Sacred and ecstatic music from Morocco and Pakistan

Discover the mysterious power of call-and-response Gnaoua trance music and the rich history of Sufi devotional music as Hassan Hakmoun, one of Morocco’s leading musicians, and Pakistan’s renowned Qawwali troupe, Najmuddin Saifuddin & Brothers, share the stage in this celebratory evening to inaugurate the Museum’s new galleries. The two groups will come together for a rare joint finale. It’s an evening of impassioned voices, driving choral refrains and syncopated rhythms you won’t want to miss.

This event is presented in conjunction with the opening of the New Galleries for the Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia on November 1, 2011.

This program is generously supported by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art.

The appearance of Qawal Najmuddin Saifuddin & Brothers is part of Caravanserai: A place where cultures meet. Caravanserai is a groundbreaking initiative designed to open and expand the dialogue between American communities and contemporary Muslim societies using the arts as a point of entry and is managed by Arts Midwest on behalf of the U.S. Regional Arts Organizations.