| |
SUFI BROTHERHOODS
OF FES
With
The
Ahl Fès Choir directed by
Mohamed Bennis
And
Mohamed
Ba Jedoub - Abderrahim Souiri Abdelfettah
Bennis
Fez
is the spiritual and religious capital
of Morocco . Founded in the 9 th century
CE by Moulay Idriss II who dedicated
his city in praise of God, Fez has
for centuries been home to many Sufi
brotherhoods. As is so often the case
in traditional societies, they are
associated with specific professions.
The
founding monarch, Moulay Idriss, is
also considered a saint and his mausoleum
in the heart of the Medina attracts
a constant crowd of faithful pilgrims.
Fez also houses the oldest university
in the world, the Kairaouine, which
makes the city the intellectual heart
of Morocco as well as its spiritual
centre.
Fez is a city with a traditional
and historic heart that beats to the
rhythm of prayer and invocation. Here
we find numerous Zawiyas (places where
Sufi members can be found practising
their spiritual poems (Samaa’)
and their recitations of the names
of God (Dhikr)), interspersed
with mausoleums, sanctuaries and cemeteries,
some hidden or even anonymous, but
where the great spiritual figures of
Moroccan Islamic history lie buried.
Sidi
Ahmed Al Tijani, founder of the Tijaniya
Brotherhood firmly entrenched in west
Africa; Sidi Ali Jamal, Sidi Ahmed
Al Yamani, Ibn’Arabi Al
M’Afiri, Sidi Youssouf Al Fassi,
and many other less well-known saints
and mystics, are buried in or have
their shrines in Fez . Mohamed Ba Jedoub,
Abderrahim Souiri and Abdelfettah Bennis,
three of the greatest voices of Morocco
, along with the Ahl Fès Choir
directed by Mohamed Bennis, pay tribute
to this intense spiritual life of Fez
.
|
Mohamed
Ba Jeddoub
Born in Safi in Morocco
in 1945, Mohamed Ba Jeddoub began
his apprenticeship into the vocal
arts at a Zawiya there at a young
age, learning religious songs.
In 1961 he started his studies
in classical Andalus music, first
with the master Sidi Said Kadiri
in Salé and then with
the master Mohamed Tbayek in
Marrakech.
In
1963 he met Haj Driss Benjelloun,
president of the Association
des Amis de la Musique Andalouse
in Morocco , who in turn introduced
him to the master of Andalus
music, Haj Abdekrom Ra ïs.
It was Raïs who encouraged
him to pursue his talent in a
capella singing and the Maoual style
of modal improvisation.
Blessed with a warm and powerful voice, Mohamed Ba Jeddoub is very much appreciated
by the Moroccan public. |
Abderrahim
Souiri
Born in Essaouira, a town
that has long had a strong Jewish
community, Abderrahim Souiri was
raised in a traditional and very
musical family. His father, Maâllam
Benjema Essouiri, was a well-known
and much appreciated singer in
his native town. He was for a time
the most prominent singer there
in the Madih style (a
sung eulogy to the Prophet Mohamed)and
in Samaa’ (spiritual
poems), as well as being a musician
in an Arab-Andalusian orchestra
that included Muslims, Christians
and Jews.
Brought up in this atmosphere of brotherliness and openness, Abderrahim Souiri
was for a while supervised by his older brother, Abdelmajid Souiri, considered
to this day a great religious singer who worked with the masters Haj Abdelkrim
Raïss and Haj Driss Benjelloun Touimi.
Inheriting this long and rich family tradition, Abderrahimn Souiri enjoys a solid
reputation not only with the Moroccan public but across the Arab world. |
 |
Abdelfettah
Bennis
|
Abdelfettah
Bennis
Abdelfettah Bennis was
born in 1962 in Fez , into a
family well-versed in Arab-Andalus
music and religious song. As
with so many Moroccan singers,
Bennis spent a lot of time attending
the Zawiyas during his childhood
and adolescence, learning the Madih chants
and listening to Samaa’.
It was here that he discovered
the beauty of song and decided
to dedicate his life to it. He
also attended for some years
the Zawiyas of Kettania, Ali
Jamal and Sidi Kacem Benrahmoune
as well as the Mausoleum of Moulay
Idriss where he won first prize
in Cantillation du Coran in 1976.
His artistic career began at
the age of 11 with the master
of Arab-Andalus music, Mohamed
Massano Tazi.
In 1978 he joined the orchestra of grand master Haj Abdelkarim Raïss and
took part in many national and international festivals. He has made many recordings,
among which the best known is Anthologie de la Musique Andalousie ,
released under the aegis of the Moroccan Ministry of Culture.
As with his colleagues Mohamed Ba Jeddoub and Abderrahim Souiri, Abdelfettah
Bennis gives numerous concerts both in Morocco and throughout the world. |
Mohammed
Bennis
Mohammed Bennis was
born in 1955 in Fes , into a family
renowned for devotion to religious
and social traditions.
After learning
the chanting of the Qur’an, he
dedicated himself to studying the art
of Samaa’ (spiritual
poems) under eminent musical personalities
such as Haj Mohamed Lakhasasi, Haj
Mohamed Belafkir, Omar Zouiten and
Larbi Amrani. As a disciple of Grand
Master Sheik Abdelwahab Sekkat, Bennis
learned from him about the poetic works
of the Sufi masters. Like his brother
Abdelfettah Bennis, he is a member
of the large orchestra of Arab-Andalus
music of Haj Abdekrim Raïss and
also participates in concerts given
by the Lamtiri Orchestra under the
direction of master Mohamed Massano.
In
1994, Mohamed Bennis founded the Imam
Boussiri Association for the preservation
of the art of Madih, as well
as the Ahl Fès Ensemble of Samaa’ and
traditional Sufi chants.
|
