To the sounds of Sufi chants amid the ancient columns of Balbek Fort, visitors to the Ancient Balbek International Festivals lived a night celebrating diversity and cultural heritage.
On the steps of the temple of Bacchus in the fortress, located in eastern Lebanon, the concert of the Al-Kindi band from the Syrian city of Aleppo was divided into two parts: the first was dedicated to the sung stanzas. the Syrian Omar Sarmini, and the second dedicated to Sufi hymns performed by Hamid Dawud, the leader of the choirs at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.
The band’s artistic director, Egyptian percussionist Adel Shams El-Din, said, “25% of the program is new. The band, founded 40 years ago by the French Kanun player Julien Jalal El-Din Weiss, has never presented it anywhere else. .”
Sarmini expresses love and sorrow to the melody of Aleppo’s flute, tambourine, qanun, ooth and slavery, stanzas and kudut. He savored them by singing, “O my heart, let not thy heart be weary.” City of the Sun”, a tribute to Fairuz and the history of the Baalbek festival.
Sarmini also presented Muasha “Ya Bahjat Al Ro” composed by Saeed Darwish. Syrian poet Boutros Bin Ibrahim Karama recited the poem “The Beloved Who Loved Her Came on a Journey” and entertained the audience.
The audience enthusiastically applauded Muasha’s verse. “Malik, sweet Malik,” the audience chanted along with Sarmini, the voice of the late Aleppo artist Saba Fakhri.
Sarmini ended his connection with “Ya Mal al-Sham” by standing and playing it, replacing the word al-Sham with Lebanon, Baalbek and his city, Aleppo.
The second part of the feast was dominated by a spiritual atmosphere through prayers and praise and supplications, which spread a mystical atmosphere that was soon embodied in the dance of the dervishes.
The singer, Hamid Daoud, began his prayer with the Adhan followed in the Great Mosque of Bani Umayyah in Damascus.
And to the chant of “There is no God but God,” three angels joined the stage, in pairs, all three taking turns to meditate around themselves in their white robes, raising their hands with open palms to the sky.
Dawud sang prophetic hymns, including, “My God, with Your praise, I begin my speech,” “Our prayers upon the Hashemite Prophet” and “O God of the universe, my support.” According to Dawud, this combination includes solo reading on the flute, the ode, and the Qanun.
The ending was accompanied by the slogan “Madat”, which included references to the Shiite sect, including “O Ali, O delight of my eyes, O Imam of the soul, O my support.”
The director of the orchestra, which previously participated in the festival in 2000 and 2003, added, “Baalbec gives us a spiritual thanks to its history, we feel it in ourselves when we play, and the interaction of the audience makes us very happy.” The festival will end on July 16 with a concert entitled “Voodoo Cello”, where the French- The African singer Imani stands on the steps of the Temple of Bacchus, accompanied by eight cellists, in a performance that became a hit in Europe.
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