The Al Andalous Heritage

If the tunnel under the Straits of Gibraltar which will link Morocco and Spain can already be glimpsed on the horizon of the 21′t century, we should not forget that this maritime discontinuity, this natural frontier between two continents, had long ago and for a very long time channeled the multiple currents of many civilizations.

Under the Omayyad’s dynasty, the Arab conquest which originally came from Alep assumed a wandering itinerary along the Mediterranean coasts and was marked by stops in Damascus, Alexandria, Tripoli, Sfax, Tunis, Algiers, Nador and then Ceuta in order to reach Spain starting in 711. Over the course of a presence which lasted eight centuries, all aspects of Arab-Muslim civilization were displayed and took root. From one side of the Straits of Gibraltar to the other, Middle Eastern influences could be observed in such varied disciplines as religion, linguistics, philosophy, science, architecture, etc.

The Al Andalusian Heritage, in a strict interpretation of the term, concerned the territories of the Iberian peninsula under Muslim domination, from the 7th to the 15th century: it occurred nevertheless largely in Andalusia. Let’s follow particularly the traces of two dynasties: the Almoravides and the Almohades. They bear witness to a common patrimony shared by both Spain and Morocco.

Depending upon their geographic origins, successive dynasties followed roughly the same routes, linking the Middle East or Southern Morocco to Spain in order to multiply, intertwine, to wander off and then meet again in Andalusia. Along these routes which led to Cordoba (the Emirate and Caliphate of Cordoba from 711 to 1031), to Seville (the capital of Al Andalous in 1163) or to Granada (the Nasridean capital), one found oneself pausing in Tangiers, Ceuta, Algeciras, Ronda and Malaga, which were all crossroads. Nevertheless, the influence of Islamic civilization from the East spread from there, notably to France, to Italy and in the intellectual realm, throughout all of Europe.

By Florence Poudru

Musical Instruments of Al Andalus exhibition

If a civilization can easily judge itself by the place it gives to poetry and to music, the exhibition « Musical Instruments of Morocco and Al-Andalus » is without doubt a great occasion to remind Morocco today about the density of its past. It takes place now and until August at the Marrakech Museum and has been mounted under the supervision of Sakina Rharib. It is thus necessary to urgently transmit this patrimony to future generations and to take immediate steps to do so.

This exhibition, conceived from an idea of Marcel Peres, was first set up thanks to the Royaumont foundation and produced at their headquarters during « The Time of Morocco in France » exposition. It was staged with the concur, Christian Rault, and essentially in collaboration with the museums of Morocco and the commissioner of « Time of Morocco” This was one of the greatest successes of this outstanding cultural event. It had the great merite the reunite the scientific and technical aspects, music as to demons power to preserve the oral tradition as well.

Concert: organized with Regional Orchestra of Marrakech under direction of Mohammed Azeddine, the Amenzou Ensemble of Melhoun the al Abbassiya de Samaa of Marrakech. This coincided with the publication of sufi poems under the direction of Jaafar Kansoussi.
It also organized the meeting of string instruments makers, Moroccan and European, who came together for the first time to create n instruments with techniques inspired by tradition. Headlined by « emancipotor hero » and « imam of music » Zyriab, this occasion did not fail to pay homage to the five-string ‘ud ramal, for which it is precisely attributed. The new interest in medieval music throughout the world is additional proof, if such were required, to escape from contemporary world; music by putting down roots of all great music coming from very ancient historic traditions.

This exhibition brings together many string instruments, namely ‘Ud, rbab, haihouj, guenbri (lutes with pierced bodies), and qanun. It offers as well a true variety of wind and percussion instruments from Morocco’s distant past. Also on display are nfirs (straight trumpet), ghayata (oboe) and nira (lyre), plus some daff (square, without cymbals), ta ta’rija (clay barrel), rarr (round with cymbals), tbal (double-skinned drum carried on the side), etc. If today the tech-niques of making these latest, popular instruments seems to be disappearing, they have the real advantage of being « alive: » their use continues to be attested in all Berber music such as the Ahidous, the ahwach or the haha, and as well in the religious brotherhood music such as the Aissaoua or the Hmadcha. This exhibition, of exceptional quality, is therefore proof of a living tradition, of an immense historic richness for all music, and it must be preserved at ail costs.