Music
AL FARABI is the creation of master reedflute player and music director Louai Alhenawi who brought together a group of consummate Middle-Eastern musicians to play classical and Sufi music.
The group is named after the great 10th century Islamic philosopher, cosmologist, scientist, and musician.
At times lyrical, at other times ecstatic with powerful rhythms, the music is an authentic expression of Sufi traditions ― passionate, heartfelt, yearning for union with God. The London-based band is almost unique in Europe in playing Arabic Sufi music ― some of it traditional, some of it newly composed by Louai. Of course, in the Middle-Eastern style, the players are brilliant virtuosos who are expected at times to improvise their parts!
At the core of the band are traditional Sufi instruments ― the haunting ney (reedflute), oud, daf (frame-drum), together with vocals, darbouka (goblet drum), and violin or cello.
The music is complemented by the only ‛tanoura’ and ‛sima’ dancer in the UK ― Shafeek Ibrahim. ‛Tanoura’ is a style of whirling from Egypt, and its use of layers of multi-coloured robes and skirts is spectacular.
When instruments blend and join with passionate vocals, and Shafeek whirls ever more hair-raisingly with billowing skirts, then we are reminded of the original name for the band ― taraweeh, or ‛refreshment of the soul’
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