Sufi Liturgy of the Great Ummayad Mosque
Venue: Zellerbach Hall
Price: $22/$30/$42
Subscription Series: World Stage Series B
The spellbinding Sufi tradition of devotional, whirling dancing dates back to the poetic incantations of the 13th-century mystic Rumi, whose followers adopted ecstatic dancing into their religious ceremonies as a means of achieving higher states of consciousness and connecting with the divine. Performing an evening of ceremonial dance, poetry, music, and chanting, the Whirling Dervishes of Damascus will be accompanied by one of the world's finest liturgical singers, Sheikh Hamza Shakkûr, a muqri (Koran reader) at the Great Mosque of Damascus, and the legendary Ensemble al-Kindî, comprised of three of Syria's finest classical musicians performing on traditional instruments. Al-Kindî is led by Julien Jâlal Eddine Weiss, a Swiss-born master of the qanoun (Arab zither) whose life's work is devoted to preserving these fascinating Sufi rituals and giving Western audiences a rare taste of the joys of classical Arabic music.
Patron Information
Program Notes: Program notes are available online beginning one week prior to performance.
Related Performances:
Masters of Persian Classical Music
Gods, Goddesses & Ancestors: Music, Dance & Rituals from Kerala, India
Artists links:
Official Ensemble al-Kindî site
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