The Al-Kindi ensemble is celebrating its 40th anniversary in Baalbeck! Founded by qânun virtuoso Julien Jâlal Eddine Weiss (1953-2015), the Al-Kindi ensemble has resumed its journey under the musical direction of riqq master Adel Shams el Din. A new ensemble has been formed around the original nucleus with Sheikh Hamed Daoud, extraordinary vocalist of Sufi songs from Damascus, Khadija el Afritt on the qanun, nay artist Ziad Qadi Amin, Mohamad Qadri Dalal Syrian master of oud, joined by munchid Diaa Daoud and two vocal artists. Three whirling dervishes from the Great Umayyad Mosque in Damascus will accompany the ensemble, and Omar Sarmini, Syrian master of the qasidah, will be the evening’s special guest. The new album “Trance soufie de Damas” is a poetic musical journey, between prayers, invocations, and songs of praise. With the Al-Kindi ensemble, which it had already hosted in 2000 and 2003, the Baalbeck Festival brings moments of intense mystical-religious emotion back to life, magnified by the ecstatic dance of the dervishes. The ensemble’s return to Baalbeck will be a tribute to the group’s master-founder Julien Jalal Eddine Weiss.

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