Morocco shines at Paris Andaloussiyat festival

The second edition of the Arab World Institute’s (IMA) Andaloussiyat festival opened on Friday in Paris, with Morocco in the spotlight. This year’s program celebrates the richness and diversity of the Kingdom’s Arab-Andalusian musical heritage.

Running at the IMA until June 3 and organized in partnership with the Association of Lovers of Andalusian Music of Morocco (AAMAM), the festival showcases musical expressions rooted in Morocco’s Andalusian tradition.

The opening night featured a concert by artist Ali Rebbahi, who invited the audience on a spiritual and musical journey where the discipline of Andalusian music meets the uplifting force of madih and the sacred repertoire of samaa.

In a statement to MAP, Ali Rebbahi said he was delighted to perform in the City of Light, at the IMA. For him, the event, organized to mark Eid al-Adha, is an opportunity to stand alongside members of the Moroccan community living abroad and share with them the spiritual and cultural values of this ancestral heritage.

For his part, AAMAM vice-president Mounir Sefrioui stressed that “Andalusian music carries within it an important Sufi dimension,” noting that Ali Rebbahi’s ensemble offers “a concert where spirituality and Andalusian tradition come together.”

The Andaloussiyat program features original concerts bringing together leading orchestras, alongside introductory workshops on key instruments. It continues on May 30 with the participation of the Association of Ambassadors of Moroccan Andalusian Music in France, the Haddarates of Chefchaouen on May 31, and the Rabat Orchestra, conducted by Mohamed Amine Debbi, with Bahaa Ronda, on June 2.

The festival will close on June 3 with a conference devoted to the anthology of Moroccan Arab-Andalusian music Al Ala, followed by a concert by the Rawafid Orchestra under the direction of Omar Metioui.