The Jerusalem Season of Culture 2012 presents:
The Jerusalem Sacred Music Festival
Musicians and artists from Iran, Iraq, Morocco, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Azerbaijan and Israel will come together in the holiest city in the world as part of the 24-hour Jerusalem Sacred Music Festival.
Among the participants-- Hassan Hakmoun (the king of the Gnawa from Morocco), Yossi Fein, Sevda (the young Azerbaijani diva), Berry Sakharof in a special sunrise performance, Zohar Fresco, Mark and Peretz Eliyahu, The Diwan Project hosting some fascinating guests and much more....
Artistic Director: Gil Ron Shama
Co-Artistic Director: Gil Karniel
Vision and Creative Direction: Gil Karniel, Omri Sharir
Artistic Director, Jerusalem Season of Culture: Itay Mautner
* * *
It is impossible to measure how many words, prayers, prophecies and expressions of longing have been directed toward Jerusalem each day, for thousands of years, and from every faithful corner of the earth. The Jerusalem Sacred Music Festival joins this tradition and seeks to broaden it. For 24 hours, musicians and artists from Israel and abroad, from different and varied traditions, will rejoice in the concept of "sanctity" and imbue it with new relevance.
The 2012 festival hopes to inaugurate a new tradition that will deliver, to and from Jerusalem, a message of sanctity, sensitivity, compassion and interfaith unity-a message that is at once personal and collective. The festival venues were meticulously selected to ensure that the spirit of the performances reflect their historic and symbolic characteristics.
In tandem to other venues, the Tower of David will be the center for the full 24 hours of the festival. It will act as the beating heart of the entire happening, welcoming the public to wander its history laden halls and paths while enjoying a variety of performances, sacred ceremonies, dialogues, and more.
Alongside the musical program, the festival will offer "testimony tours," a selection of walks around town showcasing the authentic rituals and ceremonies of Jerusalem's diverse faiths, which represent an ancient and still organic component of the city's rich, multi-textured tapestry.
For the full program and to purchase tickets, please go to jerusalemseason.com or call Bimot at *6226.
At the Tower of David
Mania: Kiya Tabassian and Ziya Tabassian (Iran-Canada-Israel) feat. Zohar Fresco
Thursday, September 6, 6:00-7:30pm
A mania is a state of ecstasy, a madness through which man seeks to get closer to the indescribable, to gain access to the invisible, and to interact with the other. The two brothers, Zia and Kia, who were born in Iran, strive, through ancient Persian music, to achieve this state of consciousness. They are inventor-musicians, traveler-musicians, who play their version of utopia over and over again. Their music includes elements of Persian music but is far from being a classical Persian composition. They dare to reinvent, creatively and with a virtuosic touch, the music of their native land. Their unique musical language frees them to pursue their dreams, expand their imagination, and achieve great things. Please join us.
Featuring: Kia Tabassian - vocals and sitar, Zia Tabassian - dumbek and percussion
Special Guest: Zohar Fresco - percussion
Persian Jewish Chants: A show in two parts
The Secrets of the Music of Persia
Thursday, September 6, 7:30-8:30pm
On the stage is a large group of talented musicians. In the middle stands Rabbi Eyal (Said) Manny, a composer and a great performer who, through his private journey (he has recently become religiously observant and received a special permit to perform again), opens a small window to ancient and mysterious Persian music. The Rabbi tells a story of an important culture, and makes it possible for us to open up and rediscover forgotten melodies.
Featuring: Rabbi Eyal Manny - vocals, Ilan Aviv - drums and percussion, Eran Benyamini - zarb and percussion, Eyal Avidan - saz, Asaf Rabi - bass guitar, Yitzhak Ventura - ney, Aviv Kaminer- Persian tar
Hallelujah: Afsaneh Ensamble
Thursday, September 6, 8:30-9:30pm
The Refuah family is continuing a glorious and important musical tradition that has been handed down from father to son. Yithzak and Eitan, who have dedicated their lives to the research of Persian music, are inviting us into their musical and spiritual world, and opening up the secrets behind unique Persian scales whose roots date back to the days of the Temple.
Featuring: Yitzhak Refuah - melodies, vocals, Eitan Refuah - musical arrangement and direction, santor, Gil Hameiri - zarb and daf, Yagel Harush - kamanche, Marina Tushich - oud
Maqam Yerushalem: World Premiere, The New Jerusalem Orchestra
Thursday, 6.9, 9:00-11:00pm
"Maqam Yerushalem" is a daring journey across musical cultures in pursuit of a contemporary-ancient Israeli sound. A group of local and international composers and musical arrangers join musicians, vocalists and a liturgical choir to perform songs in Hebrew, Arabic and Amharic that express longing for Jerusalem. Together, they weave a tapestry of ancient and contemporary, East and West, celestial and earthly Jerusalem.
Featuring: The New Jerusalem Orchestra, Artistic concept and direction: Yair Harel and Omer Avital, additional composers and musical arrangers: Peretz Eliahu, Rabbi David Menachem, Rai Hagai, Rafi Malkiel, Itamar Borochov, Elad Levi, Mark Eliahu.
Choir: The Yad Ben-Zvi Liturgical Choir.
* An additional performance of "Maqam Yerushalem" will be held on Saturday, September 8 at 9:30pm as a joint initiative of the Jerusalem Sacred Music Festival and the Piyyut Festival (which will take place from September 10-13).
Berry Sakharof - Electro-Acoustic Performance
Friday, September 7, 6:00-8:00am
Berry Sakharof at sunrise. Berry Sakharof at sunrise at the Tower of David in Jerusalem offers an electro-acoustic interpretation of liturgical songs, chants and other ancient scripts. Berry Sakahrof at sunrise. There will be light.
Featuring: Gidi Raz, Itamar Doari, Shai Tsabari
Gnawa Groove: The Hassan Hakmoun Ensemble (Morocco-USA) feat. Yossi Fein
Friday, September 7, 12:00-2:00pm
You won't stop moving. You will become addicted to the sounds. The rhythm will sweep you away. Welcome to Hassan Hakmoun's vibe-filled music party. Marrakesh-born, he eagerly drank up the sounds of the Gnawa tradition, emigrated to the U.S. and joined forces with the creative best. Hassan arrives in Jerusalem with a sense of great excitement and with local-international reinforcement---the fat bass and mesmerizing rhythm of Yossi Fein. Get ready for a Moroccan-African-American celebration in Jerusalem.
Featuring: Hassan Hakmoun - sintir, vocals, dance, Harvey Whirf - drum set, Shawn Kelly - percussion, Shikako Lawahori - background vocals, karkaba, dance, Yossi Fein - bass, and other instrumentalists.
The Diwan Project feat. Gila Bashari and Hassan Hakmoun, The Closing Performance
Friday, September 9, 3:00-5:00pm
The Diwan Project is not a regular performance. It is a gathering of people, of creators, of musicians, of an audience and primarily of hearts opening jointly in preparation for sacred melodies. Diwan has been performing for eight years and has facilitated a re-connection to ancient traditions, which come to life in a celebration that is quiet and profound as well as colorful and joyful.
Special Guests: Gila Bashari, Hassan Hakmoun (Morocco)
Featuring: Gil Ron Shama - vocals, darbuka, Alon Amano Campino - guitar, oud, vocals, Dvir Cohen Eraki - vocals, Yinon Darwish - vocals, Liat Zion - vocals, Erez Mounk - percussion, Rani Lorentz - bass
Soloists: Amir Shahasar - wind instruments, Mark Eliyahu - kamanche
***
A Night Stroll through the Tower of David
Throughout the night, from 12:30am to sunrise, the Tower of David will open its gates, doors and most importantly, its multiple historical layers, to a line-up of artists, creators, musicians, instrumentalists and dancers who will spend the whole night with you, until the sun rises. Come join us for performances and workshops, take part in rituals, or simply enjoy a hot cup of tea surrounded by history against the backdrop of the present.
* A ticket for the Night Stroll allows entrance to all the events listed below. The number of seats in each event is limited.
Jedra Lila - A Zikr Ritual of the Gnawa Tradition
Friday, September 9, 12:30-1:30am
The sounds of Karkaba will echo in your head long after the ceremony is over. Your body, as it moves ecstatically, will feel different. Welcome to the Night Jedra of the Gnawa tradition. The Jedra is a ceremony of healing and exorcism, which places the participants in a deep and liberating trance, and is part of a tradition practiced by African tribes who arrived in Morocco as slaves and who, for centuries, developed an extensive cultural, visual and musical tradition.
The Jedra usually lasts all night long; this will be just a taste.
Featuring: Hassan Hakmoun and his ensemble and Gil Ron Shama.
"Lilly of the Depths": A Sacred Chant Ritual with Amit Carmeli
Friday, September 7, 12:30-1:30am
Together. Sitting with the musicians. Taking a breath. The music starts. Another breath. An open mouth. A sound emerges, weak at first, and then with increasing power. Suddenly we are all singing together as one big choir. Yet another breath. An open invitation. Allowing us to be quiet while connecting to a relaxing trans-sonic experience. The Lilly of the Depths. It is never the same.
Featuring: Idan Kupferberg - percussion, Idan Carmeli - percussion, Joca Perpignan - percussion, Shacham Ohana - bass, Amit Carmeli - vocals, bass, guitar
Sacred Mbira Music (Zimbabwe)
Friday, September 7, 12:30-1:30am
For more than 700 years, Mbira Music has been played in Zimbabwe, Africa. As part of the traditional rituals of the "Shona" tribe, the forefathers are called back to the community through playing the songs they love. The music conjures up images of flowing water, whispering winds and blood bubbling in the veins.
Featuring: Pasi Gunguwo - mbira, vocals and percussion, Eyal Freed-man - mbira and vocals
Songs of Love, Desert and Longing
Friday, September 7, 1:00-2:00am
Decades ago Rechela arrived at the Sinai Peninsula and fell in love. Following her heart, she studied Khaliji music, which originated with the local Bedouin tribes, and embarked on a journey of discovery. As a result, she became the first Israeli woman to perform in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The music wafts over the deserts of Saudi Arabia, kisses the shores of the Gulf emirates and echoes through the wadis and beaches of Sinai, as far as Israel.
Featuring: Rechela - vocals, Amos Hoffman - oud, Gadi Seri - percussion, Roni Ivri - percussion
World Love: A ceremony of healing and an awakening of earth and nature
Friday, September 7, 2:00-3:00am
With a canopy of stars above us and earth deep beneath us, we will create a safe and sacred space for which is bigger and more sublime than all of us-earth and nature. With the help of songs, Tibetan bowls, overtones, blessings and stories, we will create a joint ceremony.
Featuring: Gabriel Meyer Halevi - vocals and guitar, Shir Sofer-sarod, dilruba, rebab, Tibetan bowls and overtones.
The Motion of the Heart- A Sufi Dance Workshop
Friday, September 7, 2:30-3:30am
The Sufi dance is a prayer. The dancer spins around incessantly and reaches a new state of consciousness which acts as a bridge between heaven and earth. The spin is a journey to the center of our being, creating a sense of introspection and a peaceful consciousness. During the workshop, accompanied by two musicians, participants will spin and seek, in the true essence of Sufism, to reach, love and join hearts. Amen.
Featuring: Nataly Turjeman - guide, Kher Fody - artist, Wallid el Hilo - vocals and instrumentals.
Carioca Trio (Brazil - Israel)
Friday, September 7, 2:30-3:30am
Carioca Ronaldo Freitas is a leading Brazilian musician, a virtuoso guitarist and a thrilling vocalist, as well as a shaman and emcee for healing and purification ceremonies. Carioca brings the color and joy of Brazilian music, which evolved from a fascinating connection with the Indian culture of the Amazon, African culture that was introduced to Brazil by slaves, and European culture that originated in Portugal. Carioca's music contains a deep connection to nature and to the earth, as well as sophisticated rhythmic and harmonic complexity which conveys a powerful and emotional experience to the listener.
Featuring: Carioca Ronaldo Freitas - vocals, Omer Gonen-Haela - flute, Joca Perpignan - percussion
The Song of the Heart Circle with Shimon Lev-Tahor and Friends
Friday, September 7, 2:30-4:00am
Seating in a circle around the musicians. The melody is played. Eyes close. Countless circles like this have been formed throughout history. Just like tonight. We start singing songs deriving from different traditions in a range of different languages. The words are easy to follow. The tune is easy to connect to. Singing is easy. This is the Song of the Heart - the most ancient song of all.
Featuring: Shimon Lev-Tahor - vocals, vimala, Zohar Gad - vocals, Avshalom Tubali - oud, Eitan Ulman - contrabass, acoustic bass and harmonica, Ofir Even-Odem - guitarist and soul singer, Idan Hameiri - harmonium, Ze'ev Yaniv - percussion, frame drum and Pakistani drum
The Bridge between Earth and Heaven - Nassim Dakwar
Friday, September 7, 3:00-4:00am
The drawing of the bow on Nassim Dakwar's violin often seems more like the stroke of a master painter's brush. With the lightest of movements, he is able to sketch out local landscapes for the listener which transcends borders that separate countries and unite us through his violin - a musical instrument that is shared by east and west alike. Enveloped by excellent musicians, the performance will leave you exactly where you should be-at the exact point between heaven and earth.
Featuring: Nassim Dakwar - violin, Loay Khalif - oud, Suhiel Nassar - kanun
"For She Tells Me" - Karima Al-Filali and Jamil Al-Asadi (Morocco-Iraq)
Friday, September 7, 3:00-4:00am
Karima's music explores the modus operandi of sound, silence and language. Her singing is rooted in the art of Makamat and the spiritual chant of Sama'a, a tradition reserved exclusively for men. During the festival, she will take the rare step of focusing on femininity. Accompanied by famous kanunist Jamil Al-Asadi (Iraq), she will take the audience on a musical journey through ancient Arab feminine writing and today's spoken word.
A Zikr Ritual from the Sufi-Sunni Tradition
Friday, September 7, 4:30-5:30am
The Zikr is an electrifying, experiential and powerful ritual combining singing, drumming and acoustic music. It is originally a trance-induced experience, which among other things, seeks to drive away the evil eye and correct mistakes. The Zikr is not a performance but a ritual in which everyone who experiences it takes part. Great emphasis is placed on active participation and total devotion.
Featuring: Ihab Balha, Ora Balha, Sheikh Abdel-Karim
Raga - Sunrise Melodies in Classic Indian Music
Friday, September 7, 4:30-5:30am
A rare insight into ancient traditions. The Song of Dhrupad is an in-depth, contemplative, meditative and gradual journey, based on ancient classic tradition with plenty of room for improvisation. Vocalists will perform with the accompaniment of, among other things, Rudra Vina, a rare string instrument-- which very few people in the world know how to play-in an hour-long musical and spiritual trip into unfamiliar territory.
Featuring: Osnat Elkabir - vocals, Dudu Elkabir - Rudra Vina, Amit Shani - pakhawaj, Yossi Elkabir - tabla, Gai Sherf - tanpura and vocals.
A Film - "Awaiting the Tsunami" (Colombia)
Friday, September 7, 4:30-5:30am
A visual voyage that vacillates between the worlds of music and cinema, the film was created by director and photographer Vincent Moon and the musical ensemble Lulacruza. "Awaiting the Tsunami" explores the music and people of present day Colombia, via an ongoing improvisation by Vincent Moon together with musicians who sing and communicate the sounds of the local mountains, water sources and culture. While filming, Lulacruza travelled across Colombia to gather the musical nectar to form a trance-shamanic ritual.
Chi Kung with Adam Shpira
Friday, September 7, 4:30-6:00am
Early in the morning, as the sun rises above the mountains, we will practice Chi Kung at the Tower of David under the open sky and on the heels of a night packed with experiences. Chi Kung will fill us with vitality and set us up for a fresh start to the day, thanks to a practice developed in China in the 2nd century AD and performed in Jerusalem in 2012.
Individual Love: A Ceremony of Healing and Awakening (sunrise)
Friday, September 7, 5:00-6:00am
Just before the magic of dawn, as night and day are still joined, we will create, together, a landscape of sound and introspection via sacred songs, melodic overtones and Tibetan bowls.
Featuring: Gabriel Meyer Halevi - vocals and guitar, Shir Sofer - sarod, dilruba, rebab, Tibetan bowls and overtones.
***
At Zedekiah's Cave
In the depths of the earth, from where the stones for the Jewish Temple were quarried, we will create a new musical space whose gates are open to all.
Unfathomed Depths: Diwan Saz feat. Rabbi David Mencahem, Said Tarabieh and Amir Shahasar
Thursday, September 6, 9:00-10:30pm
Cave. Night. The Diwan Saz group play and sing the musical traditions of Central Asia. The melodies and the words combine the Sufi spirit with the melody, musical tradition and liturgy of the Holy Land. The songs are performed in different languages such as: Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, Persian and Turkish. "Unfathomed Depth" is the fruit of a five-year creative collaboration that came to life in the depths of a huge bell-like cave in the ancient Yodfat Hill.
Special Guests: Said Tarabieh, Rabbi David Menachem and Amir Shahasar
Featuring: Tal Karo - vocals, Said Tarabieh - vocals, Rani Lorentz - bass, Eyal Luman - kanun and percussion, Itamar Doari - percussion, Roi de Mayo - vocals and percussion, Yochai Barak - musical arrangement and direction, saz, baglama, jura, Udi Benknaan - lyre and saz, Aviv Bahar - guitar and kopuz, Yitzhak Ventura - ney, Tzipi Dagan - vocals, David Menachem - vocals, Yitzhak Refuah - vocals
Dunes: The Mark and Peretz Eliyahu Ensemble feat. Sevda (Azerbaijan)
Friday, September 7, midnight-2:00
In Azerbaijan she is considered to be one of the most important divas of traditional music that is passed on from generation to generation as part of the esoteric cultures in the plains and mountains of Persia, Central Asia, Kurdistan and the Caucuses. In her first visit to Israel, Sevda Alikperzade joins Mark Eliyahu to perform "Dunes," a work that gives a contemporary feel to these ancient traditions. Get ready to fly far above the Caucasian Mountains.
Peretz Eliyahu - composition, Mark Eliyahu - arrangement and composition
Featuring: Mark Eliyahu - kamanche, baglama and musical production, Peretz Eliyahu - tar, Alon Amano Campino - oud and guitar, Rani Lorentz - bass, Erez Mounk - percussion, Sevda Alikperzade - vocals
***
At Notre Dame
A stunningly beautiful monastery and unique spiritual center, which overlooks the holy of holies.
* Entry to these performances is free
Tunes of Sanctity
Friday, September 7, 9:00am
An amateur choir singing in several languages Christian music from different periods and sects accompanied by organ music.
Featuring: The Harmony Choir, Veronika Grace - conductor, Inna Dudakov - organ
Qudus: Rana Khoury and the Tarteel Band
Friday, September 7, 12:00-1:30pm
The Easter Mass, which tells the story of Jesus (and which unfolded in close proximity to where the concert takes place), is a unique performance accompanied by classical musical instruments that originate from the Middle East basin, where we all live. This is an opportunity to experience the Byzantine music that accompanies ceremonies of the Greek Orthodox played in a Catholic church located in an area owned by the Vatican.
Featuring: Rana Khoury - vocals, Darwish Darwish - bouzouki, violin, oud, Alaa Shahuk - oud, percussion, Rimon Dao - keyboard
***
Testimony Tours
Throughout the festival we will be offering a series of testimony tours, through which you will be able to experience, up close, the rich and varied musical traditions of spiritual and religious rituals that have occurred daily across the city since time in memorial. These include, among others:
A Franciscan Parade and Pipe Organ Music | Ethiopian morning prayers-Deir a-Sultan | Supplications at King David's tomb | Armenian Prayers in St Jacobs Cathedral | Shahrit (morning prayers) at the Ramban synagogue | mass in the Notra Dame Church | meetings with Sufi sheikhs | morning prayers in the Romanian church | afternoon prayers and Kabbalat Shabbat (Friday evening prayers) in the Hurva Synagogue and more.
Registration for the Testimony Tours is free and is open to anyone purchasing tickets for the festival.
***
Tickets and additional information
Tickets for a single performance or the Night Stroll 90 NIS / 80 NIS during the presale
2 performances 160 NIS / 140 NIS during the presale
3 performances 210 NIS / 180 NIS during the presale
Each additional performance, 70 NIS / 60 NIS during the presale
Multi-Pass, 450 NIS
* Presale through August 31
Light refreshments will be on sale throughout the night at the Tower of David.
We will also be providing a rest area where you can lay your head down and look up at the stars.
Information on accommodation, parking and public transportation can be found on our website.
Warm clothing is strongly recommended and, as a mark of respect for the holy sites you will be visiting, we ask that you dress modestly.
For the full program and to purchase tickets, please go to jerusalemseason.com or call Bimot at *6226.
September-June: Sunday-Thursday 10:00-16:00, Friday: closed, Holiday eves, holidays, and Shabbat: 10:00-14:00. July-August: Sunday-Wednesday and Shabbat: 10:00-17:00, Thursday: 10:00-18:00 (19:30 June-August), Friday: 10:00-14:00
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