Great Music Galore but a Horse is the Star
The Fes Festival of World Sacred Music has established a unique reputation for its diverse offerings in the realms of high art and popular entertainment. This year the 13th festival from 1 to 9 June, will feature a spectacular innovation which will add fresh enchantment to the programme.
To experience these magic moments visitors will have to leave their beds in the wee small hours – because on two mornings during the festival week, the French equestrian maestro Bartabas will be greeting the dawn at the Merinides quarry on his white stallion Le Caravage. He will be accompanied by two renowned Sufi musicians – the reed flute (ney) player Kudsi Erguner and the percussionist/vocalist Nezih Uzel.
Some people may choose to stay up all night, because once again the enormously popular late night rituals, performed by Moroccan Sufi brotherhoods, seem certain to attract big crowds. The intense excitement and ecstatic atmosphere of the Sufi Nights happen in the Dar Tazi gardens in the heart of the Fes medina.
Intimate afternoon concerts take place under the great Barbary oak at the Batha Museum. Outstanding this year are the Iranian diva Parissa, Aicha Mint Chighaly from Mauritania and Vasumathi Badrinathan with Carnatic songs from India.
Evening performances are staged in the Arabian Nights splendour of the Bab Makina palace courtyard. A major attraction this year is the Afro Rock star Johnny Clegg and his group from South Africa. The celebrated diva Barbara Hendricks (USA) is the star of the opening night, there will be a Whirling Dervish ceremony with Sufi brotherhoods from Turkey, Qawwali sacred music with Akhtar Sharif Husain from Pakistan and a performance from the great singer from Benin, Angelique Kidjo.
The programme is the brainchild of Cherif Khaznadar, a pioneer of world music and one of the most influential Artistic Directors on the scene.
The overarching theme of this year’s festival is Essence of Time, Spirit of Place.
2007 marks the 800th anniversary of the birth of the great Islamic poet, sage and spiritual guide Jalalludin Rumi, so tributes to his life and work are woven into the festival programme. Rumi was a man of his time, but his message is timeless. Fes is an ancient city, where the spirit of peace and reconciliation has become a beacon of hope in our troubled world.
For programme details and reservations go to
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