Fes Festival Day Six - Review

Wednesday in Fez was again a perfect day - except for some Fes Festival confusion and a few unhappy patrons

Festival website

People arrived early at Jnan Sbil gardens for the advertised performance by the Liyuanxinlei Art Troupe only to find it was not happening. Security staff said they "knew nothing, but the performance had probably moved to Bab al Makina".

Visitors who had set today aside for the Chinese were disappointed and pointed to the website and the fact that the Festival had failed to inform anyone on Twitter.

It is worth pointing out that the Festival's use and understanding of Twitter and social media is close to zero. The last time the Festival used #fesfestival on Twitter was May 18 - since then - nothing.  Not even to announce a change of venue when the Sufi Nights were switched Dar Tazi . The Festival Facebook page is hardly any better, but did publish one change of venue for Jesus Mendez.

The publicising of the venue switch for the Sufi Nights was a fiasco - with a paper note taped to a gate at Jnan Sbil being the only communication.

If the Festival is going to come into the modern world it needs to at least have a Festival app and some staff who know how to use social Media. This year the Festival website was not completed in time for the Festival and has been criticised for having only a small English language component and that being in less than perfect English. The Festival deserves better.

Modern communication? 

ANDALUCIAN EVENING IN FEZ MOHAMMED BRIOUEL 21:00 BAB MAKINA  Review and photographs by Venetia Menzies

Bab Makina on a full moon

As the large orchestra of Al-Ala flooded onto the stage, the fortress walls of Bab Makina were lit up with detailed images of the night, the moon and stars projected from a seemingly invisible source. It was the largest group of artists yet to perform at the festival, with the famous Arab-Andalusian Fez orchestra numbering more than twenty. Long-time musical director of the orchestra, Mohamed Briouel, arrived last on stage, receiving warm applause from the mainly local audience.

After a brief narration in French, Said Belcadi, one of the four main vocalists, started to sing as the orchestra, in matching traditional silk djellabahs and Fes hats, joined with fervour. Andalusian music formalised its doctrine under the guidance of Iraqi polymath and freed slave Ziryab, in the 9th Century. His notable creation was the use of twenty-four musical modes, one for each hour of the day. Travelling through Syria, Tunisia, and eventually into Andalusia, his music became popularised across the Muslim World. Tonight’s concert showcased some of the youngest emerging talents in this style.

Female vocalist, Zainab Afailal, is one of the youngest members of the group, and introduced the second half with a tribute to love, as the stage transformed into a bed of roses and rose water seeped from the stage. There were an array of traditional instruments: multiple ouds, cellos, violins, rabab, and percussionists. With each instrumentalist also singing, a complex mix of harmonies echoed throughout the walled gates as the lights followed in rhythm.

Despite the crowd’s evident enjoyment, with people cheering, clapping and singing along spontaneously, the performance seemed to lack variety or intrigue. The highlight was to the end of the show, where Abdelhamid Khizrane sang a melancholy chorus as members of the orchestra debuted short solo performances. Iman, a local Fes medical student, noted that, despite enjoying this evening's show, previous performances from this group had been faster-paced, and more vibrant and exciting.

Towards the end of the show, the group sang in unison of the oneness of Allah, repeating the Shahadah, increasing in pace. As the percussion climaxed, the crowd clapped and stamped their feet, phones raised in the air, eager to catch a short clip of this local festival favourite.

ENSEMBLE TRI PUSAKA SAKTI 22:00 BEN YOUSSEF

I Made Djimat 

This was the second performance by the ensemble. It was impressive to see a completely new programme and especially one that included the Master I Made Djimat doing a solo dance in which he greeted the audience, shaking hands with those at the front. It was a sweet gesture.

See our review of their first performance here: TRI PUSAKA

Sufi Africa

Tomorrow @ the Festival

MYSTICAL BREATHS DIABOLUS IN MUSICA , HARIPRASAD CHAURASIA 16:30 JARDIN JNAN SBIL

SEPHARADE SONGS, FROM THE SACRED TO THE PROFANE  18:00 SYNAGOGUE

AT THE HEART OF SUFI AFRICA 21:00 BAB AL MAKINA



Festival weather:30 degrees Celsius down to 16 at night. 

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