Ensemble NIGHT

André Heller’s Sufi Night

André Heller’s Reflektor festival opens with an evening of spiritual music from Morocco and Pakistan. The rhythmic music of the gnawa singer Hind Ennaira from Essaouira, Morocco, in the first half of the concert is followed by the powerful qawwali of the Sufi ensemble of Fareed Ayaz and his brother Abu Muhammad from Pakistan. Listening to gnawa music, with its dynamic rhythms and chants, is a physical experience that brings both the players and the listeners to ecstasy. This ecstatic state induced through the medium of music is also important in qawwali, and is said to bring the audience and the performers closer to God. The concert begins with the powerful qawwali singing of the Pakistani Sufi ensemble led by Fareed Ayaz and his brother Abu Muhammad. The ensemble’s musical roots reach back 700 years to the tradition of Delhi’s devotional singers. In Sufi mysticism, qawwali – which is known as the »path of the heart« – expresses fervent devotion to God. The music begins with a meditative rhythm of chants, melodies and percussion. Gradually, the rhythm ramps up, reaching intoxicating climaxes that are said to lead the musicians and listeners closer to the divine. The brothers and their ensemble have been internationally known for more than 30 years, and are Pakistan’s most popular qawwal group. They are followed by the 26-year-old gnawa musician and gimbri player Hind Ennaira who is one of the few female maâlems or master musicians among the hundred or so gnawa artists in Morocco, whose musical tradition is usually passed down from father to son. As a maâlem, she – with her bassy gimbri lute – leads the gnawa ensemble consisting of dancing singers who play the castanet-like instrument krakebs.

Nouruz Ensemble

Nouruz is the New Year’s and spring festival in the Persian and Kurdish cultures. The Nouruz Ensemble led by Iraqi Bassem Hawar also understands »spring« as a departure – towards exciting encounters between the musicians and their second home in Germany, and with other musical styles. In this concert, however, they focus entirely on their roots. A musical journey takes the ensemble from Basra in southern Iraq to Mosul in the north. They perform pieces from the southern marshlands and poetry set to music by Iraqi Assyrians and Arameans from northern Iraq, as well as classical Arabic maqam music from the area around Baghdad and all over the country. Bassem Hawar is a virtuoso on the Iraqi joza violin, which he built and developed himself; he founded the Nouruz Ensemble as a quartet in 2018. He combines a wide variety of musical styles with virtuosity, and is a tireless ambassador for the music of his homeland. Hawar is joined by the Iranian Kiomars Musayyebi on the delicate dulcimer santur and Saad Mahmoud Jawad, one of Iraq’s most renowned oud players. Other members of Nouruz are Persian percussionist Reza Samani, who has long had his roots in the Cologne area, and the Iraqi Rageed William on Armenia’s national instrument, the melancholy-sounding shawm duduk and the smoky-sounding flute nai. The guest vocalist is Baghdad-born Rita William, who works at the interface between Christian and Arabic singing.

Liedstadt & Ensemble Resonanz

Mais Harb, Hêja Netirk and Julian Prégardien - three first-class singers share their favorite songs and reinterpret them together with the musicians of Ensemble Resonanz and guests. Experimental Kurdish music by Hêja Netirk meets Franz Schubert sung by Julian Prégardien. Mais Harb's Arabic songs resound with a fresh string sound. Melodies from Germany, Kurdistan, Syria, Austria and Iran combine with the support of the children's choir of the Al-Farabi Music Academy to create a genuine Berlin song recital.

Jewish Music Night

Sacral and spiritual music is the focus of this three-part evening that brings together Jewish singing traditions from several continents. The Piyut Ensemble takes its name from a form of religious Jewish poetry. Synagogue songs and music from North Africa and the Middle East are the sources of inspiration for its spiritual and artistic work, which is deeply rooted in the Jewish faith and Jewish ceremonies. The band Yemen Blues received unanimous acclaim from the audience here back in the Elbphilharmonie’s opening year. Almost seven years later, their singer Ravid Kahalani returns to Hamburg with his equally exciting ensemble Voices of Yemen. Jewish-Yemeni songs intoned with an amazing rawness to the accompaniment of an electric guitar, percussion and the relentlessly pulsating bass of Shanir Blumenkranz promise once more to lead the Hamburg audience to a state of trance, joy and ecstasy. For a number of years now, young Hassidic singers in Brooklyn have been intensively searching together for the synagogue songs of their ancestors. Sound recordings from the pre-war era provide valuable points of reference for producing historically accurate yet individual interpretations. The strong, beautiful singing exudes an uplifting joy and optimism, which probably gave their ancestors strength and solace as they experienced persecution, expulsion and flight, and were forced to start new lives in foreign countries. The Brooklyn Cantors’ programme also includes a song by Yossele Rosenblatt, who worked in Hamburg from 1906 until 1912, before he made it big in the USA. Rosenblatt is still regarded as one of the greatest cantors of all time. This video gives a taste of the Brooklyn Cantors’ impressive singing.

Night of Guitars

The »Nacht Der Gitarren« brings together the world's best guitarists for a festival tour where they perform their latest original compositions and cover versions. For each tour, »Nacht Der Gitarren« presents a new line-up of guitar luminaries to create this very special evening of solo, duet and quartet performances, highlighting the virtuosity and diversity within the acoustic guitar world. The festival is exciting because not only do different cultures come together here, but younger artists also meet more experienced musicians. It is precisely this mix that makes these concerts so brilliant. Fans of the acoustic guitar always get their money's worth here, getting to know new talents or interesting established artists every time.

Adnan Karim & Hezaravaz Ensemble

Adnan Karim is one of the foremost traditional Kurdish singers of our time. His music is deeply rooted in Kurdish culture with inspiration from classical nineteenth-century poetry, incorporating themes of love, philosophy and hardships faced by the Kurdish people.With a deeply personal style, Karim combines traditional melodies with modern elements, creating a unique and authentic musical experience. By singing in different Kurdish dialects, he aims to build a musical bridge to bring together the divided Kurdish people.Joining him on stage is the Hezaravaz Band, which has roots in Kurdish and Persian music and combines traditional instruments such as the tar, daf and santur with modern features. Together with Adnan Karim, they create a beautiful and deeply moving fusion of Kurdish and Persian music. Come experience this unforgettable journey through the musical landscapes of two cultures, in which every note and melody tells a story of identity, love and the fight for freedom.

The Naghash Ensemble Armenia

The Naghash Ensemble blends the deeply rooted spirituality of Armenian folk music with new classical, post-minimal and infectious energy. Three female classical singers and four virtuosic instrumentalists on the duduk, oud, dhol and piano play music based on the words of the medieval poet and Christian priest Mkrtich Naghash. Naghash was a 15th-century painter, poet and priest who sought to promote inter-religious dialogue. He initially lived on the shores of Lake Van in what is today Turkey, but later moved to Constantinople (Istanbul today) because of religious conflict. There, he processed his experiences of exile in poems that explore the themes of displacement, foreignness and the impossibility of arriving. Subsequent Armenian history is also marked by ethnic and religious suppression, expulsion and violence, culminating in the Ottoman Empire genocide of 1915 in which hundreds of thousands of Armenians were killed or forced into exile. The grandmother of the Armenian-American composer John Hodian, who is a pianist with the Naghash Ensemble, fled to the USA to escape the genocide. No wonder Naghash’s poems moved him so deeply as a symbol of the fate of his people: »The words leapt off the page and into my soul.« Hodian’s »Songs of Exile« are carried by traditional Armenian melodies and rhythms, embodied by the oboe-like duduk, the oud lute and the dhol and dumbek drums. Combined with neo-classical sounds on the piano and the voices of three female singers – who are trained in western classical music as well as Armenian folk music – there emerges a haunting and unique soundscape.

Art Ensemble of Chicago

With fantastic younger musicians added to the line-up, the collective creates its usually unusual homage to its founding members, staying true to its roots and yet always with its finger on the pulse. »From Ancient to the Future« was the band’s motto right from the start and it speaks volumes about their musical positioning – not only in contemporary jazz, but when it comes to old musical traditions and new music as well. With fantastic younger musicians added to the line-up, the collective creates its usually unusual homage to its founding members, staying true to its roots and yet always with its finger on the pulse. »From Ancient to the Future« was the band’s motto right from the start and it speaks volumes about their musical positioning – not only in contemporary jazz, but when it comes to old musical traditions and new music as well. The album »The Sixth Decade – from Paris to Paris« was recorded in 2020 at the Parisian festival »Sons d’Hiver«, thus also paying homage to the place where it all began. The Guardian writes about the interplay between the old and new guard: » It’s heartwarming to hear the Art Ensemble of Chicago’s devoted heirs so ready to carry the story on.«

Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic “Italian night” with Stefano Bollani

When Stefano Bollani interprets the hit song “O sole mio”, all languor and indulgence disappears. Instead, you hear light-footed, astonishing imagination. Now the pianist, who is at home in both jazz and classical music, celebrates the music of his homeland for an entire Italian night. There will be well-known melodies, virtuosic improvisation, and imaginative arrangements with plenty of humour. Stefano Bollani is joined by clarinettist Gabriele Mirabassi, guitarist Matteo Mancuso, trumpeter Luca Aquino and singer Valentina Cenni.

'Jangi' Folklore Ensemble