The Chœur des Trois Cultures animated, on Saturday evening, at the Notre-Dame de Lourdes church in Casablanca, a moving concert full of messages promoting peace and rapprochement between peoples.
Initiated by the Three Cultures of the Mediterranean Foundation in collaboration with the Junta de Andalucía and the Moroccan and Spanish Ministries of Foreign Affairs, this event allowed a large audience to discover a very special musical experience driven by love and respect for the other bringing together artists from both shores of the Mediterranean.
In a very symbolic religious building, the choristers of different religions and ages opened the ball with an improvised work of contemplation without text and which calls for meditation and introspection before continuing with the work Requiem by Gabriel Faure.
After this western part, the musical troupe, made up of musicians, performers and singers from different cultures, religions and ages, presented the public with a selection of works drawn from the Moroccan and Andalusian musical heritage, in particular “Al Bourakia », « Hbib Al Qalb », « Achkt Tafla Andalusia and Mahanni Zine » and « Khlili ».
This artist evening of the Three Cultures Choir is in line with the principles and values of the Three Cultures Foundation, in this case the promotion of intercultural dialogue and respect for diversity.
In this regard, Maria Jesus Pacheco, member of the heart of the chamber of Seville, in charge of conducting the work Requiem by Gabriel de Fauré, underlined in a statement to MAP, that it is a very interesting program which blends three very different musical styles with pieces from Western and Moroccan culture.
The artist Pacheco, also professor of literature at the University of Seville, noted that this concert promotes interaction between artists from different cultures with Europeans who sing pieces in Arabic and Moroccans who interpret Western works.
And to highlight the integration, the mixture of cultures and the musical sharing that emerge from this type of initiative, in particular the moments of conviviality experienced during rehearsals and discussions between the artists.
For his part, the Moroccan artist Rabii Merouane, conductor of the choir “Les voix du chœur” noted, in a similar statement, that this project began in 2008 in Rabat and Essaouira with the aim of bringing together artists from different national d Spain, Morocco, Egypt, France and to promote the mixture between Arab, Western and Jewish music.
It is a very special experience to convey a message of peace and rapprochement between peoples through culture and religion, he added, noting that the program includes classical works with Requiem by Gabriel Fauré and an improvised work called contemplation and a Moroccan repertoire revisited by musical arrangers.
As for Carlos Cansino, in charge of leading José Manuel Gil’s work Contemplation, he said he was very honored to be here in Morocco to play in magnificent places, highlighting the kindness and the warm welcome of the people and Moroccan singers.
And to emphasize that the works performed during this evening are very different from each other with in particular Contemplation, a work without text which calls for peace and meditation to warm the hearts of the audience and Requiem, a funeral music for rest in peace, as well as five pieces in Arabic.
In this regard, the artist Carlos Cansino pointed out that European artists have made efforts to improve their pronunciation in Arabic, noting that it was a challenge that was overcome thanks to the help of choristers.
The choir of the three cultures is composed on the Moroccan side, basically by the voices of the Choir of Rabat. On the Spanish side, the participants are a selection of several choirs and choral ensembles such as Proyectoele, the Chamber Choir of Seville, the Musical Society of Seville and the Choir of the Friends of the Maestranza Association.
The vocal ensemble is accompanied by a selection of twenty-nine professional musicians, mainly from Morocco, with extensive experience and excellent musical training with a mixture of sounds and instruments such as violins and double basses, accompanied by the Kanoun, percussion and ney.