Mouachah, Songs from Andalusia to Lebanon

The Chœur de l’Opéra de Dijon performs songs from medieval Muslim Spain, the mouachahat. A highlight of the season, this concert reveals the constant and fecund exchanges between the Orient and the Occident.

The "mouachah" is a leather belt decorated with precious stones. In plural, however, the word refers to the musical repertoire, created as of the 11th century, based on classic Arab poems from Andalusia and melodies from the Middle East: the word in itself refers to the reciprocal influences between the countries that border the Mediterranean. Strophic and repetitive in form, from panegyrics to love songs, these pieces of varying rhyme patterns follow a complex structure and are characterized by virtuoso rhythmic work. For this new edition of the Festival Les Nuits d’Orient, the Opéra de Dijon proposes a multicultural meeting of talents, responding to the fundamental objective of these artistic encounters.

In the context of the Festival Les Nuits d’Orient

Chœur de l’Opéra de Dijon
Direction Anass Ismat
Soprano Hasnaa Bennani
Oud Youssef Kassimi Jamal
Qanoun Mohammed Rochdi M’Farredj
Violin Marwan Fakir
Percussion instruments Monsif Ihsane

Boughia Raml el maya - Introduction instrumentale

Ya ’achi’quine - Choeur et Ensemble instrumental (arr. Thomas Lépilliez)
Touchia Hijaz el kabir - Introduction instrumentale

Inchad Hijaz el kabir - Improvisation vocale
Li habibi oursil salam - Choeur a cappella (arr. Nicolas Pommier), puis version traditionnelle

Touchia El maya - Introduction instrumentale
Chamso’l ’achi - Chanson arabo-andalouse

Fog el nakhel - Chanson traditionnelle du Moyen-Orient (arr. Salim Bali)
Mawal Hijaz - Improvisation vocale
El helwa di - Chanson (Egypte) de Sayed Darwich (arr. Edward Torikian) 

Ya mourrou ’ojban - Mouachah (arr. Anass Ismat)

Taqssim - Improvisation instrumentale
Ya dal ’qawam - Mouachah (arr. Thomas Lépilliez)

Lamma bada yatathanna - Mouachah (arr. Anass Ismat)

Nassam ’alayna - Chanson traditionnelle du Moyen-Orient (arr. Thomas Lépilliez)

Taqssim - Improvisation instrumentale
Mawal - Improvisation vocale
Til’it ya ma’hla nourrhi - Chanson (Egypte) de Sayed Darwich (arr. Anass Ismat)