from Kolkota, India
Sidki Mohamed Ben Youssef Cultural Complext: 19:h00 Shashank Subramaniam and Rakesh Chaurasia Masters of the Bansuri flute from Chennai and Mumbai, India
Boujloud Square: Mourad Bouriki/ Lamia Zaidi
Prefecture Hall, Batha The King of Ghosts:
Premiere – India & Morocco, Cinema/ Concert Composed by Soumik Datta, Johannes Berauer and Cormac Byrne for the film Goopy Gaven Bagha Baven by Satyajit Ray (1929)
Tuesday, May 10th:
Jnan Sbil Garden 16:30
Hawniyaz: inspired by Kurdish, Persian and Azeri traditions With Aynur (song), Kayhan Kalhor (kamantche), Salman Gambarov (piano) and Cemîl Ǫoçgirî (multi-instrumentalist)
Night in the Medina Part 2: Dar Adiyel: 20h00 Yulduz Turdieva – Uzbekistan Shash-maqâm from Bukhara
Sidi Mohamed Ben Youssef Cultural Complex: 2h.00 Ensemble Dialogos – Bosnia and Herzogovina Heretic Angels: Popular Rituals and Beliefs
Prefecture Hall, Batha: 21.30 OY – Switzerland & Ghana Space Diaspora
Boujloud Square Participation of the French Institute in Fes: Buddha Bar | Omar Boutmazoukt
Sidi Mohamed Ben Youssef Cultural Complex, Parvathy Baul and Mehdi Nassouli – India and Morocco, Poetry of Wandering Mystics, from Bauls to Gnawas
Wednesday, May 11th:
Night in the Medina III 20.00 Sidi Mohamed Ben Youssef Cultural Complex
Lamar – Arab Songs from Palestine
21.30 Prefecture Hall, Batha (opposite the Batha Museum)
Farida Mohammad Ali – Iraq
The Voice of Maqâm
22.00 Boujloud Square
Najat Atabou | Embassy of Pakistan
23.00 Dar Adiyel
Ariana Vafadari – Iran and France
Gathas: Zoroastrian Song
Thursday, May 12th:
Jnan Sbil Garden – 16:h30
Agraw- Lalla Rquia Ouhmad Morocco Sacred Amazigh Song from Tiznit
Riad Dar Bensouda, Qettanine 18h00
Shaikh Hassan Dyck and Muhabbat Caravan Meditation with Sufi flavours
Bab Al Makina: 21h00 Evening Concert
Istanbul – Fes: Premiere – Turkey & Morocco Mevlevi whirling dervishes with the Mohammed Briouel Andalous Orchestra
Boujloud Square Mahmoud Al Idrissi | Khalid Ali Orchestra
Friday, May 13th:
16.30 Jnan Sbil Garden – 16:h30 Virginia Rodrigues – Brazil. Celestial Voice
Bab Al Makina: 21h00 Evening Concert, Tribute to Oum Kaltoum – Egypt with the National Opera Orchestra of Cairo
Boujloud Square: 22h00 Reda Taliyani | Abdellah Yacoubi
Saturday, May 14th:
Jnan Sbil Garden – 16:h30
Yom – France
The Silence of Exodus with Yom, clarinet and composition Farid D, cello Claude Tchamitchian, double bass Bijan Chemirani, zarb, daf and bendir (percussion)
Bab Al Makina: 21h00 Evening Concert
Samira Saïd – Morocco, A Moroccan Singing Star
22.00 Boujloud Square
Marcel Khalife