Men that spin...

Byzantine choir and the Al Kindi Ensemble

Sheikh Hamza Shakour

Unlike the blending of gospel and Qawwali that worked superbly, there were moments when the blending of the Byzantine choir from Athens and the Al Kindi Ensemble from Damascus was a little stilted. Partly this appeared to be because of a lack of sufficient rehearsal on the part of the Greek Choir who were also dogged by sickness striking one of their number during the performance. Yet despite the dullness of the initial set from the choir, once Al Kindi and Sheikh Hamza Shakour took to the stage things livened up wonderfully.

In rehearsal... Jalledine Julien Weiss tunes up (above)
and (below ) directs the sound check

A fearless lighting technician on top of the ramparts checks the lights.

Few westerners are aware of the esteem that Islam shares with Christianity in respect for Christ's mother Mary. The songs of praise for Mary from both traditions was on display and once again underlined the links between the faith based religions.

But what many had come for was the Sufi dervishes and indeed they stole the show. It doesn't matter how many times you see such a performance, it never fails to thrill and this was no exception. The grace and harmony of movement is truly awesome!

The dervish prepares

The concept of the concert came from the Al Kindi director Jalledine Julien Weiss whose musical performance was flawless and uplifting. He is to be congratulated on tackling such an extraordinary synthesis.

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