Encouraging creativity and culture

creativity-culture-color

The MED Orchestra

Belgium

    med

Vision

Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community, immigrating to the region as early as 70 CE. This community had great influence on life in Morocco in general and on its cultural aspects in particular. The Jewish Community has developed as a hybrid of the many cultures that have shapedMorocco itself, namely Jewish, Arab, Berber, French and Spanish.

Activity

The MED Orchestra, led by virtuoso artist Tom Cohen will take us through a musical journey presenting several tastes of the“Judeo – Arab” tradition, by playing a variety of Classical Moroccan musical genres; ranging from the “Ala – Andalus” to more contemporary compositions, exposing the Ancient“Matruz” (Interweaving) style of text writing, with which Jewish poets wrote Hebrew lyrics in an Arabic soundex and tone, “playing” with the two languages’ similar sounds and vowels while sharing great respect to both semitic brother tongues. Combining both western classical academic background and wide experience in leading ethnic and traditionally oriented ensembles, Tom Cohen is considered to have a special ability and approach with which he transmits the authenticity of the music of North Africa and the Middle East to classically trained musicians. This manifestation will take shape with one of the greatest interpreters of the “Judeo-Arab” style; the legendary cantor Rabbi Haim Louk; who transmits, with his experience and wisdom, the depths of the Melodies, of both Hebrew and Arabic liturgical poems. Rabbi Louk was born in Casablanca, Morocco in 1942. Blessed with a beautiful voice, tremendous talent and enormous knowledge, he is representing a human bridge, a very natural character, thus, one that is almost forgotten in our times – both Jewish and Arab, both Moroccan and Israeli. Full of mutuality and similarities, no contradiction what so ever.

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