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British composer Sami Yusuf’s ‘En al-Ándalus’ is a magical reimagining of Ibn al-Khatib’s muwashshah ‘Jadaka al-Ghaith’.
Performed live to an overflow audience at the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music in Morocco, Sami Yusuf brings this much-loved piece back to its Andalusian and European roots. Arranged in a Western scale, the work hints at the Celtic influence found on the Iberian Peninsula at the time of its origin there over six hundred years ago.
True to the music that embraces the dream-like lyrics of deep love amid shining stars and rain, the innovative and unitive vision that we’ve come to expect from Sami Yusuf soon leads to a dramatic shift as the voice of flamenco singer Israel Moro adds Spanish lyrics from San Juan de la Cruz’s ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ to the work’s unfoldment. Oud and classical guitar solos give way to flamenco guitar and palmas (rhythmic flamenco clapping). The singular human sound of palmas transports us as the striking vocals of Ismail Boujia seamlessly offer an Arabic mawwal over the passionate beat. Throughout, the luminous voice of Nabyla Maan shines in its intimate interweaving with the vocals of Sami Yusuf. With the electrifying call and response of the outro the circle is complete.
Sami Yusuf’s ‘En al-Ándalus’ transforms not only the lyric beauty of ‘Jadaka al-Ghaith’ with its feel of interconnectedness and harmony into a tale for today, it transforms us. We hear in it much more than a story of a golden time gone by. We hear in it the promise of a time to come.
Performed live at The Fes Festival of World Sacred Music
From the album Alma
Featured vocalists:
Sami Yusuf
Nabyla Maan
Ismail Boujia
Israel Moro
Arranged by Sami Yusuf
Music: Andalusian-Arabic Muwashshah
Additional Composition by Sami Yusuf
Spanish words by San Juan de la Cruz
Arabic words by Lisan ad-Din Ibn al-Khatib
CREDITS:
Composer and Musical Director: Sami Yusuf
Sami Yusuf : Vocals
José Manuel Léon: Flamenco Guitar
Antoine Morinière: Classical Guitar
Tarik Hilal: Classical and Flamenco Guitar
Magsad Azizov: Balaban
Tolga Saracoglu: Ney
Eren Turan : Baglama
Bayramcan Boy : Oud
Mostafa Momenian: Santoor
Emin Bayram : Qanun
Mohammad Jaberi: Daf and Dayre
Eren Bayram: Bass Darbuka, Riq and Cajon
VOCAL SOLOISTS:
Nabyla Maan
Israel Moro
Ismail Boujia
BACKING VOCALISTS:
Mostafa El Lachkar
Elouafi Mohammed
Soufyane Jabrane
Mahmoud Ketami
Hamza Idrissi
Kamal Nejjar
Mixed and Mastered by Vishnu Rajan and Arash Pakzad
Video Editing & Postproduction by Omar Al Balushi
Graphic Design & Artwork: Hasan Kuchkarov
Audio Editing & Premixing: Amal Neehar
Special thanks to:
Elouafi Mohammed
Katherine O’Brien
Nicholas Boylston
Saadet Ates
©℗ 2024 Andante Records. All rights reserved.
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