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Ensemble Al-Kindî

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Ensemble Al-Kindî is a music group founded in Aleppo, Syria, in 1983 by Julien Jalâl Eddine Weiss. The name refers to Al-Kindi, a philosopher and music theorist from the Arab world. It began with three players: Weiss himself, the Egyptian tar and riqq player Adel Schams Eldin and the Syrian nay player Ziad Kadhi Amin. At first the group played only instrumental pieces. Later Weiss expanded the ensemble with singers, among them Sheikh Hamza Shakkûr, a well-known singer of classical music and leader of the Sufi community of the whirling dervishes. In 1986 Weiss converted to Islam and settled in Aleppo.

Music and breakthrough

The ensemble wanted to build a repertoire from across the Arab world, and drew inspiration from Arab-Andalusian, Eastern, Turkish and Iranian traditions. Its records began to appear in 1989, among them Arab Classical Music, Sufi Songs of Damascus in 1993, Le Salon de Musique d'Alep in 1998 and The Whirling Dervishes of Damascus in 2000. Les croisades sus le regard de l'orient, Transe Soufie D'Alep and Parfums ottomans followed later.

Influence

The group plays oud, spike fiddle, flute, percussion and zither, often with devotional singing beneath. At concerts, real dervishes sometimes dance along. The ensemble introduced a classical and Sufi tradition to Europe that was little known there, and worked with soloists from Syria, Iraq, Turkey and Tunisia. Weiss died in 2015.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a recording by the ensemble, for example of the Sufi liturgy from Damascus, and notice how the singing is repeated again and again, and how the flute, string and percussion instruments follow that rhythm and tone.

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists