PALESTINE: The Palestine Sacred Music Festival

After 10 years of experience in organizing festivals and musical events in Palestine and abroad, Al Kamandjâti Association is organizing this year an international festival dedicated to Traditional and Spiritual Music.

The creation of the festival is based on the belief that the time has come to broaden people’s understanding of Palestine, and to give its music world a greater sense of universality, by welcoming other cultures. In particular, the festival aims to give a new lease of life to music in the Holy City of Jerusalem.

As a point of convergence of the monotheistic religions and as a land of pilgrimage and fervour, the city of Jerusalem – beyond the ups and downs of its tumultuous and often tragic history – has succeeded in maintaining a magical sacredness, and remains a fundamental spiritual link between East and West. It’s through the streets of the holy city that we can begin a new quest to discover the great traditions which stretch back through human history to ancient civilizations.

The festival will be a musical journey of beauty and delight, highlighting the architectural wealth of Jerusalem, through the sanctity of its location.

From the Nomadic people who knew both the gems and the harshness of desert rocks to the great conqueror peoples of Mongolia and India, from Andalusia to Rajasthan, from ancestral Africa to ancient Asia, the festival will be an encounter between present-day Jerusalem and the other treasures of the world.

We will also explore the concept of time – that of cultural transmission from generation to generation, and of the legacy of knowledge that crosses centuries. The festival will highlight the phenomenon of belonging and identity, and the cultural diversity of our planet.

Most of the great traditions of the world are expressions of the sacred, which begin with an idea of revelation in a particular ecological and human context. This festival, beyond looking for an aesthetic beauty, is thus about engaging with the deeper meanings of sacred music, dances and expressions, while remaining playful and festive in order to enable a broad audience to enjoy its themes.

The performing ensembles

• The Palestine National Ensemble of Arabic Music – (Arabic) -Palestine

• Trio Shaghaf (improvisations, spiritual, oriental) – Palestine

• Diwan – creation (oriental / flamenco/ Sufi ) Palestine & Spain

• From Palestinian Yerghul to Sardinians Launeddas with Orlando Mascia, Mohamad Abu el Naji and Khaled Souitat – Palestine and Italy

• Al Baath Choir – Byzantine Singing – Palestine

• Juan Pérez Rodríguez trio – Flamenco Music and Dance – Spain

• Duo Alexej Gerassimez (percussion) and Hiyoli Togawas (viola) – Germany

• Les Surprises – Baroque Music – France

• Al Kamandjati Ensemble (traditional) – Palestine