Round table sessions
The first session of the day was on the theme of Central Asian Sufi culture. To the delight of the non-French speakers in the audience, Festival Director Faouzi Skali, gave brief translations in English.
With the threat of rain arriving, the audience was smaller; some sixty people, but those present were thoroughly engaged.
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| Faouzi Skali translating into English |
The topic is vast and one that is often overlooked. Sufism in Central Asia has a long history, as Fitzroy Morrissey is an Oriental Studies Graduate of Oxford University, pointed out in an online article. For over half a millennium, Islam in Central Asia has revolved around three poles: (Hanafi) Sunnism, Persian culture and Sufism. These three are not separate but rather overlapping elements of Central Asian religious life, such that one scholar has recently declared, “Orthodox Islam and Sufism are very mingled in Tajikistan and the majority of believers are not able to make out the difference.”
Often dismissed by observers of Islamic societies – as well as by Muslim fundamentalists – as a “heterodox” or “folk” form of Islam, Sufism has in fact long been an integral part of the religious orthodoxy of Central Asia: the clerics (ulema) who guard and define that orthodoxy have traditionally enjoyed close ties to the local Sufi orders (tariqas). The Naqshbandiyya order, which arose in the Transoxanian city of Bokhara in the late-13th, early-14th century, and is the most popular order in Central Asia, is particularly well known for its sobriety and emphasis on upholding the sharia.
The afternoon discussion was moved to the Prefecture hall due to the threat of rain.
The venue is beautiful, but seemed rather large for a small audience. The topic of the living cultural heritage of Sufism was addressed by a panel that included Abdallah al-Wazzani
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| Prefecture Hall, Batha |
Evening concert
The evening concert was moved to the Prefecture Hall in Batha. It is a large and beautiful venue, but not as acoustically suited to live music. Tonight it was packed with an audience who suspected they were to enjoy a great evening - they were not disappointed.
Daud Khan and his tabla player held the audience in the palm of their hands as they displayed, not only the musical brilliance that one would expect from master musicians, but they also tapped into the core of the Afghan Sufi spirituality.
A surprise came in the form of Francoise Atlan, who Daud Khan invited to the stage. It was a wonderful combination of talents, with Atlan's vocal quality showing that she has only improved over the years, as has her ability to inhabit the middle ground between a classically trained soprano and a lyrical singer. Her ability to naturally combine the two into a harmonious whole highlights her skill and talent as one of Morocco’s premiere vocal artists.
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| Francoise Atlan |
Daud Khan gave a virtuoso performance, at the end of which the audience rose to their feet and demanded an encore. Humbly, Daud Khan obliged.
Some background
Daud Khan, was born in Kabul/Afghanistan in 1955. He studied Robab (a traditional lute-instrument of Afghanistan) with Ustad Muhammad Umar, who was the most famous Robab-interpreter of the classical style as well as the traditional folklore style in his country.
The knowledge about building as well as playing the Robab has become rare, and only a few artists still keep the tradition of the classical robab-style which was mainly represented by Ustad Muhammad Umar in Kabul. Daud Khan is trying to preserve this authentic style of his master’s school.
Besides that, Daud Khan has studied the North-Indian Sarod, which is a descendent instrument of the Robab, with the great Sarod Maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan in India. The ancestors of Amjad Ali Khan brought the Robab from Afghanistan to India and developed the Sarod from it.
Daud Khan is frequently performing all over Europe and participating in international music-festivals In India he was honoured twice with the Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan Award (1988/1995).
Since 2004 Daud Khan is performing with the Ensemble Radio Kabul in concerts and festivals all over Europe and abroad. He participated in the Agadir Festival in Morocco and he took part in concerts with the well-known instrumentalist Jordi Savall and his ensemble.
In Cologne Daud Khan is head of the Academy of Indian Music, founded by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. There he follows his masters tradition of teaching the Robab as well as the Sarod. Daud Khan’s CD-recording Tribute to Afghanistan has been published and he participated in many CD-productions as an instrumentalist.
The second part of the evening programme was a performance by the Tariqa Sharqawiya.
The group wasted no time in raising the tempo and energy of the night. First with purely vocal chanting, and then, with the addition of two percussion players, they had the audience up on their feet and totally enthralled. This was what many had come to the Sufi Festival to experience and tonight was their night.
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| The audience were soon out of their seats |
With such transcendental, high octane performances, the audience were left in no doubt that this was a Sufi Festival highlight - and it was.
Tomorrow's programme
Thursday October 19th
10h-12h: Round Table: "The Mughal moment: Sufism in India" -Medersa Bounaniya
16h-18h: Round table: «Sufism and Bahkti at the Confluence of the Two Oceans» - Medersa Bounaniya
8 pm: Jnan Sbil Park
- First part: poetic and musical recital of Shiva Prakash, Katia Légeret and Bhavana Kandadai
- Second part: Tariqa Wazzaniya-Sqalliya
Photographs and text: Sandy McCutcheon
Reviews
Click on links to read a full review of each day
Who are the Sufis?
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four
Day Five
Day Six
Day Seven
Day Eight
The View From Fez is an official Media Partner of the Fez Festival of Sufi Culture
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