Fawanees Masr: Music of the River Nile

Egypt’s musical heritage is as rich and diverse as the make-up of the people that inhabit this nation. In a 1-hour long musical expression of popular traditions, religious festivals and erudite music, enjoy exotic sounds of the Nubians, the desert Bedouins and the people of Upper Egypt and the Delta. Experience the mysticism of the Sufi chants. Thrill to the magic of nay and arghul, amongst the world’s oldest wind instruments, the oud, the rababa and the kanun, and let these capture your imagination and transport you to a folkloric Egypt where traditional music is still very much alive.

(Part of the June 2005 "Egypt's Other Pasts" celebration.)

Program:

• Karam Mirad on oud (Arabic lute) performs traditional Nubian songs, accompanied by Said Salem on the duff (Nubian frame drum) and Mohamed Mostafa on the nay (reed flute)
• El Sayed Ramadan on the rababa (Arab fiddle) performs traditional Nubian songs, accompanied by Safaa Khattab, a Gypsy singer and dancer
• Abdel Sadek El Badramany on simsimiyya (a five-stringed lyre) performs Bedouin music for the Bahareya Oasis, accompanied by two tribe members
• Fatma El Ganayni sings "Enta Omri" from Egyptian Opera repetoire of Umm Kulthum
• Gaber Gomaa sings a Mawal (plaintive vocal improvisation)
• Mohamed Seiam sings songs of Mulid (popular celebrations of particular saints)
(Click here to download Program Playbill in PDF format.)

Musicians:

• Mahmoud El Harouny (oud)
• Mohamed Mostafa (nay and kawal)
• Said Salem (duff and other percussion)
• Ahmed Mohamed (Bedouin singer)
• El Tayeb Barak (maghrouna)
• Nagdy Abou Ali (percussions)
• Saleh Amer (sa‚Äôidi mizmar)
• Samer Barakat (qan√∫n)
• Saber Rabie (violin)

CLICK HERE to listen to Fawanees Masr's performance from the Kennedy Center's Video Archive.

Thanks to: Underwriters: Contrack International | Benefactors: Orascom Technology, Orascom Construction, Orascom Hotels & Development, Amiral Holdings, Coca Cola | Sponsors: ExxonMobil, IPR Group, Mansour Group | Patrons: Advanced Technology Systems, Boraie Development LLC, Comet - SODECO group, Concord Investments, EFG Hermes, Egyptian American Community Foundation, Environmental Quality International, Technoram Holding.

Press coverage:
CNN

** co-marketed by David Chambers

June 13, 2005 (Monday) - 6:00 p.m. on the Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage