ANSAMed.it
Music as a bridge between populations and a universal language will be at the center of the ‘Festival des Musiques Sacrées du Monde’ scheduled in Fes on June 14-22. Squares and palaces will open their doors to the festival, whose title is ‘Fes, convergence of cultures’. The event that has been organized for a quarter of a century focuses on the theme of integration.
Selected since 2001 by the United Nations as an event contributing significantly to dialogue among cultures, the Festival of World Sacred Music welcomes artists from over 30 countries and musicians such as Sami Yusuf, who has been described as one of the greatest Sufi voices by Time Magazine.
Other leading artists include José Merce and Tomatito with a great Flamenco event, Lebanon’s Marcel Khalife, named UNESCO artist, Spain’s Carlos Nunez, maestro of Galician bagpipes, and Senegalese singer and politician Youssou N’Dour. The Festival’s program includes Cuban women’s songs and dances, sacred Irish songs, the art of Aleppo’s Muwashah and the World Youth Orchestra, a symbol of peace and dialogue with the Andalusian ensemble of Fes.
The event has the royal patronage and coincides this year with the 20th anniversary of King Mohammed VI’s rule. Along with concerts and conferences held by researchers and philosophers, the event will also provide the occasion to discover the medina of Fes, a UNESCO world heritage site. Its restoration is being completed with the newly resplendent Bab Makina square, where the royal palace’s official ceremonies were once held, the Jardin Jnan Sbil, Dar Basha, the palace of one of the last pashas of Morocco, pasha Glaoui, and Dar Adiyel.
