Fez festival of sacred music: a celebration of spiritual connections

As the sun dipped below the ancient walls of Bab Makina, the 28th Fez Festival of Sacred Music commenced, inviting audiences into a realm where tradition and transcendence seamlessly intertwined.

Curated under the evocative theme “Renaissances: From nature to the sacred,” this year’s opening night offered a meticulously crafted journey through sound, movement, and spiritual expression, featuring an extraordinary ensemble of artists from across continents and traditions.

Princess Lalla Hasnaa of Morocco presided over the opening ceremony, lending royal prestige to this annual celebration of global sacred music.

The first day of the festival showcased Le Deba, a mesmerizing Sufi ritual performed by women from Mayotte in the Comoros Islands. Their chants and rhythmic movements invoked centuries of devotion and cultural heritage.

Building on this foundation of African Sufism, the stage welcomed Omar Areej Mawlidi, whose soulful Omani Sufi chants bridged the spiritual divide between the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa.

Guiding the audience through this auditory odyssey was Malian actor and storyteller Habib Dembélé, whose resonant narration intertwined the evening’s diverse performances with the timeless power of oral tradition.

West Africa’s kaleidoscopic sacred arts took center stage as Le Zaouli de Manfla unfolded, its intricate masked dance embodying ancestral wisdom through breathtaking precision. The experience intensified with the towering presence of Les Échassiers, who, with their stilted movements, created a living bridge between earth and sky. The Compagnie Méhansio from the Ivory Coast followed, channeling raw, primal energy through a ritual leopard dance characterized by disciplined artistry.

The spiritual journey continued with Senegal’s Kassaïdes mourides from Dahira Safinatoul Aaman, whose devotional hymns celebrated the Sufi path of Sheikh Amadou Bamba.

Morocco’s mystical heritage revealed itself through Le Sama de Meknès, where whirling dervishes spun in celestial harmony, their movements forming a visual prayer. In a striking counterpoint, Corsican mezzo-soprano Battista Acquaviva revitalized Renaissance sacred music, her crystalline voice resonating through the courtyard like a revelation from another age.

The evening crescendoed with the thunderous performance of the Tambours du Burundi, whose polyrhythmic mastery transformed the space into a pulsating temple of sound.

Behind this multisensory masterpiece were the visionary creators: Alain Weber’s masterful conception and staging, Jean-Paul Méhansio’s evocative choreography, and Christophe Olivier’s luminous lighting design, all enhanced by immersive mapping projections from Spectaculaires.

As the final notes faded into the Fez night, the opening ceremony emerged as a living testament to the festival’s enduring mission: to illustrate, through the universal language of sacred art, the profound connections that bind humanity across cultures, eras, and beliefs.

With eight more days of programming ahead, this year’s festival promises to be a true renaissance of the spirit, inviting attendees to rediscover what it means to be human in an ever-changing world.