MURMURING MUSES AND WHISPERING JINNS

with Sofie Vanden Eynde (lute and theorbo) and Saad Mahmood Jawad (oud and arrangments)

trailer 1 - trailer 2 - trailer 3

Western artists look to the Muses for inspiration; in the Arab world, jinns are on hand to grant your deepest wish. Invisible beings captivate our imaginations, conjuring up worlds that no-one ever dreamt were possible. The magical inner world of dreams – or at least as close as consciously possible – is where Belgian lutenist Sofie Vanden Eynde and Iraqi oud player Saad Mahmod have arranged to cross paths.

As they allow their favourite compositions to flow into one another, improvisations on Baroque bass lines blend with Eastern maqamat. A Pavane by Ferrabosco acquires a mournful Arab accompaniment. Mister Dowland’s Midnight signals the start of an extended taqsim. Arab classics and Saad’s own compositions find their reflection in Sofie’s Renaissance strings.

Far outside their daily comfort zones, Sofie and Saad join forces to rekindle the centuries-old relationship between their instruments. A sound, a sigh, a quiver in the air, a moment of shared concentration – for a moment, these call up music’s powers of invocation, bringing to life a journey through the unknown which ends, with a thump, with a return to reality.

Verbal wizardry by poet Mahmoud Jaber complete the magic of this encounter. What is understanding, and when do we understand? Mahmoud’s trilingual poetry is an invitation to listen, experience, and perhaps understand, things differently. Words metamorphose into sounds, rhythms and intonations which moves the soul and expand the mind, achieving the incredible transformation of making the strange familiar and the familiar strange. Welcome to the world of murmuring muses and whispering jinns.It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

early music by F. da Milano, A. Ferrabosco,… arrangments of traditional songs and songs by Fayrouz,… by Saad M. Jawad

co-produced by Concertgebouw Brugge - funded by the Flemish Government

29.8.2024: Festival Oude Muziek Utrecht (NL) 5.5.2024: BOZAR (B) 4.5.2024: Achilles Concepts (B) 25.11.2023: Goethe Institut Erbil (IQ) 23.11.2023: Goethe Institut Bagdad (IQ)