Goosebumps for Mary ...
Mary Finnigan
Well-respected journalist, freelance writer and media trainer Mary Finnigan is the UK Co-ordinator for the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music. Helen Ranger caught up with her to ask which performance she's particularly looking forward to at this year's Fez Festival.
'The one that gives me goose pimples is the Al-Kindi Ensemble with its internationally recognised maestro Julian Weiss', says Mary. 'Julian is of French/Swiss nationality, but for many years has been resident in Aleppo, Syria and more recently in Istanbul. He plays the kanoun - a zither-like instrument - with an awesome level of technical proficiency and musical depth. When Julian goes solo perceptive listeners are reminded of profound spiritual experience. Julian is a practising Sufi - and I have to confess to being a dewy-eyed Julian fan. No shame in this because he is also a learned musicologist who has researched Middle Eastern/Arabic musical traditions and writes about them to accompany the Al Kindi CDs - so that listeners have an intellectual as well as an aesthetic awareness of the music and its origins.
I'm unsure about Julian's collaboration with a Greek Orthodox choir this year. I'm not mad about European Christian liturgy - but perhaps my musical hero will open my ears to a fresh experience.'
The Al Kindi Ensemble performs with the Greek Choir on Sunday evening 8 June, at Bab al Makina.
See more about Mary at www.2write.co.uk.
See the full program here: The 14th Fes Festival of World Sacred Music
Ticket collection service here: Ticket Collection
Tags: Moroccan Morocco Fes, Maghreb news
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