Fes Festival 2015 ~ The Wrap Up

Tajeddine Baddou is a man equipped to face the challenges ahead ~ Suzanna Clarke reports

A few days into the 21 Edition of Fes Festival, newly appointed director general of the Spirit of Fes Foundation, Tajeddine Baddou, is obviously weary, but is unfailingly courteous. There is real warmth in his handshake and the way he makes eye contact. It's easy to imagine him hobnobbing with politicians and diplomats in his previous postings as Moroccan Ambassador to the former Czechoslovakia, Canada, Austria and Italy.

He grants The View From Fez a few minutes for an interview in the garden of the Batha Museum.

"I only assumed the role four months ago," he explains, "so this year's Festival is an exploratory mission for me."

Mr Baddou is working with some of the same team who have been responsible for the Festival in the past few years, including artistic director Alain Weber. Taking over from founding director Faouzi Skali is a challenge, Mr Baddou says, but one he is looking forward to. He's had events organisation experience before - in 1999 he was in charge of the Year of Morocco, showcasing the country through more than 400 international events.

One of the biggest challenges, says Mr Baddour is that, "We have a lack of sites in Fez to stage concerts. When the weather is good, Bab Makina can have a real magic, with the magnificent walls and the birds flying overhead. But the acoustics are not good, and in wet weather it's not possible to cover it."

Both extremes were experienced this year, with a triumphant opening night, using spectacular projections on the crenelated walls of Bab Makina, contrasted by the wash-out that was to have been Tuesday's Spirit of Africa concert.

There simply isn't an alternative venue in Fez that will hold an audience of thousands. It's something, Mr Baddou says, that the team will be trying to address.

Another aspect that will be a focus is an increasing move towards using English during the Festival. "Because we have a lot of English visitors," he says. This year, for the first time, opening night introductions were given first in Moroccan Arabic and then in English, before French.

However the format of the morning forums, which aim to give an intellectual context to the Fes Festival, are less likely to alter. I put to Mr Baddou the criticism that the panels seem to be mainly composed of French, or European educated academics, and could be more diverse. And rather than a series of long lectures by each panelist, the format would be more engaging if it was more dynamic. "This year we are fortunate to have Ali Benmakhlouf organising the forums, and he is doing a wonderful job," says Mr Baddou. "To change the format, you would need an intellectual revolution. We have to deal with our heritage." However, he would like to see more youth involvement and points out that this year that some Moroccan university students attended. He hopes that the number will increase.

Originally from Meknes, Tajeddine Baddou graduated with a PhD in Sociology from the University of Rene Descartes in France. Then from 1971 to 1983 he was Head of the Department of Social Sciences at the National Institute of Statistics and Applied Economy in Rabat. "So I started as a teacher and researcher in demographics...then I became involved in politics," he says. In 1983 became the Director of Multilateral Cooperation at the Ministry of Cooperation, and the following year the Permanent Representative of the Arabo-African Union. "Then His Majesty the King asked me if I wanted to open the first Moroccan embassy in (the former) Czechoslovakia, and I did." He moved onto other embassies, his last posting being in Rome.

I ask him about another criticism which has been levelled at the Festival; that it is turning away from its spiritual roots and becoming more of a world music festival. "This is not a real issue," he says. "We have the name, the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music, but in reality all music is sacred. We do our utmost to be open to all kinds of music."


Today the team from The View From Fez report their personal reactions to the 21st Fes Festival of World Sacred Music

FESTIVAL WRAP

Lynn Sheppard ~ Reporter

As a Fes Festival first-timer, I found the 21st edition a great opportunity to see some acts I like, get to know some new artists and come to appreciate some new musical genres.

My favourite concerts were: Omar Sosa and friends, Julie Fowlis, Fatoumata Diawara and Roberto Fonseca and The Royal Art of the Kora with Ballaké Sissoko. These are all acts I have seen and enjoyed before in different contexts.

Of the acts which were new to me, I enjoyed Faada Freddy, Masks of the Moon and Ramadan Hassan and the Musicians of the Nile. I would have liked to have seen more of Benjamin Bouzaglou and Oumou Sangaré.

I can't honestly say that all of the above fall within the term "sacred" and I find it a pity that the festival organisers seem to feel the need to invite more 'popular' groups which don't always fall under the overall theme. I would like to see the organisers of the Fes Sacred Music Festival have more confidence to differentiate this festival from others which take place across Morocco each year. Fez is the spiritual and cultural capital of Morocco and draws on a long and rich heritage of sacred music which people are surely willing to travel and pay to see. Complemented by sacred music acts from across the world, this would make for an interesting programme with a clear identity. Personally, I feel the festival is becoming rather populist by featuring acts such as The Temptations (who weren't even the original Temptations).

Fatoumata Diawara - an audience favourite

I thought this year's theme was well-chosen and timely; it was expertly presented in the opening concert, which was spectacular. The featuring of Hassan el Wazzan's travels created a common thread through a large proportion of the festival, which worked well. Without exception, the acts which I saw from Burkina Faso, Senegal, Mali and Egypt were excellent. I would have liked the opportunity to learn more about the spiritual or sacred background to their music - the Forum would have been a good place to do this.

Overall, I thought the Forum programme made a decent attempt to open up a debate on Morocco's place within broader Africa from historical, philosophical, anthropological, literary, cultural, musical and current affairs perspectives, but it could have been better. My suggestions would be to ensure that the speakers are really able to speak directly to the topic (eg by insisting on the submission of a paper which could subsequently be published); to make the Forum more interactive (eg by having shorter presentations from the podium and more audience input), and to invite more practitioners to speak, rather than academic observers and researchers.

Musicians of the Nile

The venues in Fez are spectacular. It was so enjoyable to sit beside the verdant green gardens of the beautiful Batha Museum. However, this year proved that the city is ill-equipped to manage a wet weather contingency and this is something that should be seriously considered. Also, programming should reflect the audience the Festival seeks to reach - if it is anticipated people travel to Fez for the weekend, the weekend line-ups should be stronger. If it is the aim to attract more working Moroccans, weekends and evening concerts should reflect this.

The lighting at Bab Makina was "awesome"!

Although I understand the communication this year was an improvement on previous years, I would expect a more dynamic and professional effort from a 21-year old festival. Hardly anyone other than myself and The View From Fez was using the #fesfestival hashtag; the Festival twitter feed wasn't updated at all during the festival; several concerts (Sufi nights and free concerts and events) were not in the programme; important information was communicated at the last minute, and there were frequently discrepancies between the English and French versions of online and printed material.

Masks of the Moon - a festival favourite

In conclusion, I would heartily recommend the Fes Sacred Music Festival to friends, as an interesting world music festival easily reached from the UK. However, given the limited coverage of the festival in English language media, they might need a little convincing.

Fatima Matousse ~ Reporter

I have always wanted to attend the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music as I am haunted by spiritual and Sufi music. In the past, as a student, I was not lucky enough to attend to attend the festival. This year is my first time and I am grateful to have been given access, due to working with The View From Fez, for the entire programme.

I have not attended the past editions so am not entitled to compare and give accurate criticism or appreciation but I can speak about my feelings about this edition.

I was disappointed and surprised that the whole African Spirit and Oumou Sangaré was cancelled. As it is the 21st edition, the Festival should have been equipped for all kind of conditions and plan for any situation; particularly a rain event. I would have forgiven a beginning festival with two or four years, of experience but not one of 21 years. So the first impression I had was not the best.

I attended the forums in the beautiful Batha Museum the day after the rain storm and after ten minutes discovered that the chairs were still wet. Covering chairs before rain should be a pretty basic requirement! People had to pay to get access to the forum and the concerts, (with the exception of the non-spiritual pop music that was offered to locals). I was surprised that the Festival was also making money out of glasses of tea, charging 10 dirhams! I understand that a festival needs money to run but I think that when you pay for a concert, the audience should be offered a glass of tea for free. For the record, a huge pot of tea would not even cost 10 dirhams.

Création Marassa with Omar Sosa

I believe that what really charms people about the festival is not simply the programme, but the place itself. The riads and palaces where the music takes place charm the audience and constantly speak to their souls; like a lover whom you will follow everywhere and forgive their mistakes after few seconds. During some concerts, I was inspired and the negative energy inside me was washed away. I loved the Création Marassa with Omar Sosa, and in particular the dancer, who was exceptionally talented to the extent that he made me wish to dance again, although I stopped years ago. I was surprised by the happiness and the enjoyment his band spread to the audience.

Diego El Cigala - disappointing

Fatoumata and Fonseca were fascinating. I was so happy to see the combination of the two using music to speak to each other while still engaging with the audience. They both have charisma and the voice of Fatou took me back to my dream to live in Mali for a year or two. Diego El Cigala has a special character, and way of talking and walking. However, I found him arrogant. I am actually crazy about flamenco and Gitano music, but was disappointed with his performance.

I was also disappointed that Amazigh music was barely present in the programme. Had it been present, I believe people would have appreciated it and discovered how diverse and culturally rich Moroccan music is.

Over all, despite the criticism, the Fes Festival has inspired me and there were more touching moments than negative ones - due to the music, the city and the ghosts of the Fez! I have been haunted and I will not hesitate to attend the Festival once again.

Vanessa Bonnin - Reporter and photographer

Curiosity was at an all time high about how the 21st edition of the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music was going to fare under new management, since the ousting last year of Festival founder and former Director Faouzi Skali. The new team had a lot to prove in order to justify their coup, and unfortunately they fell short of the mark in my opinion. This sentiment was echoed by the majority of festival-goers I spoke to throughout the week, where the dissatisfaction and serious (rather than the usual trifling) complaints expressed were far greater than ever before.

The theme ‘An African Reflection’ was promising, as in the past the Festival has focused on Andalusian links plus connections with the Arab world and it was definitely time to acknowledge that Fes and Morocco are part of the African continent. Looking south should have provided a rich and diverse array of wonderful musical opportunities to tap into, but out of numerous concerts and artists engaged in this year’s line-up, only a handful were from Africa.

Oumou Sangaré

Tiken Jah Fakoly

The schizophrenic array of musicians lacked coherence and failed to deliver on what could have been a fantastic opportunity to highlight the boundless talent on Morocco’s southern doorstep. Admittedly the cancellation and inability to reschedule the expected highlight of the Festival – the concert with Oumou Sangare and Tiken Jah Fakoly – left a gaping hole in the African contingent, but for many it was the death blow to the week.

Ballaké Sissoko

This is not to say that there weren’t wonderful performances. Following on from the stunning opening night spectacle, particular highlights were the collaboration between Ballaké Sissoko and Debashish Battacharya, Marassaa Premiere and the outstanding Faada Freddy, but they couldn’t resuscitate a festival marred by poor planning and incompetence – or was it deception? – with regards to The NOT Temptations (don’t get me started). It seems that without Faouzi Skali at the helm (who was churlishly not acknowledged as the founder in any of the Festival material) the Festival has become a boat without a rudder. Hopefully the new Director General will take charge and throw them a lifeline.

Sandy McCutcheon  ~ Editor, photographer and reporter

In some cultures a 21st birthday is considered cause for celebration. In the case of the Fes Festival it was not only a celebration but also a new beginning, with a new administration put in place since the departure of Faouzi Skali. It was understandable then, that critical attention was  paid to every aspect of the festival by those for whom the festival caters - the audience.

The African theme was very welcome and the opening night concert was described by many veteran festival goers as one of the best. As Artistic Director Alain Weber, told The View From Fez - "I was less constrained this year". It was undoubtably a great start to the festival.

While critical voices questioned aspect of the programming ("only around half the concerts were African") and rain disrupted some events, the major cause of concern was the lack of contingency plans for bad weather and rescheduling postponed performances. The fact that the full programme was not on the brochure or booklet meant that audience members were scrambling to find out what was on at the Sufi Nights or concerts at Boujloud. Unfortunately the information that was in the printed materials was sketchy and at times contained rather exaggerated claims about the performers. The View From Fez is in debt to the major research work done by Helen Ranger.

The issue of announcements in English was improved this year, particularly at the beginning of the festival. It was not sustained and the huge numbers of audience members for whom English is a first or second language were vocal in their calls for this to be rectified in the future. Happily, the new Director General has flagged that this will be the case.

Artistic Director Alain Weber

The handling of the Temptations Review fiasco - something that should not have been allowed to happen in the first place - by the administration, was astonishingly unprofessional. Hopefully lessons will be learned.

It was a festival of challenges for the technical crews, who under the circumstances did remarkably well coping with performer demands and inclement weather. Special tribute should be paid to Christophe Olivier and Gaël Boucault, for superb lighting as well as Caroline Bourgine and Lucianna Penna for the projection mapping at Bab Makina. Sound engineers, Chris Ekers and Erik Loots, once again showed why they are regarded as among the best in the world.

Lighting and sound was amazing - thanks Christophe Olivier and Chris Ekers

Sound engineer Erik Loots

Because of the drop in audience numbers the previous years experience of dangerously over crowded venues was, with only one notable exception, not such a major issue. However the concerns expressed by hundreds of visitors to the crowd handling at the Hussain Al Jassmi concert are valid and must be addressed. Selling or giving out more tickets than a venue holds is not only dangerous, it is wrong.

Hussain Al Jassmi's fine concert was overcrowded

The final issue worth mentioning is that of communication during the festival. The View From Fez was inundated with text messages, emails and phone calls from visitors wanting up to date information of schedule changes, venue changes and postponements. The festival could easily remedy this with a constant flow of information via Twitter.

Finally, I would like to thank my team members at The View From Fez who worked outrageous hours to cover all the events. It was a job well done and much appreciated by both locals and festival visitors. We had great reviews by Lynn Sheppard, Fatima Matousse and Vanessa Bonnin. Suzanna Clarke's sub-editing and photography were superb as usual as was the photography of Vanessa Bonnin. Shukran. We look forward to welcoming you and our readers back for 2016!

See all our Fes Festival 2015 reviews
Fes Festival Opening Night
Fes Festival Day Two 
Fes Festival Day Three
Fes Festival Day Four
Fes Festival Day Five
Fes Festival Day Six
Fes Festival Day Seven
Fes Festival Day Eight
Fes Festival Day Nine

The View From Fez is an official media partner of the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music

SHARE THIS!

Indian Presence To Continue At 2013 Fes Festival

For nine magical nights from June 7 to 15, visitors from around the world will gather in Fes, Morocco’s ancient spiritual, cultural and intellectual capital, for a feast of music presented in stunning historic venues. The music also comes from around the world including some delights from India including a stunning fusion of Indian ragas with Western classical music

Kathak dancers Anuj Mishra and Niha Singh performing at the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music last June.
Photo by Suzanna Clarke

Stars like Patti Smith and Paco da Lucia will be playing beneath the night sky at the 3,500-seat Bab Makina main stage – a parade ground attached to the Royal Palace, surrounded by castellated walls.

One of the most loved music festivals in the world, the festival has attracted a star-studded line-up for its 19th edition. The 2013 Fes Festival of World Sacred Music with the theme Reflections of Andalusia will open with a spectacular dance, poetry and musical extravaganza directed by the flamenco dance maestro Andres Marin. More than 30 Arab-Andalusian, Sufi, Amazigh and Spanish flamenco artists will take part.

Although the focus this year is on Andalusian music, India is once again part of the magical mix.

In fact, the Fes Festival has a long tradition of presenting Indian artists.

Back in 2007, Mumbai-based Carnatic vocalist Vasumathi Badrinathan, performing at the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music said, “It is a matter of great honour and pride to represent India in that part of the globe.” It can equally be said that the Indian presence at the Fes Festival is treasured by those lucky enough to experience it.

Vasumathi is just one in the list that includes the late Ustad Bismillah Khan (1997), Begum Parveen Sultana, Ustad Dilshad Khan (1998), Aruna Sairam (2000), Afroz Bano (2001), Anurekha Ghosh (2005), Pandit Ravi Shankar, Anoushka Shankar (2005) and Sudha Raghunathan (2006) Vasumathi Badrinathan (2007).

When, in December 2012, Ravi Shankar died, his passing was marked by Festival Director Faouzi Skali, who recalled the last time he visited the Fes Festival. “It was for the 11th edition of the World Sacred Music Festival, in 2005, where he gave, with his daughter Anoushka, a concert with incredible power; power that transcended beyond space and time.”

One of last year’s highlights was the appearance of Anuj Mishra and Niha Singh, both brilliant exponents of the Lucknow School of Kathak Dance. Their concert was one of the stand-out performances of the festival.

Mukhtiyar Ali at the beautiful Batha Museum venue

Mukhtiyar Ali was another performer in 2012. An enthusiastic proponent of Indian music, he saw the Festival as a valuable way of keeping age-old traditions alive. “The Mirasi lineage which has preserved the heritage of Sufiana Qalam — through all these generations — witnessing war, droughts, religious backlash and economic penury is today falling apart in the consumer-driven world we have created. Much of the folk traditions and music forms are tottering today and are lost in lifestyles offering instant gratification as comfort, where everything needs to be compressed into seconds and rarely is there time to experience the lifetime that traditional music offers.”

Tariq Binshakoor lives in England but is a Fes Festival regular. He is particularly attracted to the Indian music presented. “I have an Indian heritage so this type of music is my thing,” he said. “I understood much of it and I think music is best enjoyed when understood, it takes the experience to a different level altogether.”

“Music is the common language of humanity, it speaks to all of us,” Festival Director Skali

In 2013 the magical Indian presence will continue. As Zeyba Rahman, Asia and North American Director for the Festival says, “We anticipate that the two performances by Pandit Shyam Sundar Goswami, the vocalist who represents the Kirana Gharana of North Indian classical Khayal, will be greatly appreciated in his June 10th solo performance and when he collaborates with France’s XVIII Le Baroque Nomade Ensemble under the direction of Jean-Christophe Frisch in a performance of western classical music and majestic Indian night ragas. In addition, the Festival audience will have a unique opportunity to learn Indian classical dance mudras or hand gestures when they join the workshop with classical Indian Bharatanatyam dancer Manochhaya.”

Pandit Shyam Sundar Goswami originates from Bengal and trained in the Kirana Gharana vocal tradition of north Indian classical music. His rendition of the Kirana Khyal tradition is marked with great subtlety. He will be performing Monday, June 10th at Dar Adiyel at 19:30.

Another much anticipated concert on June 10 is Reflections of an Indian Night. At the beautiful Dar Mokri venue, Jean-Christophe Frisch, flutist and artistic director of the XVIII-21 Le Baroque Nomade ensemble, with singer Cyrille Gerstenhaber, will join with Pandit Shyam Sundar Goswami, the master of the khyal vocal tradition, to conjure up 18th century Chandernagar with both western music and Indian nocturnal ragas. The music is described as being “somewhere between reflections and dreams”, with compositions that include Couperin, Marin Marais, Lully and Michel Lambert.

The Moultaqa programs on June 12 will bring together master artists and audience enthusiasts in intimate setting for workshops and discussions, as an initiation into the choreographic and musical arts through the language of meditation, with approaches that are both ancient and contemporary. Bharatanatyam dancer Manochhaya will lead a session on Indian dance and the mudras, or hand gestures.

The Fes Festival of World Sacred Music was founded in1994 by Skali. His aim, following the First Gulf War and in harmony with Andalusian ideals, was to create a focal point for peaceful collaboration between people of all races and religions, rooted in spiritual and humanitarian values. “Music is the common language of humanity,” he says “it speaks to all of us.”

The 2013 Fes Festival has been chosen as one of the top 25 international music festivals by the world music magazine Songlines.

Other events of note:

Wednesday, June 12 at Dar Mokri ,14h00 - 18h00: Moultaqa
Moultaqa  Bharatanatyam dancer Manochhaya will lead a session on Indian dance and the mudras, or hand gestures.

Bhutan
Wednesday, June 12 at Dar Adiyel - 19h30 / 22h00- Sacred songs from the Kingdom of Bhutan
With Jigme Drukpa, Pema Samdrup and Namkha Lhamo presented in collaboration with the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs, Bhutan. Bhutan’s sung tradition is presented for the first time in Fes. It includes Zhungdra, the Bhutanese classical tradition, Boedra, the Tibetan tradition, and Gurma, traditional devotional chant dedicated to Milarepa, the great Tibetan mystic and poet (1040-1123) and to his disciple Rechungpa.

Mongolia
Saturday, June 8 at Musée Batha 16h00 - Nomadic Voices of the Steppes and the Mountains - Sardinia, Mongolia. Cuncordu E Tenore de Orosei Ensemble with Mongolian vocalists Ts. Tsogtgerel and N. Ganzorig of Mongolia.  Within the confines of the sacred and the secular, somewhere between liturgy and folk celebrations, these voices resonate between the heights of the Sardinian mountains and the Mongolian Steppes. It is here that the beauty of a pastoral culture is still to be found. Far, far away, where the Altaï mountains meet the immense Gobi desert, Khöömii throat singing can be heard. This song is a musical metaphor for the hilltops and the valleys, the vastness of the Steppes, the herds and the tumult of nature.

More details Festival Website

Text: Sandy McCutcheon
Photographs: Suzanna Clarke 

SHARE THIS!

Fez Sacred Music Festival - a musician's pick.

Dan Hipgrave (pictured above), former guitarist with British indie rock band Toploader, picks the best of this summer's music festivals for the UK newspaper The Telegraph and places the Fes Sacred Music Festival in the top three.

Here is what he had to say:

When it comes to summer festivals, I count myself very lucky. I – along with 90,000 deliriously happy mud-caked fans – saw Radiohead deliver their best ever performance at Glastonbury in 1997. Two years later my band, Toploader, appeared on the same stage and I experienced the exhilaration of playing in front of a similar-sized crowd.

Since then, I have checked out other British festivals and have toured the world reviewing similar events. Adding travel to the mixture can often enhance the experience (particularly if mud baths aren't your thing) and certainly broadens your cultural compass.

So here are my top tips for this summer's festivals, both at home and abroad.

DAN'S TOP PICKS.

1. Pinkpop Festival, Landgraaf, May 30-June 1

Pinkpop annual rock festival is held on Whitsun weekend (Pinksteren in Dutch, hence the name) in Landgraaf, 134 miles from Amsterdam. Pinkpop is in Guinness World Records as the longest-running music festival in the world, the first being held in 1970. Like Glastonbury, Pinkpop has the unfortunate knack of being wet and muddy, but this doesn't stop the outlandish Dutch from letting their hair down. The huge open-air event, which is attended by a 60,000-strong crowd, includes about 40 bands spread over four stages. This year the line-up includes Foo Fighters, Queens Of The Stone Age and Rage Against The Machine (www.pinkpop.nl)


2. Rock am Ring/ Rock im Park, June 6-8

For years, the Germans have been the undisputed kings of metal and these two raucous events, the biggest summer festivals in Germany, rarely disappoint. They are held simultaneously at the Nürburgring racetrack and the Frankestadion in Nuremberg. The emphasis is purely on the music and, with few other attractions to distract you, this is what you get. With a line-up that includes Metallica, Motorhead and The Manic Street Preachers, what else do you need (except for ear plugs)? It's loud, heavy and German (www.rock-am-ring.com; www.rock-im-park.com)

3. Fez World Sacred Music Festival, June 6-14

During June, Morocco's ancient holy city, Fez, stages a very individual world music event where performers from every corner of the planet come together for a week of artistic excellence. The festival is split into four locations around the Medina, with stages that blend seamlessly into Fez's incredible Islamic architecture. It's far more than a "music festival"; it's a showcase of devotional sacred music uniting faiths and peaceful values from all over the globe. This is a real "hippie experience", not the pretend tie-dyed affair one might find at a conventional music festival (www.fesfestival.com)

See the full programme here: The 14th Fes Festival of World Sacred Music

Ticket collection service here: Ticket Collection

Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Morocco - where everything is music

“We have fallen into the place where everything is music.” RUMI

Our guest contributor today is Steven Scholl. Steven is a writer on religion with special focus on the Middle East. He is a graduate of McGill University's Institute of Islamic Studies and leads Imagine Adventures. The full version of his story on the Fez Festival of Sacred Music first appeared in the Jefferson Monthly in September 2008. The View from Fez has edited and added photographs to Steven's article.

I first traveled to Morocco in 1966 at the age of 12. Well, it was virtual travel as we knew it back then as my travelling companions were Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Dorothy Lamour and their film Road to Morocco. My next trip came a few years later when my mother introduced me to the fabled city of Casablanca in its American romance version starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. It took me another thirty-five years to find my way to the real Morocco, which bears little resemblance to the Hollywood version or to the image many Americans have today of the Arab world.

It was in 2005 that I made my initial journey to the country known in the Muslim world as Al-Maghrib (the West). On arrival, I was greeted by two dimensions of Moroccan culture that walk hand-in-hand as intimate friends: chaos and the sublime. Morocco lies both geographically and developmentally somewhere between Mali and Spain, between the Third World and First World. Morocco is rough around the edges, there is poverty and beggars and the smell of dust, diesel and debris rising in the heat of a 90 degree day. But within the chaos there is beauty, refinement, order, and tranquillity found in the gardens, architecture, music, and especially the people of Morocco. I now travel annually to Morocco to attend the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music and to further my explorations of the magical cities of Marrakech, Fez, Essaouira, Ouarzazate, Meknes, and Tangier, and to hike in the High Atlas Mountains, swim in lagoons, and trek out into the Sahara desert. But it is the music of Morocco and the spirituality behind it that I continue to find the most compelling force that brings me back to Al-Maghreb.

My first encounter with the World Sacred Music Festival was a musical and spiritual initiation. I reached Fes late in the afternoon and hurried from my hotel to Bab Makina, the magnificent outdoor setting of the festival’s headline concerts. The Tokyo Gagaku Ensemble was performing. As their gentle chants reached us from the stage, set before the intricately tiled gate, or báb, the muezzin’s evening call to prayer came floating over the walls of Bab Makina from a nearby minaret and sweetly mingled with the ancient Japanese chants. This unexpected interfaith dialogue seemed to me the perfect introduction to the Spirit of Fes and the World Sacred Music Festival.

In Fez, music is everywhere

The festival was conceived in a moment of world crisis. The inaugural 1991 festival was the vision of Dr. Faouzi Skali, a professor of cultural anthropology, a Sufi teacher, and a resident of Fes, who was dismayed by the devastation of the first Gulf war. Skali felt that some positive counterforce was needed. “It was a modest response,” he recalls, “and it has kept on evolving. Music seemed more elemental and it got around barriers of language.”

Sufi musicians dominate the Moroccan music scene and the richness of this tradition has been given a special showcase at the World Sacred Music Festival.

The goal for the festival has been more than just putting on a music festival for the sake of entertainment. From the outset, the World Sacred Music Festival has had a much more ambitious agenda: to celebrate world spirituality in all its diversity and create a forum for cultural exchange.

Since its birth in the wake of the first Gulf war, the festival has grown into an important gathering of both musicians and thinkers. The United Nations has called the festival an “unsung hero in the dialogue among civilizations.”

Fez attracts people from every culture and country.

Fes seems fated to host this gathering of spirituality-driven musicians. Situated at the foot of the Atlas Mountains, it is the most ancient of the Imperial Capitals of Morocco. Founded in the ninth century, Fes has long been a centre of international commerce and a cultural crossroad. Fes is home to Qaraouine University, founded in the ninth century, one of the oldest centres of higher learning in the world. It was long the city of a vibrant Jewish community, many of whom came to Fes when forced out of Spain by Christian zealots in the fifteenth century. The brilliant Jewish philosopher Maimondes (d. 1204) lived and taught in here for a time. Sufis, the mystics of Islam, have been practising their brand of ecstatic Islam here for centuries.

Fes provides a feast to one’s senses. Fes el-Bali (Old Fes) is the main attraction and home to over 700,000 Fassis, as the residents of Fes are called. The narrow and winding lanes of Fes el-Bali mean that there are no automobiles inside the walls of the old city. Fes el-Bali’s honeycomb of small lanes are packed with vendors selling leather goods, jewelry, carpets, fabrics, clothing, fruit and vegetables, wood carvings, perfumes, herbs, and more.

Guides, both official and unofficial, are available to help navigate the maze that is Fes. Or, you might follow novelist and transplanted Fassi Paul Bowles’s recommendation, to “lose oneself in the crowd — to be pulled along by it — not knowing where to and for how long . . . to see beauty where it is least likely to appear.”

The Bab Makina stage

One night at at a food stall a man beckoned me and my friend Sam to dine at his establishment. When he found out we were Americans he began to talk presidential politics. He stood tall, cleared his throat, and then began to recite these words: “It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation. Yes we can. It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom through the darkest of nights. Yes we can. It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness. Yes we can.” Hearing this young Moroccan reciting Obama’s speech of hope was extremely moving. It also shows a side of the Arab world that is often missing in the American media.

Some critics of the Arab world such as Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith, try to convince Americans that Arabs are insular, hate the West, and are driven by a fundamentalist creed that hopes for Islam to conquer the world. I have lived and travelled extensively in the Middle East and can assure readers that such views are not accurate. On this last trip to Morocco nearly every Moroccan I talked to wanted to discuss what was going on in the United States and what I thought about the prospects for peace in the Middle East. Arab Muslims are proud of their faith and culture, however, they are not out to conquer the world but to become part of a global culture as equal partners.

The Fes Festival of World Sacred Music is one important Muslim event that fosters just this global perspective.



Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news

Fez Hamadcha Sufi Troupe ~ May Visit Australia

Exciting news came this week that one of the most popular Sufi Brotherhoods in Fez has been invited to appear at the largest music festival in the Southern Hemisphere - the Woodford Festival in Australia. The festival runs for a week and entertains around 130,000 people. The appearance of the Hamadcha Sufis and other Moroccan events will also help attract more Australian visitors to Morocco

Due to financial constraints the entire tariqa will not be able to travel, but rather a small group will make the long journey "down under". There is still fundraising to be done, but if successful the troupe would perform in Australia between December 26 2014 and January 1st 2015

If the tour goes ahead the group will be lead by Abderrahim Amrani Marrakchi and include musician and anthropologist Frédéric Calmès who will act as the group's translator.

Hamadcha leader Abderrahim Amrani Marrakchi (centre) with the troupe

Frédéric Calmès playing the gimbri

Also appearing with the troupe will be English singer Faith Barker. Faith, who studies at Cambridge University, has been performing with the Hamadcha since last year when she was astonished to be asked to "come and sing at a festival in Meknes".

Faith Barker  - a wonderful addition to the troupe

Yesterday the Hamadcha performed privately at Riad Zany and took part in a photoshoot to promote the tour to Australia. The tariqa have performed at festival in Europe and Africa and their exciting and infectious style will certainly be a hit in the antipodes.

Rachida El Jokh ~ taking care of incense and ritual cuisine

Previous Appearances
-Festival of Fez, June 2009.
-Warchane-slam the malhoun Festival, Essaouira, May 2009.
-Festival-Sufi culture, Fez, April 2009.
- "Morocco, 12 centuries of history", UNESCO, Paris, November 2008 .
-Festival of Sacred Music, Fez, June 2008.
-Sufi Culture Festival, Fes, May 2007.
-Festival in the city of Sacred Music Festival in Fez, in June 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.
- Festival Bronsom paradise, Netherlands, July 2004.
-Festival of Sacred Music-Berlin, Germany, December 2003.
-Music Festival for Peace in Valencia, Spain in April 2003.
-Latitudes Festival-Maghreb-Villette, Paris, May 2002.
-Festival of World Sacred Music, Fes, Morocco, June 2002.
-Festival-Mediterranean Bari, Italy, August 2001.
-Festival-cultural Mediterranean, Sicily, Italy, August 2000.
-Festival of Popular Arts in Marrakech, Morocco, 2000.
-Time-Morocco, Café de la Danse, Paris, December 1999.
-Alabama Birmingham International Festival, USA in April 1999.


SHARE THIS!

Pattii Smith at the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music

"Nous avons le plaisir d'annoncer que nous recevrons Patti Smith le Samedi 15 Juin à Bab Al Makina" - Fes Festival

The news that Patti Smith will be the final performer at the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music in 2013 came as a bombshell, or as one wit put it, "a bliss-bomb"! The brave, "left-field" choice by the organisers provoked an immediate and positive reaction on social media and news sites. The View from Fez has been taking a look at the public response.

Throughout the Medina of Fez the reactions ranged from surprise to delight. As many people pointed out, over the years the Fes Festival has presented some performers who raised eyebrows when they were announced but then went on to give concerts that were extremely popular. The classic example was Ben Harper, who in 2011 many questioned, saying he was not "spiritual" - however his concert was a triumph of power and sensitivity. Another was Joan Baez, in 2012,  who again confounded the critics who said she was a bit old-fashioned and her music was "just folk music". Her concert was a high-adrenalin spiritual boost that totally captivated the audience. Bjork, was more questionable, dividing the audience - but mostly along generational lines. 

So, how will Punk rock's poet laureate be received in Fes?  Her ability as a poet is unquestionable, but at 65 years of age, can the "queen of punk" put together a set that will rock Bab Makina?

"Heck, she could recite the menu from a Chinese restaurant and it would still come across as genius" - music reviewer Jim Harrington 

The general consensus is that she will have no problem at all. Her literary nods to French poet Arthur Rimbaud, will go down well, but most importantly Patti Smith has (unlike Bjork) a real gift for chatting with the audience and bringing them closer to her. As Jim Harrington wrote last year in the Oakland Tribune "Heck, she could recite the menu from a Chinese restaurant and it would still come across as genius".

Her latest studio album, Banga, her 11th,  may not be one of her greatest, but in performance Patti Smith is raw power hitched to a literary wagon.  And much of her older music will be fammiliar. Songs like Distant Fingers from the Radio Ethiopia album, or Gloria, Because the Night, and People Have the Power are all tracks that would go down well in Fez. Another song that it is hoped she will include in her set list is her version of Lou Reed's Pale Blue Eyes . 

In the end the Fes Festival audience can expect - power, poetry and Patti. That has to be perfect.

Big names at Fes Festival - Paco de Lucia and Patti Smith

In the Fez Medina, the guesthouse owners and tourism operators were extremely pleased that Patti Smith will be performing at the Festival. Although accommodation bookings are already filling up for the Festival, this year's strong program of concerts is a real positive for tourism. Patti Smith is, as one tourism agency spokeswoman said, "fabulous icing on an already great cake".

Vanessa Bonnin (Dar Roumana) was also thrilled and, as she told The View from Fez, "Wild Horses couldn't drag me away from this concert!". 

Fred Sola (Riad Laaroussa) is also thrilled Patti smith is on the bill, but with one proviso "... as long as she sings Frederick. This song it is awesome! I have known since forever".

From Dar Mystere, Michael told said, "As a committed original punk rocker of the late 70s, Patti Smith, as a choice of headline artist for the ever adventurous Fez Festival of Sacred Music, vindicates the adoration amongst my colleagues and myself at that time for her classic track 'Because The Night' and seminal album 'Horses'. A truly timeless artist, as relevant today as she was back then. An inspired booking, can't wait!"

Sue Bail from Riad Rcif was ecstatic:  "The programming of the sacred music festival is so inspired and courageous, it never ceases to amaze. Faouzi Skali has expanded the definition of sacred, inviting a wider audience to enjoy and experience each year. Tabakal alik!"


MORE REACTIONS
On Facebook

Louis Mcintosh:  I consider this a brilliant booking for one of the most important punk/poet/artists who also is searingly soulful and honest in all her artististic endeavours. Encapsulates the spirit of the Fes festival whist being a forward thinking leftfield choice from the organisers.
Valerie Horlick: Patti Smith? Is this for the Festival of Sacred Music? She is more poet than musician, in the Beat style.
Drew Cummings: Patti Smith playing the festival makes it officially cool!
Bob Wisdom:  Inspired, brilliant, she is beyond any genre and has lived and seen many things ...which raises her work at this stage of life to sacred...Bravo! Moroccans are accepting to all types of music ...they will love her I'm certain.
Mary Finnigan:  I was somewhat surprised at this choice but I think its a lot better than Bjork..did not like her --endured for an hour then left.
Jan Cornall: A perfect choice. She's a poet first and foremost - a sacred punk rock songstress whose vocals are part trance/chant. A priestess of the modern soul. This is why I don't sleep anymore..life is just too darned exciting!
Peter Lord:  The Godmother of punk is a wise woman.
Eberhard Hahne: a reason to stay a few days more at Fez!!

On Twitter 

Hâte d'y être !!! J'espère que le public sera moins plombant qu'au concert de Bjork l'année dernière...
Stunning! Could it get any better than this?
Well done Fez Festival. Another winner and one we did not expect!
I love Patti Smith, but for the Sacred Music Festival????
Awesome. Totally freekin' awesome! 

SEE THE REVIEW OF THE PATTI SMITH CONCERT HERE

SHARE THIS!

Fès Festival of World Sacred Music - Archie Shepp

The Archie Shepp Gospel & Blues Ensemble from the USA gave the audience at Bab Makina a rare treat - a world premiere. The new work - To the roots of Blues and Gospel - delivered exactly what the name implies and did so with effortless grace.

Archie Shepp

“As we say in the church ‘we may not all be able to talk together but we can all sing together,” Archie Shepp told The View From Fez.  And the uniting power of music, crossing languages, cultures and heritage was at the forefront of the musical message being delivered at Bab Al Makina tonight. “Music represents our heritage, it tells the truth, it goes very deep. We have a responsibility to our African American heritage – it goes back to slavery and our survival from very trying circumstances,” Shepp told The View From Fez.

Shepp comes across as a humble man who never parades his deep musicological knowledge nor his strongly held political views about the plight of African-Americans. In his pre-concert press conference he touched on the history of the Civil Rights movement, "Our heritage goes all the way back to slavery, and our music speaks of our survival... Black music speaks to personal problems and also to those of the whole world."

"They say in church we may not be able to talk together, but we can all sing...Sacred music is a way of affirming a heritage. Music lifts me up, it elevates me. Music enchants me, as I hope to be able to enchant others." - Archie Shepp.

What he and the seven member ensemble gave the audience began with some wonderful jazz, but as the night progressed the music morphed between fusions of jazz, blues and gospel.

Amina Myers

Shepp was well supported by the ensemble, and in particular by Amina Myers, who sat at a grand piano resplendent in an African print dress and head scarf, skinny dreadlocks cascading to her bottom and her soulful voice complimenting Shepp’s more gravelly tones.  Myers stage presence is matched by her talent; a gifted pianist with a voice that was born to sing gospel and blues. To hear the two of them trading riffs on a sumptuous extended version of Motherless Child was exquisite.

The choice of music for this offering was perfectly pitched for a sacred music event. “I know the depths of your suffering and I know it’s all you can bear, so rest, rest enough your troubles and your cares. You’ve done your share,” they sang.

Even chandeliers get the blues - great lighting design

A tribute tonight should be paid to the lighting designers and technicians, the mood changes were subtle and yet enhanced the performance so that the audience were transported. The stage was wreathed in smoke reminiscent of a jazz club, and melancholy lighting during the slower numbers meant that even the chandeliers had the blues.

ARCHIE SHEPP

Archie Shepp is a great figure in Black American jazz and blues, music that he carries deep within his soul. Born May 24th, 1937, Archie is best known for his passionately Afrocentric music of the late 1960s, which focused on highlighting the injustices faced by the African-Americans, as well as for his work with the New York Contemporary Five, Horace Parlan, and his collaborations with his "New Thing" contemporaries, most notably Cecil Taylor and John Coltrane.

Master saxophonist, Archie Shepp is recognised as a pioneer of free jazz, signatory of the 'New Thing' manifesto of the 60s, Shepp takes his music beyond the label 'jazz', cognisant of the historical and sociological ramifications at the heart of Black American music.

When Archie Shepp played the Pan-African Festival in Algiers on 19 and 30 July 1969, his militant spirit sang, "We are still back, and we have come back. Nous sommes revenus ! " then : "Jazz is a black power. Jazz is an African power. Jazz is an African music ! alors qu’il se fera accompagné sur scène par des gnawas et des touaregs algériens. (So it should be accompanied on stage by Gnaouas and Algerian Tuaregs.)

Behind the great school of Black American song that is the gospel of today, lies the rural world of the Mississippi and of an Africa imprisoned in the the cotton fields of the South. At that time, the blues of the hopeless daily grind and the first glimmerings of a liberating gospel crossed paths between the bar and the little village church. The work songs and the shouts (ecstatic stomping of feet and clapping in a circle), truly poetic African declamations, gave a hint of the negro spiritual to the 18th century and became a form of music symbolising hope and dignity.


TOMORROW'S WEATHER

Tomorrow's Programme
Daily Digest – Fes Sacred Music Festival – Sunday June 10th

9.00 – 12.00 @ Batha Museum
Fes Forum: Giving a Soul to Globalisation
Theme – The Future after the Arab Spring

16.00 @ Batha Museum
Sheikh Yasin al-Tuhami (Egypt)

20.30 @ Bab Al Makina
Sama’a, Spiritual Songs, from East to West

22.00 @ Bab Boujloud Square – free entry
Festival in the City
Dekka of Marrakech (Bâna)
Poets, musicians and Sufi songs from Rajasthan

23.00 @ Dar Tazi – free entry
Sufi Nights
Cherqawwiya Brotherhood (Bejaad)

FÈS FESTIVAL QUICK LIST

Festival Programme
Festival in the City
Sufi Nights
Festival Forums
Festival Eating Guide
Art during the Festival #1
Art during the Festival #2
The Enchanted Gardens of Fez
Last Minute Accommodation


Text contributors: Vanessa Bonnin, Sandy McCutcheon
Photographs: Suzanna Clarke, Sandy McCutcheon, Vanessa Bonnin

The View from Fez is an official Media Partner of the Fès Festival of World Sacred Music


SHARE THIS!