Spiritual songs

S on of Cheikh Mohammed Sermini, Omar Sermini was born in Aleppo in Syria . He studied under the best of master musicians such as Abderahmane Moudallal and Nadim Darwiche. He worked in the field of invocations and enrolled at the Institut Arabe de la Musique where he learned to read music and play the lute. He has taken part in many Arabian festivals: Carthage and El Medina in Tunisia , the Festival de l’Indépendence in Algeria , the Fes Festival in Morocco , the Maison de la Religion in Lebanon and in the Syrian Song Festival. He has also participated in international festivals, notably in the Thé â tre de la Ville in France and in Sao Paulo , Brazil .

‘To sing is to seek oneself, and in seeking oneself, one finds God. To find God is to find oneself; in finding oneself, one loses oneself in Him, in the Breath of God, and comes at last upon the ultimate truth.’ This text, which can be found on the back of Hassan Haffar’s CD cover, expresses exactly what the muezzin of the great mosque in Aleppo , Syria means: to find truth through song.

The muezzin Hassan Haffar is an expert in his field, but also a storyteller and poet. His exceptional voice has brought him fame, not only in his native Aleppo , but also internationally, as can be seen by the success of his CD Chants d’extase en Islam. Although he is regularly invited abroad with the Munshed Ensemble of Aleppo (the term munshed meaning specialists in songs of praise, particularly religious ones), he prefers not to travel a great deal and his performances are infrequent. His presence, therefore, at the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music with the Munshed Ensemble and in the company of Omar Sermini, another great voice from Aleppo , is a rare treat. The public will be able to appreciate the immense talent of these singers, who will be presenting, amongst other titles, Le Sceau des Prophètes, Savoir et Piété, Mélodies du Paradis, Jardin d’Eden, Joie Profonde and Là où tu seras.