Live at the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music

Tracklist + Liner Notes

1. Taqsīm (Maqām Nahāwand) [Live]

   DESCRIPTION
   Live from the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music this year, this exquisite kanun solo piece, ‘Taqsim’, takes the most subtle longings of the soul and turns them into sound. Ethereal and and intensely beautiful, this evocative instrumental is masterfully performed by Onur Cicin in maqam Nahawand with allusions to Bayati.

   CREDITS

   FOH & Recording Engineer: Sachin Savio
   Monitor Engineer: Diego Biagioni

   Mixed & Mastered by Vishnu Rajan @ Andante Studios
   Video Editing & Postproduction by Omar Al-Balushi @ Andante Studios

   PERFORMERS (From right to left):

   Seyyed Mohammad Jaberi: daf, bendir & vocals
   Ömer Avci: bendir, tef, kudum & vocals
   Onur Cicin: qanun
   Sezgin Yaman: oud
   Emre Kayacan: kemanche
   Hasan Kirkisoglu: ney
   Mahyar Toreihi: santoor
   Hüseyin Can Pala: bağlama

   AND

   Sami Yusuf

   Special thanks to Ismail Boujia & his group for joining as guest vocalists (From right to left):

   Mostafa El Lachkar
   Ismail Boujia
   Elouafi Mohammed
   Hamza Idrissi
   Mohammed El Alami
   Abderrazak Idrissi

2. The Key (Lamma Bada Yatathanna) [Live]

   DESCRIPTION
   Recorded live at the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music in June 2019, Sami Yusuf’s latest single ‘The Key’ is based on a famous centuries-old Andalusian folk song. This musically rich piece is beautifully performed here by world class musicians accompanying Sami Yusuf’s signature vocals. New English lyrics along with the original Arabic poem weave together seamlessly to create a stunning sound that is peaceful, exotic and centering.

   CREDITS

   FOH & Recording Engineer: Sachin Savio
   Monitor Engineer: Diego Biagioni

   Mixed & Mastered by Vishnu Rajan @ Andante Studios
   Video Editing & Postproduction by Omar Al-Balushi @ Andante Studios

   PERFORMERS (From right to left):

   Seyyed Mohammad Jaberi: daf, bendir & vocals
   Ömer Avci: bendir, tef, kudum & vocals
   Onur Cicin: qanun
   Sezgin Yaman: oud
   Emre Kayacan: kemanche
   Hasan Kirkisoglu: ney
   Mahyar Toreihi: santoor
   Hüseyin Can Pala: bağlama

   AND

   Sami Yusuf

   Special thanks to Ismail Boujia & his group for joining as guest vocalists (From right to left):

   Mostafa El Lachkar
   Ismail Boujia
   Elouafi Mohammed
   Hamza Idrissi
   Mohammed El Alami
   Abderrazak Idrissi

3. Hamziyya [Live]

   DESCRIPTION

   ‘Hamziyya’ is a multi-layered piece that brings together music inspired by an Algerian mystical chant with a melody suggestive of the English folk tradition. In the interweaving of these musical expressions the listener can hear how traditional music is always in harmony, never dissonant. ‘Hamziyya’ was initially released on Sami Yusuf’s album Barakah, but this is a completely new arrangement with a never-before-heard Taqsīm composition in the Intro.

   The Intro was performed for the first time at the 2019 Fes Festival of Sacred Music. In it each solo instrument explores a unique maqam or musical mode: Sīkah (qanun), Bayāti (bağlama), Rāst (ney), Hījāz (oud), and eventually returning to Rāst. Each of these modes is known to have a distinct emotional effect on the listener. Here the transitions from one mode to another are arranged to evoke various stages of an inner journey.

   The lyrics come from portions of the thousand-verse Hamziyya (poem rhyming in hamza) by the renowned Palestinian scholar Yusuf Nabhani (d. 1932). Because it describes the Prophet’s life and character, it’s frequently recited during Mawlid celebrations of the Prophet’s (pbuh) birthday.

   CREDITS

   Music Composed and Arranged by Sami Yusuf
   (Refrain based on a mystical Algerian chant)
   Words by Yusuf Nabhani

   English translation by T J Winter
   Additional translation by Yousef Casewit and Saad Ansari

   FOH & Recording Engineer: Sachin Savio
   Monitor Engineer: Diego Biagioni

   Mixed & Mastered by Vishnu Rajan @ Andante Studios
   Video Editing & Postproduction by Omar Al-Balushi @ Andante Studios

   PERFORMERS (From right to left):

   Seyyed Mohammad Jaberi: daf, bendir & vocals
   Ömer Avci: bendir, tef, kudum & vocals
   Onur Cicin: qanun
   Sezgin Yaman: oud
   Emre Kayacan: kemanche
   Hasan Kirkisoglu: ney
   Mahyar Toreihi: santoor
   Hüseyin Can Pala: bağlama

   AND

   Sami Yusuf

   Special thanks to Ismail Boujia & his group for joining as guest vocalists (From right to left):

   Mostafa El Lachkar
   Ismail Boujia
   Elouafi Mohammed
   Hamza Idrissi
   Mohammed El Alami
   Abderrazak Idrissi

4. Taha [Live]

   Ṣalla l-Lāhu ‘alā Ṭāhā
   Khayri l-khalqi wa-’aḥlāhā
   God’s blessings be upon Taha,
   Best of creation and the sweetest

   Khayru l-khalqi huwa l-hādī
   Nūru l-kawni bihi bādī
   Best of [God’s] creation, he’s the guide
   The light of existence shines through him

   ‘Amma n-nāsa bi-’irshādi
   ’Azka l-khalqi wa-’arḍāhā
   He encompassed all mankind with his guidance
   Purest of creation and the most pleasing

   Nūru l-Lāhi l-mutaqaddim
   Qabla l-khalqi l-muta‘allim
   The first light of God
   He was taught before all other creation

   Badru n-nūri l-mutalaththim
   Hādi l-khalqi li-Mawlāhā
   The veiled light of the full moon
   Guiding creation to its Lord

   Ba‘da s-sidrati qad sārā
   Wa-ra’a l-ḥaqqa wa-’anwārah
   Beyond the Sidra* he walked
   And saw The Truth and His Lights

   Waqafa r-ruḥu wa-ma sārā
   Idhhab waḥdaka yā Ṭāhā
   The Spirit (Jibra’il) stopped and did not continue
   [saying] go on alone Taha

   Irża l-Lāha bi-l-ālāf
   ‘an ’ahli l-bayti l-’ashrāf
   May God be pleased with his intimates
   from his noble family

   Wa-l-’aṣhābi ’ūli-l-’insāf
   Nālu l-khulda wa-suknāhā
   And his companions, the people of justice
   Who gained eternity and its dwelling

   Malīḥun lawnuhū**
   Kahīlun ṭarfuhū
   Jamīlun na‘tuhū
   Ṣalla l-Lāhu ‘alā Ṭāhā
   Of fine complexion
   His eyes, dark and wide
   Of beautiful face
   The guide, with whom God is satisfied

   Qamarīyun wajhuhū
   Bahīyun shakluhū
   ‘Aẓīmun khuluquhū
   Ṣalla l-Lāhu ‘alā Ṭāhā
   His face is like the moon
   His form is resplendent
   His character is mighty
   Taha, the chosen one

   Rahīmun qalbuhū
   Ṣadūqun wa‘duhū
   ‘Amīmun jūduhū
   Māḥin muntaqā
   His heart is kind,
   His promises are kept
   His generosity is vast
   The effacer (of sins), the chosen one

   Ṣalātu Rabbī
   Ma‘a s-salāmi
   ‘Alā Muhammad
   Zaynu l-’asāmī
   The blessings of my Lord
   And His peace
   Upon Muhammad
   The most beautiful of names

   Maqām: Bayātī
   Commentary: “Ṣalla l-Lāhu ‘alā Ṭāhā” was written by the Sudanese/Egyptian Shaykh Salih al-Ja’fari (d. 1979) who taught and lived at the famous al-Azhar University in Cairo and was also the Imam of the al-Azhar mosque. He was a Sufi shaykh in the lineage of Ahmad ibn Idris of Fez (d. 1837) and a prolific author of works on the Qur’an, Hadith, Islamic law and Sufism. He also wrote a celebrated collection of poetry, from which this song is taken. The end section incorporates the blessed names of the Prophet (pbuh) taken from the Diwan of the famous Moroccan Sufi saint Imam Mohammed Al-Jazuli’s (d. 1465), Dala’il al-Khayrat.
   *The Sidra is a reference to the “Lote tree of the furthest boundary” (sidrat al-muntahā) mentioned in the Qur’an (53:14) and described by the Prophet on his night journey to heaven (mi’rāj). The sidra marks the outer boundaries that separate the created world (‘ālam al-khalq) from the spiritual world of the divine command (‘ālam al-amr).
   **This section is an original composition with words provided by Mohammed Ali El Oumari and Abdel Ilah Ikhal. The inspiration behind the melody comes from an old Kurdish folk song heard by Sami Yusuf when he was a child.

   Words by Shaykh Salih al-Ja’fari
   Music: Traditional Islamic (unknown provenance)
   Performed and arranged by Sami Yusuf
   Recorded at Andante Studios

5. Track 05
6. Track 06
7. Track 07
8. Track 08
9. Track 09
10. Track 10
11. Track 11