Fès Festival of World Sacred Music

The afternoon concerts took place at the Batha Museum courtyard, a lovely, sun-drenched garden with a gracious old tree whose branches draped over the stage to provide well-needed shade for the performers. The evening concerts were staged in front of the imposing Bab Makina gate, a huge, ornately tiled (everything in Fès is ornately tiled!) medieval keyhole arch. The lighting crew had a field day caressing the graceful curves and angles of the gate with color. More informal, rock, and hip-hop-flavored free concerts took place at Bab Boujloud, a large, open area just outside Bab Makina, and at Ait Skato, a racetrack on the outskirts of the city. Late-night Sufi performances took place at the intimate courtyard at Dar Tazi, with everyone crowding together on carpets rolled out on the ground.

The city of Fès is divided into two sections, the old and the new. The old city, or the medina, is a labyrinth of narrow passageways lined with residences, mosques, and shops selling everything from olives to pottery to goat heads. Braving the baffling maze of streets is like stepping back several centuries. Impossibly burdened mules and donkeys carried fabrics, cases of Coke, and produce through the tight streets. Djellaba-clad shoppers bargained for the freshest wares. There was an election scheduled for the week after the festival, and occasionally crowds of chanting, singing campaigners trooped through the alleys distributing literature.

The arts are an integral part of the city's economy. Besides the Sacred Music festival, there are jazz, spoken word, and culinary festivals scheduled throughout the year. Musical instruments are sold all over the medina. We visited an especially generous shop owner named Semlali Mohamed, who took the time to demonstrate (with respectable skill) an example of virtually every type of instrument in his tiny, cramped shop, from oud to ney to bendir. It's not uncommon to see street musicians in the medina playing a quick number, then doffing a hat to collect a few dihram. The medina boasts a small but rich museum of Andalusian music, housed in a former residence. The unassuming entrance belies the beauty of what's inside -- a gem-like tiled common area surrounded by display cases holding musical instruments, scores, beautifully decorated plaques outlining Andalusian music theory, and historic photographs. Several times during the day, the Muslim call to prayer could be heard over the din of the medina. While not technically music, it brought home the importance of the connection of sound to the sacred. So, on to the festival... (continued in the print edition)